Students of DPS Megacity got to visit a pandal even before their puja vacation began, and they didn’t even have to step out of school for it. On Chaturthi, the school inaugurated its in-house Durga puja where students and staff worked together for months to present the theme – “Ma - the mother who embraces all.”
The backdrop was a rajbari and the entire decor had been created out of recycled materials. “When green boards in our classrooms got replaced with interactive boards, we repurposed the former to create chalchitra for the idol. We recycled packing boxes, paper, flexes...nothing has been bought, to ensure a sustainable celebration,” said junior school headmaster Jude Baptist, whose concept the theme is.
The idol was sculpted out of discarded thermocol by art teacher Sourav Ganguly, and the chandelier had a mirror effect. “We wanted children to look up at it and see not just themselves but a reflection of their mothers,” said Baptist, who had lost his own mother while in Class IV. “There are others like me, and we want them to realise that their mothers live on through their conduct. If they are praised, it is the mothers’ teachings that are reflected.” Music teacher Arnab Biswas had composed a song on the theme too, that is now available online.
The school’s co-curricular co-ordinator Poushali Nag sang Bajlo tomar alor benu as chief guest, Rajarhat-New Town MLA Piyush Kanodia, entered the mandap. He lit the ceremonial lamp that was placed over an alpona painted on a recycled flex. “I congratulate the school for teaching the next generation our culture and traditions,” Kanodia said.
The youngest students then sang in chorus. “This group (nursery to Class II) is no less than the others. They sang in tune, scale, with actions, and had even memorised some stotras,” said Prity Bhattacharya, who had taught them.
Pritisha Sau of Class V said she would perform solo at her neighbourhood puja, singing a song she had learnt for her school choir. “But it’s more fun performing in school as we practise and perform with friends,” she said.
Arnish Sarkar of Class IV would be dhunuchi-dancing, but had broken his prop during a practice run earlier in the day. “Don’t worry, I’ve cellotaped it,” he assured, showing the repaired piece. Those like Aruhi Sarkar learn semi-classical, as well as Western dance forms in school but were thrilled to be performing the dhunuchi dance. “I’ve seen on TV how difficult it is to perform with burning coir. We aren’t using actual embers, but the dance looks beautiful all the same,” she said.
Dance teacher Chandrima Mitra had choreographed routines for both students and teachers. Meanwhile, head of the music department Arnab Chakraborty directed their chorus performances.
The school’s academic advisor Indrani Sanyal said the celebration was an exercise in unity. “Students, teachers and non-teaching staff all came together to work on the pandal. This is a festival for everyone from all religions, and these are the values we want to imbibe in our students,” she said.