Playful pupils  Last week’s two interesting events involving children in Guwahati took us down memory lane when we, as school children and members of a growing generation, used to play around merrily amidst nature. One was a baby show organized by Sparsh-Kids, a ‘Montessori school with a tender touch’ located at Lachit Nagar, where toddlers along with their parents participated in large numbers. Organized at Rajgarh Bihutoli with active support from Johnson & Johnson, a household name in baby care products, physicians also took part to judge overall intelligence and healthy growth of the kids. The other was the annual sports day of Disneyland School at Jayanagar which was filled with fun and frolic as young students took part in a variety of sporting events. The credit goes to the students who, in the limited space available in the school premises, showed their agility and excellence in various games and sports that form an integral part in mental, physical and overall development of a growing child. The events also reminded us about the lack of adequate space for sporting activities in most of the Guwahati schools as also those in other parts of Assam as we saw the Disneyland students vying for honours in the playing arena with much enthusiasm. One of these columnists being fortunate to have passed his childhood at Digboi knows it well how the British — who had established the upper Assam oil town after liquid gold was struck around it more than a century ago — rightly realized the importance of sporting activities in the overall growth of children and saw to it that every school — the oil town had plenty of schools in the housing areas for the students to reach in a few minute’s walk — had its own playground. The British left long back and their legacy was very much there in Digboi till the 1970s but after the nationalization of its oil refinery in the early 1980s, these very schools were closed one by one in one pretext or the other, while the open spaces and playgrounds in the town made way for dumping grounds and other constructions, the typical Indian attitude showing its head everywhere. Perhaps we, as Indians, are programmed to oppose the way the British thought, even though they were right!

Hearty honour  Nostalgia reigned supreme among all at a cultural evening last Saturday. Organized by Navarang Club, which completed 36 years of its glorious existence on February 6, the function at Barowari field was more like a big private gathering where artistes Tarun Das, Charu Gohain, JP Das, Samar Hazarika, Sangeeta Kakoty, Ranjit Kotoky, Dhiraj Thakuria, Dawar Hazarika and Jayanta Das performed voluntarity and regaled the audience. Youngsters Gayatri Das and Rajasmita Bora also entertained the gathering with their Assamese folk and Bharatnatyam dances respectively, while comedians Prabin Das and Paresh Das chipped in with their trademark satirical humour. The function, supported by SBI, Noonmati branch, was basically organized to honour cricketer Badal Thakur and former railway employees’ union leader Indibar Konwar. Those present in the candid evening included club president Rajib Prakash Baruah, secretary Swapan Bora, cultural secretary Prithviraj Rabha, Bidya Sen Borkotoky, while Ruby Thakur acted as the lively anchor. Earlier, octogenarian Konwar spoke briefly about the past achievements of the Navarang Club in the 1970s and 1980s while Thakur, on whose wedding day the club was established, hoped for a resurgence of the club through the cooperation of all concerned.

Simanta / Mridumoloy