Culture And Education Kindled At Kendur

During the Puja vacation girls and ladies are blasting sixes at the village school playground. Prior to that there has been a students' career camp. The twilight of the dusk is fading out into the darkness of the evening. The mobile phone of Sourav Gupta, the director of the Kolkata-based group theatre, 'Theatre Spandan' "cannot be reached". The 'Bornoporichoy Moncho' wherefrom Subhajit Dutta, the founder-secretary of Cultural and Educational Forum(CEF) and the CEF co-ordinator, Debdeep Bhattacharya had been doing the women's cricket commentary in the afternoon, was swept over by Theatre Spandan's portrayal of 'Shobdogaon' at night.

These are montages from the second day of the three day-long 'Sharadiya Shamabartan 2005 - Ebar Aalor Baan Dekechhe', the fifth anniversary celebration programme of the Cultural and Educational Forum, a students' NGO. The venue was the green and brown ground, the red path and the hazy waterway, adjoining the Kendur High School, at the Kendur village at the border of the districts of Barddhaman, Hoogly and Bankura, in the Barddhaman district.

The other competitions organised during the Olympian convergence of heart and soul included such unique contests like playing of the country drum, preparation of milk-based items, panchali recitation, slow cycle race, blind kick and blind hit, apart from elocution, recitation, swimming, debate, quiz, drawing, slogan-writing, musical chair and what not.

Double-wicket women's cricket was a big and instant hit, with prizes galore, ranging from 'Most Valuable Player of the Tournament' to 'Best Body Language and Team Spirit'. The 'Talent of the Tournament' award was jointly shared by Babli Dawn and Sudeshna Roy.

Kabadi was given a boost by awarding medals to each member of the winning and runners-up team, and a shield to the champions.

Earlier on Day One, speakers Raj Krishna Dutta, Advisor to the CEF and Uday Chand Hazra, Secretary, Kendur High School, in a session on 'Education-Culture-Society' expressed concern over the ill-effect of alien cultural imperialism on the subconscious mind especially in the formative years.

On the final day, before the staging of the play, 'Chapa Pora Manush' by local kids and CEF members, the stage was lit up and the crowd enthralled by the message delivered by Swami Suparnananda, Principal, Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur. Referring to CEF as "the forum the unification of all", the Maharaj urged CEF to build up an emergency fund called 'Jeevan Deep Project' for all-round development of the rural masses, in the lines of the Ramakrishna Mission Lokshiksha Parishad.

Uday Shankar Sarkar, Sabadhipati, Barddhaman Zilla Parishad, urged CEF to excel in multifarious human development by rising above the corrupting influence of petty politics.

A highlight of the cultural extravaganza was the presentations of Adivasi songs and dance by Babulal Mandi and his troupe and the opening of the stage for public cultural performances linking the two parts of the prize distribution and felicitation ceremony on the final evening. Not only were the local highest scorers in Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations felicitated, the unique 'Nabin Pratibha' award for lifetime achievement in the field of education and culture was also bestowed.