As sea levels rise in the Sunderbans, most animals continue to feel threatened, except fish. The Royal Bengal Tiger, famous for its fierce nature, is the most scared. This was the theme of the skit staged at a seminar on the Sunderbans and the environment, organised by the non-profit organisation Purbasha Eco-Helpline Society, based at Chargheri in South 24-Parganas. Aliah University, Calcutta, collaborated with them. The play was directed by actor-director Sajal Mandal and enacted by students of the university. “Over the past 30 years, sea level rise in the Bay of Bengal has been 30 per cent higher than the global average,” said Kalyan Rudra, who is chairman of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. “If the sea level rises at this rate, Calcutta will go under water in the next 50 years,” he added. Umashankar Mandal, secretary of Purbasha, stressed the need for field researchers and academics to work together to save the Sunderbans.
Debaroti Das,
Research scholar,
Jadavpur University
Pots and plans
A two-day seminar was organised by the West Bengal State University and Mrinalini Datta Mahavidyapith in Birati, Calcutta. The event emphasised the importance of integrating historical insights with modern anthropological research. A major highlight was India’s maritime history, its shipbuilding techniques, coastal trade routes and cultural exchanges with Mesopotamia, Rome and Southeast Asia. One of the sessions explored the role of pottery in shaping India’s cultural identity. It engaged with questions such as how pottery evolved through socio-economic shifts, technological advancements and regional artistic influences. A thought-provoking discussion examined resource management strategies in Neolithic societies. It went
on to draw insights from
their olden, time-tested, sustainable practices.
Satarupa Sarkar
MSc anthropology, West Bengal State University
Protean text
As a student of English literature, my knowledge of it has been confined to interpreting books. But a recent event changed that. On the birth anniversary of Satyajit Ray, there was a screening and discussion of his masterful screen adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s Pather Panchali. The organisers were the Bengali and English departments of the Durgapur Government College. The event opened with a song from another Ray film, Hirak Rajar Deshe. First-year student Ankita Mondal sang “kotoi rongo dekhi duniyay”. The discussion itself touched upon several themes — the film as a text, plot construction, narrative technique, socio-economic backdrop of the film and the filmmaker, and the realism woven into it. The film was screened in the college auditorium, followed by an interactive session.
Priyadisha Chakraborty
Fourth semester, department of English, Durgapur Government College
