Classes V to VII of Vivekananda Mission School commemorate Vande Mataram in a special assembly The Telegraph
Ratnadeep Dhar of Rammohan Mission High School is an avid fan of Bengali literature, especially Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The Class IX student has read Anandmath, Kapalkundala and Devi Chaudhurani, among his books.
“I want to discuss the author and his books with my friends but they are all interested in football instead,” he said.
Things have changed this year, though. From November, Bankim is in focus as Vande Mataram, written by him in 1875, turned 150. Schools are organising events to commemorate the occasion. The milestone has also renewed interest in the author, his books and his contribution towards the freedom struggle.
Since Independence Day, Bankim and his song have been getting online hits as students are busy researching and planning performances around them.
“I try to use storytelling to educate my Class VIII students on Bankim. The interest has gone up this year,” said Ujjala Roy, Bengali teacher of the school.
Many schools are planning to commemorate the song as part of their annual day in
December.
Rehearsals are going on in full swing at the VIP Road and Rajarhat branches of National English School. And some conversations about the song on the side. “Our senior students will dance to the song as a tribute at our award ceremony on December 14,” said Damayanti Basu, the school’s cluster coordinator. A history teacher herself, she is facing a barrage of questions from students on the popularity of Bankim as against Tagore.
“We are frequently having conversations, especially with our non-Bengali friends, in between rehearsals about the song, the author and his role in the freedom struggle,” said Tabashmi Barman of Class IX. “We are reading up about the period in question and the spirit of nationalism the song gave rise to,” added schoolmate Ankita Biswas of Class X. The dance, performed by over 64 students, will end with a public salute to the author.
Vivekananda Mission School, Joka, organised four shows on Bankim and the national song on November 10. Two simultaneous shows for the junior section (Nursery to Class IV) were performed by the teachers. The other two shows (for Classes V to VII and VIII to XII) were performed by the students. The agenda — a speech on the song, its writer and the spirit of nationalism, followed by a vocal performance of Vande Mataram.
“It was fun researching the topic. In our speech, we also brought in Aurobindo Ghose, who began an English paper (Bande Mataram) to spread his radical ideologies,” said Aagnik Banerjee of Class XI.
Vaibhavi Ray of Young Horizons School agreed about learning a lot more. The Class VIII student, along with her friends, is planning a mash-up of songs for their annual concert on December 4. “We will end with Vande Mataram. We are also educating many of our non-Bengali friends on the history of Bengal,” she said.
Mangalam Vidya Niketan has fixed December 5 to commemorate the milestone. “Besides music and an audiovisual storytelling, we also plan to host a debate on — Can a song inspire people to fight for the country?” asked principal Jayati Mukherjee. Every event is meant to talk about the lesser-known aspects of Indian literary and political history.
Mousumi Saha, founder-principal of National English School, agreed that there has been a wave of enthusiasm among students regarding Bankim and his song, thanks to the 150-year milestone. “We wish to honour the author, whose words continue to awaken the spirit of India. It is essential for our students to learn about such visionaries who shaped our nation’s identity,” said Saha.