It is said that the next World War will be over water. At the annual art exhibition of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education in BK Block, a significant part was focused on the theme of ‘save water’.
The exhibit was an ocean where propped up over rows of waves were coloured cutouts of aquatic creatures like fish, star fish, sea anemones and even a shark. It was all made by the students, using recycled products like newspapers, used cups and bottle caps.
The theme of Art Mela, being organised for the school's pre-primary and Class 1 students, was sustainability and festivities across India. It also included a small tribute to Aurobindo Ghose in the Independence Day section.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Shankar Banerjee, president of the governing body of the school, in presence of other governing body members.
The space between the main gate of the premises and the entrance to the building was dotted with quotations of Sri Aurobindo, written and decorated by the parents of the students.
The exhibition took place on the ground floor of the BK Block school building and it featured different creations of the students that served not only to decorate the building but also had important messages in it.
In a section dedicated to sustainability, they created various designs using recycled products like straws and buttons. Another section was dedicated to the tribes of India where the children not only coloured tribal mask images but also built ancient swords and shields with recycled products.
The other exhibits showcased various festivals of India, like Christmas and Janmashtami. A small section of the exhibition consisted of drawings by students while the others mostly had printed images which the kids had coloured.
A section, titled Panchabhootatmika- the essence of life, had a huge drawing of Goddess Laxmi, seated on a lotus with an owl by her, at the centre and various mini images of the goddess dotted the board alongside symbols considered auspicious in the Hindu religion. There were small owls made with paper cups and feathers.
A student and his guardian check out the drawings on display
A small podium was created where the students and their parents could perform whatever they wanted. They even interacted with the teachers there and enjoyed themselves. Some of the parents danced with their children while the others sang.
Rimpa Nandi, faculty coordinator of the exhibition, was happy to showcase the work of the kids. “The children have created all of these mostly by themselves. We only helped them when they had to cut something and guided them on how to make the things. The rest is completely by them. Through this exhibition, we try to instill in them basic consciousness to save the environment as well as make them aware of the various cultures and festivities around India. Throughout the academic session, we had been preparing the different exhibits and finally we have them all ready to be presented before the world,” she said.
The students, Nandi said, had been asked to collect the bottle caps of whatever soft drinks they consumed through the year. “Through this, we tried to track their soft drinks consumption and also scolded them when the number of caps they collected were too high. This way we have also tried to make them conscious of their health and to limit their consumption of unhealthy products.”
“My daughter had made flowers with plastic spoon and fish with paper plates to create an aquatic world. The handicraft items fashioned by students under the guidance of teachers were worth seeing,” said Samprita Roy, mother of Upper KG student Sreekshitha Dasgupta.
The exhibition came to an end after two days of showcasing the beautiful creations by the little ones.
Walk for a greener world
Over 100 students and faculty members walked with placards and banners from Techno Main Salt Lake via Karunamayee crossing, FE Park, Central Park to City Centre and retraced their steps back to the college in Sector V. Team Geekonix, the official science and technology club of Techno Main Salt Lake, was organising the walk to create change and awareness against the rising rate of environmental pollution.The event was inaugurated by Manoshi Roy Chowdhury, co-chairman, Techno India Group, Soumitra Sasmal, the registrar, and Ayan Das Sarma, a professional footballer, who lit the inaugural lamp. Dressed in white, the ralllyists sang Tagore songs related to nature like Gramchhara oi ranga matir path. On return, everyone was provided refreshments to energise themselves after this 8 km Walk-a-thon."After a break of three years due to Covid-19, we are proud to bring back Edge Deeds Walk-a-thon, the flagship social welfare event under Edge, our institute's techno management fest, that aims to bring about a change in society," said Adrija Chakraborty, an organiser.