Forty paintings made by children in a remote Sunderbans village were displayed at a star hotel in Alipore on Saturday.
The paintings were inspired from the everyday life of the children. Tigers, storms and the forest, were recurrent subjects.
Titled “Children of the Sundarbans”, the exhibition was organised to provide a platform to the young artists from Vivekananda Adarsha Vidyalaya, nestled in Sankijaan village in Kultali area, around 95km from the heart of Calcutta.
The school started in 2007 but was forced shut by Covid. Cyclone Amphan (May 2020), blew its roof away.
It reopened in February 2022 and now has over 200 students (till Class VIII) and 14 teachers.
The school is run by Vivekananda Sangha and the Anu Chowdhury Memorial Educational Foundation.
“The village is home to mostly migrant labourers and fishermen. The men go for work in southern states. Many others venture into the forests, creeks and canals to catch fish or crab, risking their lives,” said Ujjwal Anu Chowdhury, secretary of the foundation.
The exhibition presented the essence of the Sunderbans through the eyes of children aged five to 15 years. Alongside their artwork, the students also took part in cultural performances that offered a glimpse into the life in the mangrove delta.
Andrew Fleming, British deputy-high commissioner to east and Northeast India, attended the event at Taj Bengal.
