Feb. 20: Two Class XII students — one a green crusader and the other a bodybuilder — were among six speakers at a motivational session for city kids.

Yash Kumbhat, 17, founded NGO StopWatch in May last year with the help of 10 students from city schools. Together, they spread awareness about the environment, installed solar panels for electrification in villages and removed billboards and hoardings cluttering the city’s skyline.  

“We want people to save the environment. We have set goals to translate the Clean India mission into reality soon,” the Class XII student of Calcutta International School said at the first chapter of INK Youth presented by INK and RASA Charitable Trust, in association with the school. 

Joining Yash on the stage was batchmate Europa Bhowmik, who earned the title of the youngest Indian female bodybuilder. She also bagged a bronze medal from the Indian Body Builders Federation last year. 

“As a child I was fascinated by the word strength. I want to promote bodybuilding as a part of mainstream athletics for girls in India,” Europa said.  

The motivational session kicked off with dancer and choreographer Sohini Roychowdhury, followed by ragpicker-turned-photographer Vicky Roy, Babar Ali — tagged the world’s youngest headmaster by BBC — and standup comedian Chandroday Pal.

“The message from this session is education for all. All the speakers have had enriching experiences and I am proud of my students who shared the same platform with other speakers,” said Munmun Nath, the senior school principal at CIS. 

Srishti Chowdhury, a Class XII student of CIS, was most inspired by Vicky. “I salute him for his journey from a railway platform to becoming an international photographer.”