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During my trip to India this summer, I visited several schools in and around Kolkata, my birthplace in the state of West Bengal. Most of these schools serve underprivileged and/ or disabled children of different age groups. They strive to provide them with education, food, and skills to help these children find a respectable place in society as adults.
This website is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the participant's own and do not represent the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, the U.S. Department of State, or IREX.
Behala Anwesha, the quest : Tollygunge, Kolkata
July 20, 2024
The hallway of "Behala Anwesha" had a long line of parents sitting and chatting with each other. As soon as I entered the building, I had a flashback of a scene from a popular Bengali movie of the early nineties called "Dadar Kirti," where there was a scene with rehearsals going on for a "Durga Puja" show. I could hear students singing together in the distance, and although I was speaking to Mrs. Ruma Roy and Mrs. Sharmila Bose, I really wanted to go listen to them.
The students at "Behala Anwesha" were practicing for a show on July 28 at the National Museum organized by NIP (National Institute of Professionals ) to foster Indo-Bangladesh relationship.
I was greeted at the door by the smiling faces of Mrs. Sharmila Bose and Mrs. Ruma Roy. They are both parents, whose kids are the reason they are here together, and they are the office bearers too. In fact, the entire governing body of the organization is run by parents. Mrs. Sharmila Bose is the secretary of the organization and is responsible for every detail of the day-to-day operations. Her son, Surjo Shekhar Basu, is 45 years old with Down syndrome and is the reason she started this organization in 2009. It was very easy to find Surjo during the music lesson, passionately singing and keeping rhythm with maracas along with the tabla player. Mrs. Ruma Roy, the president of the organization and responsible for communication, has a beautiful, talented daughter with mental heath . She also happens to be the cousin of my friends Debahuti and Debarati. Vice President Mr. Anjan Roychowdhury's daughter Arundhati is also part of Anwesha, as well as Anurag, the son of the treasurer Mrs. Dulu Bhowmick. Parents and grandparents (I had a long chat with a grandma) are at the heart of this organization, and maybe that's why there is so much positive energy and palpable passion. After all, who can be a better advocate for the developmentally challenged students of this organization than their parents themselves ?
Music class with Sayantan Kundu and Kallol Bose
Dance practice with Dibyasree De
Dance practice Banhishikha Bhattacharjee
Parents of Anwesha Behala are dedicated, positive, and organized, for sure. But I was highly impressed by the teachers. Their passion, love, and the respect and dignity they have for their students were humbling. If one enters the class from behind, one would think that this is just another music or dance rehearsal and the whole disability aspect seems not even in the room. For that, I give all the credit and respect to these amazing, very young teachers.
A big shout out to Mr. Sayantan Kundu (music teacher), Kallol Bose ( Tabla), Banhishikha Bhattacharjee and Dibyasree De (dance) and Bibhuti Chakraborty (Arts and crafts)
Enjoy videos of the students of "Behala Anwesha" getting ready for the July 28 show.
Video 1: Song " e mone amar hariye je jaye konkhane"
Video 2: Dance "ogo shono ke bajaye"
Video 3: Dance : "muktir o mandir o shopano toley"
Ms. Aparna Roy, received the National Award in 2022. She also received the "State Role model" award in 2017.
Mr. Oishik Bhattacharjee winner of the "State Role model" award in 2013.
Students at "Behala Anwesha" enjoy arts and crafts, music, dance, and stretching. Their parents find joy in meeting with each other and seeing their children enjoy their passions. As Mrs. Ruma Roy and other parents reiterated to me over and over, acceptance of reality is hard! But once acceptance happens and reality sets in, one starts seeing the strengths of their child. At that point, the job of the parent gets a direction: to make sure their children get to enjoy their passions with others in a safe and respectful environment.
After eating a plateful of sweets that the parents lovingly brought to me, I stepped out of the building feeling light and walked quite a few miles on my way home, carrying in my heart the sincere and pure cheer and happiness that every member of Behala Anwesha spreads.
Kolotan: Barasat, West Bengal
July 16, 2024
The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the car was the signboard with the name of the school and a simple sentence under it. In a second I knew this school has a class of its own, and a lot of careful thought must be at the backbone of this institution! "Kolotan: shaping chaos into cosmos."
That "careful thought" was evident everywhere in "Kolotan" for the next few hours while we were there.
The visit to "Kolotan" was special to me for many reasons. I was meeting my school teachers Krittika Sengupta and Debjani Lahiri after at least three decades, and I was accompanied by my dear friend Emily Heisterkemp, who is a fellow Fulbright scholar. The evening before, I asked Emily if she would be interested in seeing yet another school, and I was not surprised when she said "yes" (it's a teacher thing; we are attracted to schools)!
"Kolotan" reminded me of Patha Bhavan, the school I attended (as did Krittika Miss and Debjani Miss) in the 90s in Kolkata. Growing up, I subconsciously knew my school was different, but I realized how truly different it was with age. Patha Bhavan taught us about life, life skills, and how to find our inner peace. There was no special curriculum on sustainable goals in 90s Patha Bhavan, but today, when I look at the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as I try to foster in my students an understanding of basic human rights both locally and globally, I realize our teachers back in 90s Kolkata taught us just that and lived that life by example. Even yesterday, Krittika Miss gave me the most beautiful "potli bag" that she herself stitched by recycling old clothes.
Students are the same anywhere you go: country borders seem blurry, social strata becomes insignificant. Children are inquisitive, loving, hopeful and hope invoking and pushes middle aged teachers like myself to feel motivated to keep learning ! It was 2 hours of impromptu singing and dancing of Tagore's songs, along with a new song that Emily taught them. I talked to them about the 7 seven continents and these extremely sharp learners picked up the names of the continents and the continent song in about 10 mins !
we all sang songs
we talked about the 7 continents
sang songs about the continents
At Kolotan, all visitors get to plant a tree. Emily and I were blessed to get a chance to do the same. While we planted the tree, everyone sang a beautiful hymn by Tagore. It was such a magical and peaceful moment.
At dismissal, we surely enjoyed celebrity treatment from the students as they had us sign our names in their notebooks! This was certainly a first for me. I was also asked if I could come back the next day, and honestly, I wished that I could.
After dismissal, we stayed back to speak to this extremely driven group of educators. I had to ask them what prompted them to start this school, which is based on a philosophy that is very different from the mainstream education system of West Bengal. We, in turn, answered questions about the US education system and discussed best practices. We spoke about our individual Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms experiences as well as about Fulbright opportunities for non-US citizens.
Our wonderful hosts treated us in true Bengali style with mango, ripe jackfruit, and typical Bengali sweets like "Roshogolla," and we drove back from "Kolotan" with that lingering sweetness in our mouths and souls!
Vivekananda Aadarsha Milan Mandir, Tollygunge, Kolkata
July 12, 2024
It was not hard to notice a middle-aged man waving at our car in the distance right in front of the metro station in Tollygunge, which was bustling at 7 pm! The smile on his face was genuine, as well as calming and tranquil. That was my first impression of Mr. Supratim Chakraborty, until I spoke to him and realized that this man is also full of hope and conviction, and he is not ready to shy away from his goal no matter how hard it is to achieve. Thank God for that, because from the little time I spent with the members of "Vivekananda Aadarsha Milan Mandir," I realized that that's exactly what they need: a calm, tranquil man with strong resolve to do whatever it takes to make sure this community gets the basic services it needs so that the children can stay in the mainstream and the adults don't go to sleep with an empty belly.
"Vivekananda Aadarsha Milan Mandir" is one of 18 centers that cater to the slum dwellers of the Tollygunge area of Kolkata. As I went through the entrance, I saw a lady cooking "Alu r torkari" (potato curry) in a huge container along with steaming white rice, and a group of elderly women waiting by her. I was a bit surprised as I was under the impression that this was a "free night school" for children. Later, I found out from Supratim Babu that these women have no resources to get dinner, as the government only serves lunch of egg curry and rice for Rs. 5, which is barely what they can afford.
waiting for dinner
volunteer who cooks
There were two adjacent rooms inside with about 10 volunteers. The first room had about 20 little children. All of them seemed to be used to having strangers walk in, as they all greeted me with a "good evening" and a big smile with much ease! They were being served snacks in their own tiffin boxes (they bring empty tiffin boxes from home). They were drinking some chocolate drink, and I saw how some of them were using the lid of the container as a makeshift large spoon. I noticed two kids without boxes who were not eating. When I asked, the volunteers said they did not bring a box and the volunteers were trying to find a solution so that these kids could eat. When I asked the little girl with beautiful dark eyes why she forgot her tiffin box, she said, "I am not hungry."
Tiffin time / snack time
In the next room, students ranging from grade 5 to 11 were waiting for their "Art class" with their art teacher. It was so wonderful to talk to these young women. As I asked them about what they are studying and what they like to do, they asked me those same questions too. They listened to me with keen interest as I told them about my academic journey right here in Kolkata as well as what I do now. They asked me why I studied Biology for so many years and yet don't use it anymore. They spoke easily and confidently, smiling the whole time. They were not shy to talk to a complete stranger.
I hate that I showed up for just one evening. I hate that they are so used to strangers like me who show up for one evening. I am grateful that "Medha USA" is committed to supporting them and has been supporting them for years. I am grateful that people like Supratim Babu stays the course for them and gets people like me thinking, "Do I really want to be a one-evening visitor?"
Udbhash, Kolkata
Udbhash, Kolkata
July 11, 2024
I came to know about Udbhash through the members of Medha USA. Thanks to their introduction, I was able to visit this amazing institution.
Udbhash is an NGO founded in 1988 by a group of people who wanted to help poor and destitute children in and around the Dhakuria Lake area. These children had no access to education or nutritious food. After years of struggle, Udbhash now has a permanent address and serves close to 100 students of different age groups. Most of the teaching and non-teaching staff work as volunteers, with about 10 hired teachers who take a nominal salary to serve these students.
I reached Udbhash at 10:30 am on a Thursday. Udbhash opens its doors every morning at 7:30 am when the "older" children come to school. These are children who go to regular government schools during the day and get additional academic support in the morning at Udbhash. Although I missed them, I was able to catch a glimpse of the cutest members of Udbhash, students from ages 2.5 years to 8 years. It was amazing to watch the youngest kids practicing yoga, counting numbers, practicing alphabets, and learning the names of flowers, fruits, colors, shapes, and so much more.
Udbhash does not only help their students during their K-12 journey; Udbhash supports its students with college tuition and takes care of their day-to-day needs when they are adults (e.g., need for a mobile phone or a bike for transportation).
I was also fortunate to be able to have a chat with the dedicated and highly committed leadership team of Udbhash.
Tushar Sengupta and Jayasree Kundu are veteran leaders of this community and take into account each and every possible need of the children. Because of them, children receive computer training, knitting, and dance/music lessons.
I was also extremely fortunate to meet Mr. [Name], who happens to be an alumnus of Udbhash and is currently part of the leadership team.
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