Youngsters at the panel discussion. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Daniel, sporting a pony-tail, hopes to make it big as a session guitar player one day. This despite the absence of a western music culture in his hometown, Nagpur. He has already bagged a project with an American company for a guitar instruction video. Neil runs an NGO for handicapped children in Pune. Dorothy from Visakhapatnam is pursuing medicine. Although from diverse regions across the country, the Anglo-Indian youth who took part in a panel discussion at La Martiniere for Girls on October 21 had one thing in common. They all are dreaming bigger than their forebears.

The talk “We are a part of the new dawn of the new India” saw the youngsters address issues of identity, migration and language, as citizens of India and as members of an ethnic community. The session, chaired by Barry O’Brien, was part of the three-day annual general meeting of The All-India Anglo-Indian Association and The All-India Anglo-Indian Education Institution held in the city after 44 years.

The young panel, dressed in faded jeans, formal suits, skirts and churidars, was out to quash the myth that Anglo-Indians were isolated from the mainstream. Marianne from Calcutta is a fashion designer, while Dominic from Jamshedpur gives lessons in basketball at a convent school in Calcutta. Dominic spoke of the need to extend help to other members of the community who wish to join the same profession.

The views were a mix of traditional and modern on marriage. Marrying within the community was the need of the hour since it was diminishing, said Sheena from Pune. For Neil, it did not matter which community a person belonged to as long as both were willing to adjust, but Maureen from Bangalore was quite definite that she would prefer an Anglo-Indian to someone outside the community.

Speaking the local language is not a problem for most, though Tracey from Pune remarked that it was equally important not to take the English language for granted. “We must learn to use it as a weapon,” she said.

Romila Saha

Seven tips for US study

The US Educational Foundation in India organised an interactive session on “Graduate business studies in the US” with Rafique Dossani, consulting professor, Stanford University, on October 12. Dossani gave the following pointers to students on issues ranging from making applications to surviving in the US.

• Most colleges or universities look for creativity, flexibility and deep interest in the course or subject

• Apply to good schools and not middle-level schools, especially from the point of view of employability

• Update yourself about happenings in the world with regard to your field of interest

• Work experience of at least two years is an added advantage, especially in terms of business studies

• Indian students, especially in the technical fields, must work extra hard for the first six months as they need to get familiar with the latest technology

• Work closely with the teachers, they are the best guides

• Network with other Indian students.

happenings here ’n’ there

Wildlife wit

• A wildlife quiz was organised by the wildlife wing of the directorate of forests, government of West Bengal, in association with TTIS, at the St Xavier’s College auditorium on October 11.

The quiz kicked off in the morning after last-minute revisions, tips and encouraging words from classmates of the participants. Teams from 41 schools went through the preliminary round when each was given 20 questions to answer in 20 minutes. Twelve schools qualified for the next rounds conducted by actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty.

The first six three-member teams out of the 12 went through three tough rounds before Calcutta Public School, St Xavier’s and St Thomas’ Girls qualified for the finals. Out of the remaining six, DPS Newtown, DPS Ruby Park and St Thomas’ Boys, Kidderpore, reached the finals.

The grand finale was a nail-biting affair right from start. Huddled in small groups, the quizzards consulted with teammates in whispers and fervently prayed for easy questions. The rapid-fire round was the best of all. St Thomas’ Boys emerged the winner, followed by Calcutta Public School and DPS Ruby Park.

A guest appearance by magician P.C. Sorcar (Jr) heightened the spirits at the show. The crowd enjoyed his tricks and his great sense of humour.

The event ended with speeches by the chief guests followed by the prize distribution ceremony.

Shradhanjali Bose, Prateek Lohia and Mahashweta Bose
Mother International, Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society School and Mahadevi Birla Girls’ High School

Carrom and craft

• Students of Akshar teamed up with their family members to take part in carrom and craft competitions in September. Ten teams fought it out in the carrom competition while other students cheered them on enthusiastically.

The teachers refereed the matches. In the finals, the father-daughter duo of H. Singh and Gursimran Kaur beat Khullar brothers Dhruv and Raghav.

Many of the entries in the craft competition like photo frames, flower vases and items of decoration were made using recycled and waste materials like cartons and used paper. A turtle made of nut shells won Rideep Sarkar and his mother the first prize.

Songs of the land

• A branch-level contest of patriotic group songs, organised recently by Bharat Vikas Parishad, West Bengal, enthralled the audience at Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad.

A number of schools from south Calcutta participated in the competition. Students from classes VI-VII represented our school at the musical meet.

The event had two categories — Hindi patriotic songs and Bengali patriotic songs. Our school bagged the first prize in the first segment and the runner-up place in second category.

Debayan Roy,
Class X, MP Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School

Chit Chat

Merchandise based on Galli Galli Sim Sim

Reel characters, real fun

Pick up a Powerpuff skirt for Bhai Phonta, or dress up in a Beyblade T-shirt on Id. Now pre-school tots have choices of bedsheets, quilts and duvets sporting their favourite Galli Galli Sim Sim characters, who are also waiting to be carried home in their soft toy avatars.

Cartoon buffs can own their favourite toon this festive season. Cartoon Network, the small screen hub of toons, has launched a range of consumer products based on the lovable muppets Elmo, Biscuit Badshah, Bharat and Ernie from Galli Galli Sim Sim (based on the globally acclaimed Sesame Street series) on Pogo to add to the range of merchandise featuring Johnny Bravo, Dexter and Powerpuff Girls.

“We have launched consumer products across four categories — apparel, books, plush toys and home furnishings,” says Jiggy George, director, Cartoon Network Enterprises — India and South Asia, over phone from Delhi. “Manufactured by Mattel, one of the dolls even has a customised voice chip that allows her to speak in Hindi, a first time in the country’s toy market.”

The books, featuring content by the US-based Sesame Workshop, are being brought out by Eurokids in bookstores and by Scholastic Books for its book clubs in 2,200 schools across the country. “Galli Galli Sim Sim, which inculcates basic values in children, is a good fit for publishing,” George adds.

Aimed at two to eight year-olds and priced between Rs 70 and Rs 1,399, the products will be available in leading multi-brand retail chains such as Shoppers’ Stop, Pantaloons and Landmark.

If Powerpuff Girls apparel, toys, stationery, rainwear and school bags are a hit among girls since 2005, the range now has been increased to include footwear, home furnishing, books, party products, ceramics and gifts. Beyblade T-shirt and shorts have also been a rage among boys. Now it’s the turn of the tots to pick up muppets of their choice.

Sudeshna Banerjee