29/11/2011

King Pari's kindness to the jasmine creeper



This is the story of King Pari Vallal (Vallal – Patron King), the legendary 9CE Tamil Chola king (and later turned sage and philanthropist).

Once upon a time the king went for an outing to the nearby woods. He asked the charioteer to park the chariot at an open space and went to the lake that was further inside the woods. The king felt relaxed by the cool breeze of the lake and sat by its side for a long time with his charioteer.  Finally evening fell and he decided to return. When he went to his chariot, he noticed that a small creeper had twined itself around a spoke of the chariot wheel. There was a small bud at the tip of the creeper. The king kneeled down and observed the creeper. He realized that it needed support in order to survive and blossom. So the king decided to leave the chariot behind in the woods and walk back home.



After a month, the chariot was covered with the creeper that bore so many flowers. Birds and bees were attracted by the flowers and the king’s chariot buzzed with life.



This story shows how the kindness of the king enabled the tiny jasmine creeper to come to life and a very good example of sustainable living.

15/09/2011

Last Word
Reviews
Reader's Write
Trends in Education
Real Life Heroes
ParentSpeak
Media Education
What you see here is the new Bichitra Pathshala eJournal
Latest events from Bichitra Pathshala

Monsoon Dhamaal : July 25th to 28th, 2011

Highlights of Monsoon Dhamaal  Monsoon Dhamaal is a travelling festival of children's films produced by Children's Film Society of India
Children’s Film Society of India in collaboration with Bichitra  Pathshala came together to bring Monsoon Dhamaal to Kolkata from July 25th to 28th, 2011
• Screening Venue—Auditoriums of Birla Industrial & Technological Museum,Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute
and Modern Academy of Continuing Education
• No. of Films—8 ; No. of Shows—13
• No. of Schools  - 24, Viewers—400
• Age Group : Primarily between 8 and 11 years, with a significant no. of viewers in the age group of 16 to 18
•  Magic Show by Anirban (officer of BITM) started the event. Audience was so thrilled that Ms. Nandita Das and Mr.Sushovan Banerjee from CFSI were in the mood for more magic
• Movies Screened
 -  Krish Trish Baltibuoy Parts 1 , 2
 - Kabhi Paas Kabhi Fail
 - The Prince and the Crown of Stone
 - Chhutkun ka Mahabharat
 -  Hayat
 - Mahek Mirza
Special Feature - Interactive Sessions by facilatotors from Bichitra Pathshala team
Every screening followed by interactions with the children by Facilitators of Bichitra Pathshala.All children to submit  write ups or and drawings on the films screened within 15 days. Certificates to be issued by CFSI to all schools  Schools with best performances to be rewarded with DVDs by CFSI

Response from Schools
Despite delayed intimation from CFSI regarding the screening, overwhelming response came from schools & auditoriums.40 schools contacted through email & phone calls along with personal visits. 11 English medium ICSE/CBSE  & 8 Bengali schools attended the shows.

• Audience Reaction
The films were delightful and opened up a lot of space for discussion. Narration was not preachy for the children. Interestingly, in most of the films, adults had a thing or two to learn from the children, as children, cleaned up the corrupt and messed up world of the adults. Teachers were in significant positive roles in the films. Total seating capacity at BITM was 230 and at SRFTI was 370,nearly 600 per show, all of which were packed  to capacity, with some shows seeing children seated on durries in the aisles!
• Challenges faced : Transportation to the venues with a limited budget
• Facilitators : Sumita Majumdar,Subha Das Mollick,Devika Kar, S V Raman, Debashish Mandal

Editorial

14/09/2011

Here, we showcase stories of Susainability