Language tribute
• The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) hosted an event for International Mother Language Day with 15 cultural groups paying tribute through song, dance and recitation.
“Love and respect for one’s mother tongue would develop if one is attuned into it from one’s nascent age. Now-a-days children are taught completely through a different medium, which makes it difficult,” said director, EZCC, Gouri Basu, while inaugurating the programme. “I studied till Class VI in my mother tongue but had no trouble shifting to a different medium thereafter.”
The event was organised jointly by EZCC and township-based NGO Initiative for Scientific and Public Awareness Target (Ispat). Secretary Ritesh Basak thanked the participants and patron Subrato Ghosh gifted his collection of poems to the groups as tokens of their appreciation.
CD Block-based cultural group Mohona began the show with recitation, followed by solo dance to Pratul Mukhopadhyay’s Ami Banglay gaan gai, Atul Prasad Sen’s Moder garab moder asha sung in chorus and Jibanananda Das’s Abar ashibo phire. They concluded with a dance recital to Sachin Dev Burman’s Ami tak dum, tak dum bajai.
Octogenarian Geeti Gupta, also a resident of CD Block, paid tribute by playing the song Aaji Bangladesher hriday hote on the harmonium and received a lot of applause.
Students of the Rajarhat-based group Aikatan, led by Pragati Chatterjee, presented a chorus of — once again — Ami Banglar gaan gai and a patriotic number Amra milechhi aaj mayer dake.
Students of Newtown Kalapi presented Rabindrasangeet. “We wanted our songs to be a wake-up call to society and selected them such,” said Rina Dutta, a disciple of Maya Sen. They sang numbers like Uriye dhwaja abhrabhedi.
New Town’s Aahimohini Sangeet Sanstha, led by Anindita Nandy, performed a music-and-narrative piece called Abar February unravelling the history of the day.
The programme concluded with students of township-based group music group Uttarayani. “Our attempt was to highlight the positive side of the struggle. It is because of bloodshed of martyrs that the International Mother Language Day could be established,” said Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya, joint secretary of the group.
Bharati Kanjilal
Fun with sports
A senior citizen is felicitated on stage at CB Park
• CB Block celebrated its sports day and picnic together at their park this winter and predictably, the most excited bunch was that of youngsters.
“I participated in the flat race and orange race. It was fun meeting my friends after so long. I have been longing to go out and play but everyone is not available at the same time. It is only on occasions like these that we all come to the ground,” said Debraj Ghosh, a Class VIII student of The New Town School.
Subhojit Khada, a second year student of commerce from Vidyasagar College, said the day was a break from his usual life. “I have got no taste of the college life people talk about. Two years of my college life have gone waste sitting at home. But today I can play with younger children and also socialise with others my age.”
The women enjoyed too. Indrani Dutta, a government employee, said: “The only event event missing today is tug-of-war, which is the most awaited event and which almost the entire block participates in. It has been cancelled this year due to Covid restrictions. And we are all very sad about it. But we ate together, chatted, dressed up for the evening shows and had fun together.”
There were several races including orange race, balancing-the-pitcher, breaking-the-pitcher, flat race, conch shell-blowing, go as you like etc for everyone aged between five and 75 years. Those aged above 75 were felicitated too.
“An event like this is very important, especially when we have all been cooped up in our houses for so long,” said Ashit Kumar Chakraborty, a senior citizen.
“Earlier we used to go to the outskirts of the city for a picnic but with time we realised that the senior citizens are not at ease travelling the distance. So we decided to organise a combined event in our own block,” said secretary of the residents’ association Soumen Goswami.
Showli Chakraborty