People who dropped by on the third and final day of a celebration of The Bhagabat Gita, organised by the GD Block-based Bidhannagar Bhagabat Samaj, were in for a surprise. It was the familiar figure of the IPS officer Aneesh Sarkar, in charge of law and order in the Bidhannagar subdivision till recently, who was doing the Gita paath, with his mother seated by him.
“He was doing such a fine job, explaining the Sanskrit text in English and Bengali, that a north Indian neighbour asked me if he was a professional preacher. I had to tell him who he was,” said Manik Deb, a block executive committee member.
The event itself was an old tradition of the block. “My father Santiranjan Das and his contemporaries, Netai Bose and Jyotsnamoyi Saha, had started this when we were young. But it was stopped for three years during the pandemic. We decided to revive it in 2025,” said Samir Kumar Das, vice-president of the residents’ association. This was the 22nd edition.
It was Deb who thought of approaching Sarkar. “I knew he does Gita paath. We approached him through his mother’s physician, Dr Saikat Saha, who is a resident of our block and the grandson of one of the founders of the event,” Deb said.
The services of a Vaishnavite priest were sought while the idols of Radha-Krishna and Gaur-Nitai came from Kumartuli. The opening songs were sung in chorus by block women while sisters Aparna and Anuradha Saha, who have married into the same family, presented devotional songs on the second day. Several guest artistes presented kirtan.
Devotees were treated to bhog prasad on the final day for lunch.
A creative yoga presentation was held at Rabindra Tirtha to mark 10 years of Aditi’s Yoga & Fitness Workout.
Aditi Dey, the institute’s founder and a resident of Millennium Tower, has been teaching yoga in pockets like Swapno Bhor, Upasana Griha, Sankalpa 2 and Rohra Heights.
“Yoga is a journey into oneself. It is about awareness, healing and balance. This evening is meant to give every participant a glimpse of that path,” Aditi said.
The show began with a stotra path by Pushpita Samajdar, and then Snejuti Dutta’s yoga dance and mudra presentation followed. Warm-up exercises led into vinyasa sequences, which in turn gave way to chair yoga for senior citizens, demonstrating the adaptability of yoga to different bodies and abilities.
Participants sat upright, feet firmly placed on the floor, hands resting lightly on the chair’s side rails. On cue, they lengthened the spine on the inhale, shoulders broad, ribcage lifted, and on the exhale, they rotated gently toward the right, using the breath rather than force to guide the twist. Their gaze followed over their shoulders.
Following this, there was a segment focused on asanas for hormonal imbalance. During the creative yoga segment, the audience witnessed a choreography of flexibility and precision. Power yoga sequences showed controlled exertion of the performers.
The event was attended by guests like Ashim Kumar Banerjee, chairman of the state Commission for Other Backward Classes and West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission and Justice (retd) Ranjit Kumar Bag. “These yoga classes have built a community in this fast-paced world, and practices like yoga are needed now more than ever,” said Banerjee.
“I have seen senior citizens regain confidence, connection and overcome loneliness through these classes,” said Utpal Das, administrator of Swapno Bhor.
There were also insights from doctors. “Yoga is a tool for prevention. Consistent practice can improve cognitive function, mobility and overall quality of life,” said neurologist Debjani Roychowdhury.
Orthopaedist Aranyak Sarker highlighted the support yoga provides for musculoskeletal health, while another consultant, Prof Partha Sarathi Sarkar, explained: “Even moderate but consistent practice can significantly reduce risk of injury and improve posture and stability.”
“Yoga is the regulation of body, mind and emotion. Having worked at correctional homes, I have seen it reduce stress and instill focus,” added Geetika Chatterjee, psychologist at Ruby General Hospital.
Students of the yoga classes were excited with their progress, too. “Practicing with Aditidi has changed how I approach each day. I am calmer, more aware and energetic. I look forward to the classes, and it provides a break from the mundanity of daily life,” said Nilima Rath, a student from Rohra Heights.
The evening concluded with a collective chant of “Om”.
New Town-based theatre group Shrutighar organised an evening of five plays of varied moods, each offering a distinct theatrical experience at Rabindra Okakura Bhavan.
The show was dedicated to the memory of a theatre-loving New Town resident, Putul Kundu, wife of Pratul Kundu, a well-wisher of Shrutighar. It was attended by guests like Justice (retd.) Asim Bandyopadhyay, Justice (retd.) Pradipta Kumar Roy, theatre critic Satyaban Roy, writer Pijush Ranjan Ghosh and author Pallabi Pal.
The first play, Ghanta, a comedy by Kharaj Mukhopadhyay, was directed by Partha Pratim Gupta and enacted by Kalipada Sau and Kaushik Talukdar. The antics of the forgetful protagonist Ghanta, along with the enraged bus starter, triggered peals of laughter among the audience. Kaushik Talukdar, who essayed Ghanta, is a delivery boy in real life. “I love performing and had approached the group when I found out about them. I was elated when I got this chance and rehearsed for over a month to give it my best shot,” he said.
The next play had children from the New Town BA Block-based Gutipoka group staging Narayan Gangyopadhyay’s Bhim Badh Pala, directed by Biswajit Chowdhury.
The play opened in a rehearsal room where the cast expressed dissatisfaction over the incompetent director Kaluda. As the play progressed, Duryodhan was killed instead of Bhim, and the dialogues, costumes, and movements left the audience in splits, especially when Krishna entered wearing derby shoes and holding a cycle tyre as his chakra.
“I was confident about this role as I had already played it before in our block earlier,” said Class VIII student Siddhartha Das, who played Kaluda.
Shrutighar’s second presentation, Chatpati, was directed by Gupta, who acted as well. Gargi Chakraborty and Kaushik Talukdar also formed part of the cast. This was another comedy by Kharaj Mukhopadhyay, about a foodie relative who comes to stay for a few days. Frightened by his endless food demands, the host invents a fictitious contagious disease called ‘Chatpati’ to tactfully drive him away.
The final presentation by Shrutighar was Poka Mere, on how a fraudulent doctor was cleverly trapped by an astrologer patient.
Another New Town-based group Natajaan presented a social play, Samantaral, on the murder of brides over dowry, an issue that persists in society irrespective of status. Isha Mondal played the bride, and Shanta Dutta received applause when the director revealed that she had taken up the role of the bride's mother just a few days back.
“I had chosen comedies to stage as I wanted to offer the audience simple, light-hearted enjoyment,” said Gupta, the organiser. The evening also witnessed the launch of his book Mahatirther Pathey Pathey, an account of his experiences at the Maha Kumbha Mela last year.