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Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Kolkata
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Community Rainbow
Have you ever thought what comes to your mind when you spot a rainbow?
A glimpse of the rainbow and you realise all the worries, miseries, complexities, and other trivial problems of life seem to have dessipated at least for a while. The rainbow symbolises peace and serenity and about the amalgamation of different particles in our universe. Communities in our society is just like a rainbow where you find small ingredients to a big societal meal. This year, Lakshmipat Singhania Academy tried to pick few such communities which adds colour to our society and makes Kolkata look a better place.
Bow Barracks
Tucked in and hidden in the busiest part of Central Kolkata, Bow Barracks lies in complete Harmony. But what is Bow Barracks? It's an area the Anglo Indians of Kolkata call their home and carry forward as their legacy. Filled with six blocks of signature brick red three storeyed buildings and their dusty hue, the place is the sheer image of culture and tradition. But Bow Barracks truly comes into its own during Christmas, When Anglo Indians all over Kolkata join them, for their winter Carnival.
A local community of Kolkata: The Chinese
Mainly inhabiting Tangra, Kolkata, this ethnic Chinese population constitutes the only Chinese community of India. The area, often known as the Chinatown of Kolkata, is now inhabited by just a few Chinese people. Now, mainly the flourishing Chinese people have stayed back in the country. Especially since the Indo-China war, most Hakka Chinese people moved to Canada, and other parts of Northern America. Now, the once bustling and busy Chinatown is almost in ruins. However, as someone from this community said, “The population of the Chinese might be decreasing, but the community has remained the same, from the very beginning till the very end. It is evergreen.”
Bakeries Of Kolkata
A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour- ased food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises. Confectionery items are also made in most bakeries throughout the world.
Baked goods have been around for thousands of years. The art of baking was developed early during the Roman Empire. It was a highly famous art , the Romans demanded them frequently for important occasions such as feasts and weddings. Because of the fame of the art of baking, around 300 BC, baking was introduced as an occupation and respectable profession for Romans. Bakers began to prepare bread at home in an oven, using mills to grind grain into flour for their breads. The demand for baked goods persisted, and the first bakers' guild was established in 168 BC in Rome. The desire for baked goods promoted baking throughout Europe and expanded into eastern parts of Asia. Bakers started baking bread and other goods at home and selling them on the streets. This trend became common, and soon, baked products were sold in parts of India.
Paite Community
The Paite people are a tribe dwelling in India. The Paites are one of the constituting tribes of the Zomi who inhabit Burma, India and Bangladesh. The word Paite means “a group of people marching” , “pai – walk”, “te – people”. The Paites are a recognised scheduled tribe in Manipur as well as in Mizoram. They are concentrated in Manipur, a north-eastern state of India and is the fifth largest tribe in Manipur, out of the 33 tribes recognised as Scheduled Tribes by the Government of India. In 1956, under the list of tribes recognised by the Government of India in Manipur, the tribes who were recorded by the Government as ‘Paite’, petitioned to be recorded according to their own distinct tribe name, which was granted to them.
The Paites are communities belonging to the Northern Chin subgroup of the Kuki-Chin. It is believe that their ancestors have migrated there through stages from South West China. The Paite speaking people come from the Guite and Sukte clans and they claim their origin from Chmnuai. The Paite mostly does not recognise the name Chin but recognise themselves as Yo or Zo (Zou).
A member of a group is a Paite so long as he or she is within the indian Territory and he or she is again Tedim Chin one within Burma so we can say that Paite implies Indian citizenship and Tedim Chin implies Burmese citizenship.
The book vendors community
in College Street
Often it feels like the literary heart of India resides in tihe chaotic, rich and joyful lanes of Kolkata. One such coven of literary joy is the 900 metre street of central Kolkata, where knowledge comes to power and ideas come to lifeCollege Street. One can find resources for every niche or classic interest in ev,ery nook and corner with new and second hand book stalls lining both sides of the street and the Indian Coffee House serving as the haven for the visionary thinkers, the eager debaters and the novice learners.
Supporting Local Artisans
Indian artisans were highly regarded and rewarded until the outbreak of 19th century industrialization. Technological advancement is a major reason behind the reduction of handcrafted products into machine made products that cost a little less as compared, this as a result taking Indian handicrafts industry is on the verge of extinction.
Indian handicrafts and traditional crafts showcase the rich heritage and true culture of our nation. It takes a lot of time, effort, and patience to make a single product. It’s very disheartening to see that they are not getting the attention they deserve. Machine made products have completely taken over the industry as a whole.
This topic was chosen as an initiative to promote Indian Handicrafts. They are a pride for our nation. It’s an attempt to make them feel valued, it’s an attempt to make their art feel valued. The smiles on their faces after hearing the word ‘interview’ was worth seeing!
The sweet magicians of Kolkata
The Halwai and Mithai community is very less talked about and is the reason behind the sweet culture of Bengal. It includes not only the confectioners and shop owners but also the workers that help in carrying this smooth functioning. It is a very joyful and sweet community of members and found a lot of joy on being interviewed.
Know about Anencephaly
Anencephaly is a defect in the formation of a baby's neural tube during development. A baby born with anencephaly might be stillborn or survive only a few hours to a few days after birth. It is a severe congenital condition in which a large part of the skull is absent along with the cerebral hemispheres of the brain.
Autism & Integrated Education
Autism is a neurodevelopment condition. It comes under an umbrella term AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD). Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication.
Different types of autism:
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Asperger’s syndrome,
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Rett syndrome
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childhood disintegrative disorder,
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Kanner’s syndrome, and
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Pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified.
Breaking the Silence
People and students like us have so much privilege in our lives yet a lot of times we are not satisfied with it but i got an opportunity to interact with deaf children who have taught me that we should be happy and satisfied with what we have . I also got the opportunity to spent some quality time with them which touched my heart from within and impacted my life to some extent. I also got to understand how they spend their day and what are their choices and tastes along with the activities that they love to do. I also interacted with the old aged people which was also an amazing experience.
Hawker Community
The hawker community of Kolkata has been here since the time markets were established. Currently, with the emergence of various malls and brands, they have faced a huge financial loss, and struggle to meet day to day needs, and work hard day and night. Hence, as a part of the cyber fare project, 5 of such supposed ‘hawkers’, who serve as hawks for shoppers have been interviewed.
Newsie
A newspaper hawker, newsboy or newsie is a street vendor of newspapers without a fixed newsstand. Related jobs included paperboy, delivering newspapers to subscribers, and news butcher, selling papers on trains. Adults who sold newspapers from fixed newsstands were called newsdealers, and are not covered here. The hawkers sold only one newspaper, which usually appeared in several editions a day. A busy corner would have several hawkers, each representing one of the major newspapers. They might carry a poster board with giant headlines, provided by the newspaper. The downtown newsboy started fading out after 1920 when publishers began to emphasize home delivery. Teenage newsboys delivered papers on a daily basis for subscribers who paid them monthly. Hawkers typically purchased a bundle of 100 copies from a wholesaler, who in turn purchased them from the publisher. Legally every state considered the newsboys to be independent contractors, and not employees, so they generally were not subject to child labor laws.
A Perfect Home, Away From Home
A perfect home, away from home. For my Cyber Fair project, I visited an old age home. It was a very heart-touching day. At first when I entered, everyone greeted me with lots of smiles and they were very excited to meet me. I was overwhelmed with emotions. They enthusiastically took part in all the interviews and taught me many values. I even performed a kathak dance routine for them, which they enjoyed a lot and appreciated. I took all their blessings and spent time with them. I distributed namkeen and biscuits as tokens of love and affection. I had an amazing experience being around them, and getting to know about their lives. I felt very happy from within and my heart was full by the time I had to leave. Those bright faces of the Senior Citizen community will always be precious to me.
Rickshaw Wala
Rickshaw originally denotes a two or three passenger cart pulled by one person carrying one or two persons. Rickshaw is basically a significant transport in India but for foreign tourists it is a treat to their trip. Particularly in Kolkata, rickshaw is an extremely popular transport to cover short distances. Kolkata people also add an emotional quotient to the fact that most rickshaw pullers in the city are either referred as Dada (brother) or Kaka (uncle). This community is gradually losing out its numbers as the younger generation is either taking up different jobs or using fuel driven carts.
Hard work that often goes unnoticed
Sanitation workers provide an essential public service that all too often comes at the cost of the health, safety and dignity of those same workers. They are essential to keeping our cities clean but are they appreciated for their work often? The answer is no, we do not give their work the importance and gratitude it deserves to be given. Through this project I got a chance to interview some of them and get to know about the struggles they faced in life especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and interact with them on a personal level. They have seen so much hardship in their life and nothing has come easy to them neither education nor support from society. It’s a grave and sensitive topic that is now coming to light. There is a sense of satisfaction I found in their eyes when little things like asking them how they are and telling them are working nicely brings a smile on their face. This project has made me realise that we should never take anything for granted. If they got an opportunity they can succeed in what they aspire to become and fulfil their goals in life. It has given me great sense of understanding of how society runs and the harsh realities of life.
Security Guards of Kolkata
The very word security gives us a sense of safety and comfort. Security guards are employed at various offices or apartments to take care or protect people and belongings from several hazardous incidents. Many of these workers especially in Kolkata are migrants and are staying in the city to earn a livelihood. They have a community of their own and it is on the rise.
Retailers
Retailers, despite of working 24 hours a day from the constant burden of selling products to a customer to contacting the suppliers regularly to taking care of the family ultimately earning a minimum profit are the kindest people I've ever come across. Every retailer I visited was co-operative, even with a whole line of customers, they gave me 10 minutes of their precious time and gave the best possible answers each of them treated me very well, and when I asked one of the shopkeepers that why is he giving me time even when there are so many customers in the shop he said,"you yourself are an incarnation goddess Lakshmi." This project taught me that humanity still exists in this selfish world.
I could not but my child will
This project of mine I could not but my child will is based on the thoughts of house hold helpers regarding their children’s education as well as their children’s thoughts on the same. The project taught me that they have similar aspirations for their children as our parents and their children too are keen to learn and do well in life not only for themselves but for their children as well. This project also includes a day well spent with the kids of Gyandeepak where we played games and distributed goodies to them.
Yellow cabbies of Kolkata
The Ambassador Classic cabs have been a mainstay of Kolkata life since they first rolled onto the streets in 1958. Initially yellow and black in colour, but over the last two decades the taxis of Kolkata are in yellow. Though the app cabs have taken the city by a storm yet the traditional feel of an old Kolkata is felt with a yellow cab ride. The drivers, a medium sized community on their own is actually the soul behind these yellow taxis.