 |
| Tanusree Shankar performs at Santragachhi Kedarnath Institution. (Gopal Senapati) |
When Kedarnath Bhattacharya established Santragachhi Minor School in 1925, he created an opportunity for the local boys of Santragachhi to get themselves educated. With no school here prior to 1925, there was practically no chance for the children in the area to get a formal education. However, it was not until 1953, that the girls of Santragachhi got a school to go to. Santragachhi Minor School became Santragachhi Kedarnath Institution after the founder’s death and the girls’ school started on the same premises in 1953.
However it was only in 1963, that Santragachhi Kedarnath Institution for Girls’ got board affiliation and a separate identity. “Although unofficial, the date of establishment of the school is 1953, but we take 1963 as the official date of establishment because the school got its affiliation that year. Thus, 2013 marks 50 years of the school,” said Pushpa Chowdhury, the headmistress.
The golden jubilee celebration started from last year and came to a close on April 4 and 5 this year. “Last year we started the celebrations with a rally on January 1. Through the year we organised drawing, poetry, dance and singing competitions,” said Chowdhury. Students and teachers geared up for the concluding celebrations with cultural programmes and educational exhibitions. Swami Divyananda of Belur Math and Swami Prajnanananda Saraswati of Sankar Math inaugurated the celebrations.
Paying tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his 150th birth anniversary, a short exhibition on his life was on display in the corridor. One of the classrooms was turned into a science lab and students demonstrated experiments. Another section showed how the Indian flag came into existence. Some interesting pictures on the heritage of Howrah district were on display too.
The evenings were reserved for cultural programmes. Recitation, group dance and singing were the events on the afternoon of April 4. Students put together a colourful presentation, Teen Kanya, a compilation of three of Tagore’s dance dramas – Chitrangada, Chandalika and Shyama. The juniors acted out Sukumar Ray’s Tuntuni O Boka Jolar Kahini. But the best was Tanusree Shankar’s dance troupe, who put up Holi, a composition by Ananda Shankar and another one by Tanusree on peace and harmony.
On April 5, there was yogasana. Teachers staged Golojog, a satire play. The programme concluded with Swadesh, a medley of colourful folk dances from across the country.
Dalia Mukherjee