Children perform on World Autism Awareness Day, held at Rotary Sadan on April 2. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

No music to go by, just his voice and the microphone. But the magic spread. Twelve-year-old special child Srideep Sarkar, a student of Noble Mission, made the audience clap their hands and snap their fingers to the tune of Zoobi Doobi… from the film 3 Idiots. Srideep was performing at the Rotary Sadan on April 2 on World Autism Awareness Day. Apart from Srideep, there were others awaiting their chance backstage, some excited and some a little anxious, getting their make-up in place. Class IV student Arpita Ghosh of Akshar has been practising for the past five days to put up a group performance on Gahan Kusum Kunja Majhe.

Organised by NGO Parent Circle Time Autism Identified (PACTAI), a forum by parents, special educators and teachers working for autistic kids marked the second edition of the World Autism Awareness Day, to generate public awareness about autism.

The day kicked off at seven in the morning with a rally where a group of children — autistic and mainstream —from the Lord’s Bakery crossing of Prince Anwar Shah Road to Lions Safari Park (where they did some bird-watching), snaking through Rashbehari and Southern Avenue in motorcycles and cars. With no books and no discipline, Friday was unlimited fun for Class VII student Arpan Ghosh. “I enjoyed my ride to the Safari Park. It was so exciting, riding on a motorcycle,” he added, while waiting for his mime performance at Rotary Sadan.

Twenty-five students of Jadavpur University (13 boys and 12 girls) underwent a five-day marine awareness course at Sea Explorers’ Institute, Prinsep Ghat, last week. The course included manual boating during high tide, kayaking, astronomy and life-saving tips. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Chief guest of the evening, educationist Barry O’Brien pointed out: “The concept of living together is alien in our country. In so-called normal schools, we are encountering difficulties in making children’s lives normal because the world is so competitive, and parents are egging their children on to compete even at the cost of stepping over each other”. Citing examples of parents who face trauma by losing their children or whose children are extremely disobedient, he said: “You are fortunate because you have children who love you unconditionally.”

The evening events included performances by the children of inclusive schools like Akshar, Alokdhara and PACTAI children. Students of Alokdhara aged two to six performed action rhymes on ‘jhuk jhuk gari’ and ‘hattima tim tim’. Though the performance missed synchronisation, the first thing that would strike one was their enjoyment on stage, which was infectious. No pretence, only unadulterated fun.

Jhinuk Mazumdar

Grooming tips

Sudhir Memorial Institute organised a workshop on personal grooming for parents, where Anuradha Bhalotia, the principal of the junior section, briefed them. Bhalotia also focused on the mannerisms of parents, as a child learns a lot by observing.

While Bhalotia pointed out modern teaching trends, Sharmila Rakshit, the principal of the senior section, focused on new parents. “The new parents get an overview of how to guide a child at home.” Pompa Das, mother of Johel Das, recently admitted to Sudhir Memorial, was particularly happy with the pattern of teaching.

Care & kids

Diksha, in collaboration with Child Rights and You (CRY), organised a children’s workshop at Rotary Sadan on March 27. The workshop included recitation by slum children, among which, a piece by Prakash Upadhay on his best friend received much admiration. Speakers emphasised on the right approach, including care and protection for bringing up the marginalised teens. Chief guest Justice Samaresh Banerjee and Ratnabali Roy, trustee of Diksha, were present. Diksha projects are funded and supported by CRY.

Jesuit bonding

St Xavier’s College, Calcutta Alumni Association (SXCCAA) , organised a reception in honour of the visiting delegation of different Jesuits institutes from Spain on March 31. The team included seven girls and two boys as part of the alumni exchange programme. It stayed in India for 10 days and visited Indian Museum, Mother House and other NGOs and worked for the poor in unison with four students and two ex-students of St Xavier’s College, Calcutta.

Father Felix Raj, the principal of St Xavier’s College, Calcutta, said: “This kind of effort not only creates bonding of a greater international Jesuit family, but also orients them towards the value education of social commitment, which they have been taught in the Jesuit institutions.”

Annual show

Padatik dance centre organised its kathak annual show at Gyan Manch on April 3. Participants aged between three to 40 performed to dance numbers like fusion, Shivastutui, Ganesha Vandana, Vedic Chant, Varsha, etc. The evening also witnessed vocal music like thumri and bhajan. Teachers Sandip Mallick, Madhumita Roy and Shouvik Chakraborty, in charge of the choreography, also performed separately.

Compiled by Aditi Ray

Pictures by Anindya Shankar Ray

SHOUT OUT LOUD

“Need to send a message.” Use the Internet. “Need to do a project.” Use the computer. “Need to book flight tickets.” Use the Internet. “Need something for recreation.” Use the computer.

For everything — communication, education, transportation or recreation — we depend on computers. Long back. during the black-and-white age, it was just a pile of junk, which has of late revealed its real uses . Today, we are the ‘chips’ of the Computer Age.

On the other hand, we are also misusing the boon. We are playing games on it, becoming lazy, and harming our health, planning bomb blasts and other attacks (which may result in the loss of lives), and even hacking into others’ e-mails.

Computers are only little ‘clues’ to the wealth of eternal knowledge. We should utilise them to hone our skills, not our knives.

PRAMIT BAKSI,
Class VII, Apeejay School, Salt Lake