Indranil Halder
No durga idol, no food stall, no face to face adda or chin wagging. Sydney is still in lockdown. Online live 2021 Durga pujo cultural show was staged by Bandana Cultural School with participants enjoying the festival with full vigour. Dr Tanima Banerjee, Founder of Bandana Cultural School, was the source behind the gala event.
In Sydney, due to pandemic lockdown, BCS online live cultural event was a great celebration of Durga pujo festive season. It was on Panchami or the 5th day of the Durga pujo. It was a chance for BCS students who were missing their live performances due to pandemic lockdown. The celebration involved children rehearsals with their parents, performances and enjoying virtual Durga pujo moments from various parts of the globe.
The event was an opportunity to share the Indian traditions and culture with the younger generation of Indian Diaspora (who are either born in Australia or any place across the globe other than India). The presentation of such event is also to help raise awareness about celebrations in India and engage the next generation to India’s rich cultural heritage.
BCS students showcased their talents in live art, recitation, music, dance & calligraphy. Even though, many of them are from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) backgrounds but their love for learning Bengali culture was successfully highlighted in this virtual event.
In Sydney, resident Dr Yash Paul Chawla’s ( ex employee of Bhart Electric, India) speech was very inspiring. We were delighted to hear his journey down the memory lane with Bengali colleagues and Durga pujo celebration. Participants also enjoyed Monimala’s luchi making (Melbourne, Australia ) and cooking other Bengali dishes during the online event.
It is no doubt that BCS is empowering next generation of children to develop for tomorrow and keeping them in touch with our heritage. This will reduce the chance of them being ethnically misfit. Guests from Australia and across the globe also received Certificate of Appreciation for attending the event.
About Dr Tanima Banerjee
Dr Tanima was brought up in the Indian city of Dhanbad. As scientist, Dr Banerjee had done research in cardiovascular disease from CSIR Indian Institute Of Chemical Biology, Kolkata. She has also learnt calligraphy , dancing and drama. In 2018, she created Bandana Cultural School in Australia. With the arrival of Covid-19 , she quickly switched on to on-line cultural mentoring, successfully and diligently sharing her knowledge and talent with Indian diaspora across the globe. Today, her online cultural mentoring has expanded to Canada, USA and to several cities in Australia and India.
Dr Tanima Banerjee named her school after her mother, who is her inspiration. BCS has already taken many initiatives to connect Indian diaspora children in Australia with children in India. Many such collaboration Initiatives by BSC includes International Students exchange program with Mentorx, India , Teachers’ day with Mahaveer Senior Model School, New Delhi, and Hindi Diwas with Jain Samnopasak School, New Delhi. BCS also has several projects in the pipeline which include Diwali to be celebrated with Happy Jain School, New Delhi and Children Day with Beti Foundation ( NGO for under privileged kids), New Delhi. BCS also celebrated virtual Durga Puja online live cultural event on 10 October 2021 too.