The Butterfly Effect

A Blue Tiger Butterfly

Butterfly is the last word comes in mind while walking through the congested roads of Sodhpur, an industrial suburb near Kolkata at North 24 Pargana. The loud honking of trucks, narrow, stinking lanes and the polluted air, rather denies every existence of greenery or nature. But once enter the house of Somnath Pal Das the feeling evaporates instantly. The 35 year old power plant engineer has transformed the 600 Sq Ft free space in front of his house into a garden, where 58 species of butterflies live as permanent residents.

Along with the ‘Butterfly Garden’, Somnath runs a Caterpillar Rescue and Rehab Centre and a consultancy that provides guidance to the nature lovers to establish butterfly garden on the heart of the polluted city, which is a wonder in itself.  Somnath is not the only one though, 35 year old Arjan Basu Roy, a printing engineer and the founder of Nature Mates-Nature Club NGO has been doing the same for last 4 years in different parts of West Bengal.

Being extremely pollution sensitive, butterflies have died out from most part of the city, mostly due to collision with high speed cars and radio waves generated by mobile towers. Even in rural areas their numbers are fast decreasing for extensive use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. And to address this problem few nature lovers in the city have shown a unique solution for these insects to grow and live by making natural ‘pockets’ and named them as Butterfly Garden.

Somnath with a Common Mormon Butterfly

The conventional idea of gardening simply doesn’t work when it comes to butterfly garden. It is not about stuffing ornamental plants to enhance the beauty of the garden whimsically. Rather the importance is given to the plants that produce more nectar and host butterflies. “The main aim is to create a proper ecosystem, and once that is properly established, butterflies would come automatically and enhance the beauty of your garden free of coast”, Somnath Says humorously.

Infact, Somnath has a very interesting story to share about the migration of butterflies in his garden. One day, while in office, his wife called and described about the sighting of a unique butterfly she had never seen. Hearing the description Somnath asked her to take some picture and mail him at once. He was stunt by the photos he received in next few hours. “It was a Gaudy Baron, a species of North Bengal and extremely hard, if not impossible, to find in Kolkata. And surprisingly it stayed for few days in the garden”, Somnath says. And after few months, after the first one left, two more female Goudy Barons came to his garden and spent few days.

Once enter the tiny garden of Somnath- the serene green sight with unusual number of butterflies flattering around- it becomes clear why those Gaudy Barons spent days here. Walking through the earthen path in the garden Somnath says “I have hardly spent Rs 600 on my garden; everything is here either collected or bought in extremely low coast.” And it was a truth; the plants that made the bushes are all locals gathered from wild bushes or by the sides of rail tracks, and to form a ‘natural ecosystem’ expensive pesticides or fertilizer have no use here

Common Leopard Butterfly 

At the end of the garden the 8ft/10ft room that Somnath calls his ‘Lab’- where he breeds and raises butterfly pupa- is equally inexpensive. Walls are covered with metal racks, most of them containing rows of plastic boxes having larvae and pupas of butterflies in them; others are stacked with books and files. Where at a corner, between two metal racks a dozen of saplings are kept, roots are wrapped with polythene with mound of soil in them, waiting to be planted or distributed.

Sitting on a wooden chair, in his lab, at one side of a wooden desk Somnath explains “Planting random decorative plants would not help at all.”  The requirement of plants depends on the research, before making a garden, on the native butterflies and their host plants. Arjan Basu Roy, who has created butterfly garden named Banabitan at Salt Lake Central Park, agrees with Somnath when he says “The proper placement of plant is equally important. There are few plants in which butterflies lay eggs and there are plants that provide food for them. So, it is absolutely necessary to plant all the variety to help these beauties complete their life cycle.”

And, in order to do so, the native plants are the only option. “The butterflies that would come to live in the newly established garden would be local and they wouldn’t do so if the plants are alien in nature. So, these plants should be given the utmost importance”, Somnath explains, by pointing at the soil moulded plants kept at the corner of the room, “And it can be done in any amount of space, be it is a three Sq Foot balcony or a one acre land”, says he.

Rescued Plain Tiger Caterpillar's Pupa

The rushed entrance of Somnath’s 5 year old son in the lab, for a sudden tweet from the garden,  put an abrupt halt to the conversation. “Baba! The Rackettail Drondo has returned!”, the alarming voice of the of the child made Somnath rush out of the room to the garden to shoo away the zed black bird, slightly bigger than a sparrow. “This one ate all the caterpillars of Blue Tiger (a specie of butterfly) few days back”, Somnath says worriedly, on his way back to the lab, in a grumpy expression.

“See! This is the beauty of the butterfly garden! Being at the bottom of the food chain it attracts many predators. And in this way you are attracting many other insects, animal and birds”, Somnath informs. Who believes this is the best way to conserve not only butterflies, but also many other insects and birds. Currently there are 23 species of spider and 10 different species of birds in his garden. “95% of total wild life fund of the country is mainly used for large animals like tiger, rino and elephant. But no one thinks about the grassroots level conservation”, informs Arjan, who hopes to turn Kolkata in to ‘city of butterflies’ by 2015.

Even though there are butterfly gardens in many other countries around the world but all of them either into cage or glass doom. But Nature lovers like Arjan and Somnath promotes the idea of open air butterfly gardening. Even though the death of each insect by predators hurts them like anything, they seem to sustain the pain for a greater good. “A butterfly garden should be a complete biodiversity garden”, informs Arjan.

The grassroots level conservation, according to Arjan, is the best way to protect the wildlife. In this system any person can directly contribute to the conservation. It is hardly possible for any urban person to go to Sundarban and work for the conservation of the tiger, “But here all you have to do is to implant few specific plants and look after them”, says he.

However, along with animals butterfly garden helps to conserve the local variety of plants, having high medicinal value, as well, which is also of utmost importance. The native plants are fast disappearing due to unscientific gardening, rapid urbanization and plantation of ornamental foreign plants that has nothing to do with the local ecosystem. “The ornamental plants specially the foreign plants might increase the visual pleasure but in a way it hampers the local ecosystem. Being a foreign plant no local insect would live or breed in it, and so the biodiversity that is suppose to grow surrounding the plant would not take place.

Other than wildlife conservation, butterfly garden has endless other positive dimensions. Being a master pollinator, butterflies helps the plants to spread their seeds thus reproduce. Moreover, butterflies create an immense positive effect of human psyche, according to Somnath, it releases stress for the adult and increases intelligence among the children. “My 5 year old boy can tell you more than 30 scientific names of birds and butterflies”, informs he, and “it has been only possible due to the garden.”  More of it, butterflies are extremely pollution sensitive and acts as a sensor of pollution. It the butterflies are living in a place, it can be believed blindly, it is pollution free.

The Gaudy Baron came to Somnath's garden

Since 2009 West Bengal Forest Department has appreciated all the positive impact of butterfly garden and as a result they have created a Butterfly Garden on 10 acres of land at Eden garden from March this year with the help of Arjan. “A butterfly garden is a biodiversity garden. And spreading the bio diversity is one of the prime aims of forest department”, informs Saurabh Chaudhuri, The Conservator of Forest, Parks, Garden Circle, Forest Department, Government of west Bengal.

And not only the forest department but various schools and colleges also have taken the initiative of establishing butterfly garden like St. John’s Diocesan School, Bethune College, Presidency College etc.

Likewise 19 year old Manas Sarkar has been enjoying all these benefits for last two years. “It acts as a source of mental peace for me”, says Manas, a B A first year student, a owner of 750 sq ft Butterfly garden. Two years ago who came to know about butterfly garden and his passion for wildlife photography dragged him toward the hobby.

That reminds Somnath, the Butterfly garden maker, the incident of Alipore Zoological Garden and who didn’t know anything about butterflies before that. One chilli December morning Somnath went to Alipore zoo to explore his brand new Sony SLR camera. At an abandoned and ill maintained corner, in the zoo, he found hundreds of butterflies on a heap of garbage. Excited Somnath finished the memory card within an hour and returned to the spot next week. But the “place was cleared and visitors of the zoo were picnicking”, and he couldn’t find a single butterfly that day.  The fates of those poor homeless insects touched him so sorry that he vowed to give them a proper home in his own house.

 And he has been living up to his words without a slightest exception.

The Last Interaction

                                      

                                    

   The Bitter Beginning...

On this 16^th October, around 7o' clock in the evening  I was walking through the Mandeville Gardens Road near Gariahaat. Gloomily, watching the pre-puja celebration of the City of Joy. Just four more days to puja and I was given an ‘important assignment’ at 7o’ clock in the evening, which completely shattered my plans of Puja shopping.
The posh neighbourhood of South Kolkata was glowing with lights, hoardings and smiling passersby and I was numb, tired by the day’s work and yet to report another story. Everybody was free, everybody was happy but us (me and Sumit Da- THE Photographer).
But we walked through the crowded road , anyway, to interview Sunil Gangopadhyay. The fact - I was finally going to meet one of the creators of my childhood fantasies- lifted my mood a bit but not entirely. He gave me half an hour time from his daily schedule, which accidentally clashed with my puja shopping plan.

The Magical Half An Hour...

I pressed the door bell and one of the house servants took us to the sitting room. After a brief waiting, the person emerged in his beautifully furnished drawing room, was not the Sunil Gangopadhyay I knew. Clad in an orange kurta and pajamas, he was much thinner than I last saw him in Kolkata Book Fare few years ago.
He entered the room at exact 7o’clock, sat on the couch opposite to me, lighted a cigarette from his ‘Gold Flake King Size’ packet and talked. 

“What’s your name again?” he asked.
I answered.

“What’s your age?”

I gave him the number.“Too young to be a journalist!” he stared with a nodding head and smiled.

I was offended but smiled back anyway. Then he spoke again, 

“To bolo. What do you want from this old hag?”I smiled and put my phone on recording mode and began the ...

            

           
            Me- Tell me how you started Krittibas?

Sunil- Initially we had no plan of starting a little magazine. Infact, me and my friend Dipak Majumdar went to Dilip Kumar Gupta (better known as DK) to publish our own poetry book. DK told us to start a little magazine rather publishing a book. Actually, we needed more space to write poetry. 

Me- Who is Dilip Kumar Gupta?

Sunil- Then DK was the editor of Sygnet press. He not only brought revolution in Bengali printing industry by changing introducing modern forms of printing, binding and covers, and showed the book printing could also be an art. He published classics of modern poetry by Jibananda Das, such as Bonolota Sen and Rupasi Bangla. Satyajit Ray illustrated their covers. He gave us the idea of starting a magazine that would be ‘for the youths and by the youths’ of the society. And without hesitation we took the idea. When we started Krittibas, I was a third year Bengali Honours Student, 19 or 20-year-old. Though, It was a tiny publication, it had a strong motto. I remember, the first two editions were extremely attractive.

Me- What was the motto?

Sunil- We wouldn’t take any writings from well known writers or poets. Only new and young literates could submit their works in Krittibas. It is true that currently, though in small amounts, Krittibas publishes works of well known poets but in our time it was dedicated only to youths and new literates. I remember, we used to receive plenty of poetry from famous poets, but we humbly refused them. 

Me- So, how little magazine has helped you to become Sunil Gangopadhyay?

Sunil- Little magazine is everything; my identity, my life! Whatever I am today it is for little magazine and Krittibas. In my closer circle, even today, I introduce myself as the child of little magazine.

Me- ...But how exactly it has helped you?

Sunil- Little magazine gives the space and freedom of experimentation without any financial concern. Only a little magazine lets the writer speak out his heart, by breaking the traditional rules of literature, which enhances his creativity and makes him a more prominent literate. The same thing happened with me too. With Krittibas, I experimented and expanded my creative arena. I learnt how to communicate with the reader in new ways.
The experimentation is one of the prime reasons that Krittibas still exists. If we would have repeated the old trash, readers would have thrown it within no time.
Moreover, we never had any financial ambition or expectation from Krittibas. So, we easily gave space to the young writers and have been maintaining our tradition.The experimentation is one of the prime reasons that Krittibas still exists. If we would have repeated the old trash, readers would have thrown it within no time.Moreover, we never had any financial ambition or expectation from Krittibas. So, we easily gave space to the young writers and have been maintaining our tradition.

Me, Sunil Sir and Sumit Da

                                                                       Me- ...So, is that tradition still going on?

Sunil- It is hardly possible, now, because I, myself have grown older (humorously). But still we try to maintain it. It is true that we publish works of known writers, mainly my friends associated with Krittibas from its inception, but young and new writers are still given importance. You would see, we begin Krittibas with the works of new poets and writers and last few pages are left for the well knows writers.

Me- Since you mentioned your age, do you think that is the sole reason of your deteriorating health, because, even few months ago you were a healthy man?

   Sunil- Do you mean I was a chubby, fat person (laughing)? Yes, I was. But for some reasons I am losing weight like anything. Let’s see what happens....

That evening I spent the shortest half hour of my life. His words were driving the time faster than usual and the entire conversation became more of a series of moving pictures (Just like his writing). It was not the topic we were talking about, but his way of talking. And after that ‘super fast’ 30 minutes- while walking back through the same Mandeville Gardens road- I felt cheerful. Not for the fact that I was finally free for the day, but for the conversation I had with the ‘Milestone of Modern Bengali Literature’.

...And, The End

At the 6.30 in the morning of 23^rd October- I was fondling on my bed to take the folded bed sheet to cover me from the morning cold- the phone rang. It was my birthday. The harsh ringtone made me think about some of my friend's attempt to wish me 'Happy Birthday'.

 “Hello!?!” I answered, without even looking at the screen.

“Didnt you interview Sunil Gongopadhay few days ago?” It was my editor!

“Who... What? Yes Sir!” I answered gaining my consciousness.

“Well, have you filed the interview?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Ok, then send it to me ASAP. It’s Important. He died last night and it was probably his

 last interview.”

“What? Ok”, was all that I managed to utter as the phone went dead.

Unconventional Conservationist

Vishal handlinh a captured monocellate cobra

The snake with glossy green back and yellowish white bottom looks spectacular as it lies curled inside the plastic box. But just as soon as its handler Vishal Satra waves a dead rat the ‘sleeping beauty’ raises its head and snaps the rodent at an electric speed. Within seconds, it catches hold of the rats head and injects the venom at a furious pace. Then it slowly gorges on the rat. “It’s bamboo pit viper (Trimeresurus gramineus), beautiful but an extremely venomous snake. It strikes with an open mouth,” says Satra while closing the lid of the box and wrapping it with thick clothes.

Keeping the box on the rack he pulled out another plastic box, and reached for the bucket filled with half a dozen dead rats. It was time to feed other snakes in his snakehouse. For the last 13 years, Satra has been relentlessly working with snakes and has built a snake rescue centre in Shimultala, a village in Hooghly, about 60 km from Kolkata. “In the last six years Vishal has rescued, treated and handed over to us thousands of snakes and also saved many other local animals such as monkeys, palm civets and jackals. Vishal along with his team are a great service for the wildlife”, informs Chittaranjan Pramanik, the range officer of Hoogly. In addition to his conservation work, Vishal is studying for a Masters degree in environmental science from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. He says, “From my childhood I was fascinated by snakes. It’s my dream to be a herpetologist and a wildlife conservationist, “says Vishal.

From his very childhood, when Vishal’s family lived in Imphal, Manipur, he was involved in wildlife conservation. Unaware of the definition of conservation he and his friends used to buy rabbits, porcupines and other animals from tribal women and release them in the forest close his home. His childish acts were driven by pure sympathy for those “poor creatures”. “Later when I grew up I bought the animals and handed them over to the Imphal Zoo authority. This lasted till we shifted to Hoogly with my family for higher studies”, says Vishal.

He missed the wilderness of Imphal in Shimultala, but in no time was able build a rapport with local Snake charmers. “During the vacations I roamed around with these snake charmers from a village to another. Slowly I developed a bond with these people”, says Vishal while feeding a poisonous Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii), capable of killing an adult human within an hour. Vishal also noticed that local people killed snakes driven by sheer apprehension and fear. “Even though I didn’t have any formal training in handling snakes I started catching the hapless reptiles with a stick or a polythene bag, whenever I was informed about a snake sighting. Fortunately I still remain unbitten by a snake,” says Vishal with a big smile.

Russell Viper

Vishal soon realized the need of a formal training in snake handling, but he couldn’t find anybody who could teach him. “Then I came to know of some snake charmers at Baruipur. To meet them I’d often bunk school. At first they refused to teach me anything, but finally they gave in to my persistent appeal,” he adds. Gradually he learnt how these uneducated charmers skilfully handled the reptiles. “I was astounded to see how they could read a snake’s movement by examining just a few grains of sand in front of the snake’s hole”, he says. Then he met with Kajal Mal, an expert charmer, who trained him the techniques of handling cobras.

From 2005 Vishal felt the urge to form a group of conservationists with like-minded people. Eventually in 2006 he formed a group named ‘Shimultala Conservationists’. Says Prashanta Bagal, an active member of the group, “Whenever we heard about a snake sighting we rushed there to rescue it.” Adds Vishal, “During the rescue we’d often come across crowds of curious local people. We used the opportunity to promote our activities and spread the message of snake conservation among them.”

Says Prasanta, “People come to us to learn how to handle snakes, but most of them want to get a thrill out of it. It’s kind of a macho act for the youth. Vishal sends them to Kajal Mal to learn the nuances so that the old man can earn some money from the training sessions.” Kajal Mal, 52, has been working with Shimultala Conservationists for nine years. After 1991 when snake charming was banned, the snake charmers were left jobless. “Snake charming was the only way of earning my daily bread. If Vishal wouldn’t have helped, and I’d have starved to death along with my family,” said Kajal Mal.

Vishal treating a cobra with Kajol Mal

Vishal tries to help several other snake charmers to survive with limited fund and personal resources. If he gets adequate support from the state government he has a dream to rehabilitate the snake charmers of Bengal in a co-operative. Herpetologist Romulus Whitaker’s Chennai Snake Park Trust serves as a model for him. The park was conceived in 1972 to rehabilitate the Irula tribe who are known for their expertise in catching snakes. Says Vishal, “Whatever I know about snake handling is from these people. Every village of our country is filled with these traditional experts but they never get due respect. If our government appoints a snake charmer for each village, lots of life could be saved, both snakes and human”. Nearly 50,000 people die from snakebite in India. Most victims live in rural, often very poor, areas. This remoteness means that even doctors in the major cities of these regions don't see the issue as an immediate threat to public health.

Right now Vishal has got associated with Dr. Anthony Gomes, a leading researcher of Pharmacology & Toxicology of Venoms and Toxins at Calcutta University to hone his expertise on snake. But his ultimate aim is to rehabilitate the ‘traditional scientists” (snake charmers) and help them join the mainstream.

The ‘Silent’ Winners

Rupam Banerjee

 It’s the peak hour on a weekend evening at a multinational fast food outlet in the City Centre in Rajarhat. There is such a huge rush that people have queued up outside the glistening doors of the popular joint. Employees are under a tremendous pressure as customers are getting impatient at yet-to-be cleared tables. Quite unmoved, one of the customer service team members, is totally engrossed in his job. Sprightly as he is, the 20 something employee, cleans up the mess fast—even the extremely noisy ambience can’t affect his concentration.

That this smiling team member is exceptional—and is differently-abled—becomes obvious when a customer asks the price of an item. He smartly informs the cost through his fluent hand-and-body gesture that can be understood by anybody. Meet the vivacious, and one of the most popular customer service members of the store, Rupam Banerjee. This Sodepur-based worker’s speaking and hearing disability couldn’t stop him from working in a job which needs constant interaction with customers.    

“He wasn’t like this from birth” says Rupam’s mother Soma Banerjee. “When he was two years old, during the Diwali, I’d first notice that Rupam is not responding to the loudening burst of crackers”. This observation lead to a series of medical tests until the Banerjees learned that their son is unable to hear. It turned out that, on an earlier occasion, when a doctor prescribed an antibiotic to treat his ear infection, the high dose of the drug had mistakenly damaged his internal auditory nerves. Crestfallen, Rupam’s parents had to admit Rupam to the The Regional Centre of Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Hearing Handicapped at Bonhooghly, at the age of four. Being a diligent student, he acquired sign language very fast. And after 18 years of education, he joined ‘Silence’, a Kolkata-based non-governmental organisation, to get a special training. The six-month training program helped Rupam gain entry to the multinational fast food joint. “We never expected that Rupam will get a job and earn such a handsome amount,” said Rupam’s uncle Pranab Kar. “He is a living testimony what hard work and passion can achieve, notwithstanding any sort of obstacle.”

Kar recalled an anecdote after Rupam joined his new job. “We’d visited Siliguri to his sister’s home to attend a wedding ceremony. We returned home after having spent two sleepless nights there. Even though rest of us were dog tired looking for some rest, Rupam didn’t miss his night shift work at the joint.” Such is his dedication that his boss recently remarked that Rupam is capable of handling workload of 10 people.

Deafness or hearing impairment occurs due to various reasons. If someone is hard of hearing from early childhood, he or she becomes speech impaired by default because a child picks up a language after she gets to hear other people speaking. When an infant babbles, it is nothing but his or her experiment with language acquisition. “If she fails to hear anything, naturally she can’t perform the basic experiment of communication,” said Samir Ray, the former director of All India Federation of Deaf (Delhi) and one of the founders of ‘Silence’. 

According to Ray, if these people are trained properly they can do almost anything. Especially they are very good at doing ‘repetitive works,’ such as designing jewellery or data entry in any office.  More or less, most jobs tend to be drudgery to most so-called able-bodied people but not for the ‘disabled.  ‘A normal person, who is equipped with basic linguistics, speaks or writes using his or her linguistic reflex. But these people work or write with the help of visual reflex and that is why they are faster and more accurate, doing repetitive works,” added Ray. This is why these people are now aptly called ‘differently-abled’. “Even in the corporate world, these people have plenty of chances to work and perform better than others,” he adds.

The same view is shared by the Vice Chancellor of West Bengal State University, Prof. Ashoke Ranjan Thakur, who believes these people should be added to the mainstream of the society for better results in all walks of life. He says, “Their advantage is that, while working, they don’t hear anything. Naturally they don’t get distracted easily and the final output of the job is always better.” Among the six non-teaching employees at Barasat State University, three of them are verbally challenged. Prof Thakur thinks that isolation or social ostracization deteriorates their disability. “One should never forget that they have a unique diligence. They don’t need charity”.

Suman Mukherjee, Srila Mukherjee and Mital Sarkar-- three deaf-mute employees of Barasat State University are now happy citizens of India. Just like Rupam’s parents, their near and dear ones never thought they would work and contribute to the society some day. And now they are not only working, but performing better than the rest. Even Suman and Srila recently got married. And Rupam also has a soft corner for a girl he met at his elder sister’s weddding. However marriage is not a priority for 21-year old Rupam, “I’m not thinking of marriage now, and my work is everything for me at the moment. My next goal is to be wealthy and famous”, he says shyly in a passionate ‘voice’ of sign language.

Small Things Of God....

 It is fascinating to observe that, how big beauties exist in relatively small, sometime even tiny forms in nature. The beauty attracted me so much and created such enthusiasm in me, that I borrowed my friend's 105mm Macro lens  and wander around the fast disappearing  green, wild bushes of Kolkata to capture life. Small, beautiful lives, either we simply overlook or kill with a blow of rolled magazine with our utmost annoyance. Here are some moments that I saw through that 105 Macro...

       

Wrestle to Survive

After 500 push-ups, 600 sit-ups and a workout with the Gada (Indian club) it is time to face his disciples at the akhara (ring of wrestling). After two hours of tireless kushti (wrestling) with his students, Pal Babu gets a soothing massage from his disciples. Mahendar Pandit (48 years), alias Pal Babu, adopted this routine only for last 10 years at the Shree ‘Swami Gyan Yoganand Parimath’ at 126 Cotton Street, which has been a wrestling venue for the last 95 years. The ashram is at the end of a dark, narrow lane near Burrabazar in Kolkata, India. Those who enter the lane have no idea what is coming at the end of the damp and dark alley. However, it surely gives a feeling of nostalgia, as hundred-year-old buildings stand side by side forming those very narrow lanes. This feeling intensifies as one enters the ashram, where the disciples of the late Swami Gyan Yoganand, the founder of the ashram, run a full-fledged akhara.

Unfortunately, akharas face the risk of extinction today. “Most teenagers in the city, who are conscious about their physique, prefer a modern gymnasium to an akhara,” says Manoj Sonkar, one of the present gurus of the ashram, “and those who come to learn are constrained by their economic conditions to learn it properly”. Any physical exercise needs proper diet that these students can hardly afford. “For Pahalwani milk is essential, which many of the disciples cannot buy,” says Mahendar Pandit, one of the present gurus of the ashram who works in a Papad (Indian flat crispy bread) factory for a living.

The scenario was not like this even 40 years back, when akharas used to be the only place for bodybuilding. With the advent of hi-tech gyms and various steroid-stuffed capsules, the akharas have lost their former glory and importance. “When I first came here 10 years ago, this akhara used to be full of people from Bihar or UP who had migrated to Kolkata for their living. But nowadays the number of these migrants has reduced,” says Pandit. Echoing Pandit’s feelings Ashok Kumar Agarwal, the 65-year-old trustee of the Ashram says, “I used to come here in my childhood. At that time, I still remember, the place used to be chock-a-block with people, but as time passed the crowd became thinner.” However, the akhara has managed to survive with more than 30 devoted members. In return for their commitment to the ashram, they receive lessons on wrestling from their gurus.

Mahendar Pandit, Manoj Sonkar and Suresh Yadav are the gurus who work tirelessly to keep alive this ancient art and tradition of self-defence. “Whoever comes to learn kushti in the ashram is trained for toughness with the help of various exercises. Once we are satisfied with his physical strength, we start teaching them different techniques of Pahalwani,” says Pandit. Achieving physical strength is the biggest challenge for every student. “We still do physical exercise every day like free-hand exercises and weightlifting and only after that we practice wrestling in the akhara,” says Sonkar. He further adds, “The flexibility and fitness that one acquires from a session at the akhara are extremely long lasting compared to a gym. You do not lose or gain weight after quitting kushti”.

 

The levels of physical strength and fitness that can be achieved from kushti were visible when 27-year-old Vickey Pataniya started working out by swinging a couple of 20-kilo Gadas in two hands. A regular at the akhara for the last 10 years, Vicky with his robust chest and huge muscular body recalls, “I used to be very thin and weak in school, and students from senior classes used to bully me a lot. That was the reason I joined kushti at first, but as time passed I gained much physical strength and slowly fell in love with the art”. Another student of the ashram, 17-year-old Vijay Yadav, has just completed training and started learning techniques of wrestling.

Pahalwani is not only about bodybuilding or a muscular body to impress the opposite gender, but also about being equipped for self-defence. “The various techniques of kushti are specially created for fighting in the battlefield. Rajas and Maharajas used to learn these in their times,” says Suresh Yadav. Techniques like Dhak, Nikas, Dhobi Pachad or Kanpheri are specially designed to defeat the opponent in freehand combat. “Like Kanpheri, which happens to be Pal Babu’s speciality, is about pulling the opponent by holding his neck, while he automatically pulls himself back, and then giving him a sudden push that he falls on his back,” says Pal Babu by rubbing his face with the specially made clay of the akhara.

“The clay is made by mixing various ingredients like sandal dust, Multani Mitti (Fuller’s Earth), Neem leaf, Mustard oil, various flower petals and clay from the Ganges. These help to fight back various skin diseases,” says Pal Babu. “You see, Pahalwani is not only for physical health but for mental health as well. It needs strong will power and an attitude to give up many worldly pleasures; for that a Pahalwan should avoid the company of a woman, and that is the only way to learn the core of Pahalwani and Sanskriti (culture),” adds Pal Babu.

When asked about the sanskriti, Manoj Sonkar points towards an old man, clad in a red dhoti, sweeping the ashram premises with the utmost concentration. “His name is Dhonilal Sonkar and he is 75-years- old. He has achieved everything in his life a common man can dream of, yet he comes here every day to sweep the floor. It is not his devotion to God but a habit of many years that drives him to perform this chore. It has become a part of his culture that tells him that sweeping the floor is his duty. He has been doing this for years ever since he started practice in the akhara. The culture of Pahalwani taught him the virtues of hard work and devotion”.

Freedom Movement

Alokananda Roy performing with Nigel Akkara

"Ever since Ma came into my life, I have been a changed person," says Sanjoy Patra, 37, an ex inmate of Presidency Jail, Kolkata. Patra is referring to Odissi dancer Alokananda Roy, who has been regularly visiting jails in West Bengal, helping the prisoners to freely express their minds and bodies through dance.

The danseuse and her students call it dance therapy. And therapeutic it is. "It has been an exercise in self-realization," explains Patra. "It gave us the strength to believe in ourselves, to realize the happiness of living in the present." Not surprisingly, the prisoners who have partaken of Roy’s lessons refer to her as "Ma".

Roy visited the Presidency Jail l for the first time on 8 March, 2007, on an invitation to celebrate International Women’s Day with the female prisoners. "I still remember as if it were yesterday,” smiles Roy. “They presented a dance recital for us, and with their make-up and costumes, they seemed just like the students in my regular classes."

Roy wanted to do something for them. Her wish turned into reality when Banshidhar Sharma, IG (Correctional Services), approached her in this regard. Besides her dance school, Chandanaloke, Roy also runs an NGO called Inspiration Foundation, a centre of performing arts for underprivileged youth.

The dancer reveals how her very first visit to the Presidency Jail changed her idea about a jail. Contrary to what she expected, the place presented a clean and tranquil environment. The warmth of the inmates touched her. Seeing young male prisoners "walking aimlessly", she thought "one of them could very well have been by own son". And that’s how she conceived of dance therapy for them.

Convincing the male prisoners, however, was not an easy task. "Initially, we were wary. I thought ‘who is this crazy woman trying to teach us dance?’” recalls Nigel Akkara, who served nine years as an under trial for 18 cases of murder, extortion and kidnapping. "To be honest, I did not like her.”

So at first, there were only 10 students who went to Roy’s class, much against their wishes. "But slowly, they began to open up. And soon, we had more than 40 inmates in our class," says Roy.

"They had their doubts, but Mrs Roy’s love and affection overcame such obstacles,” says Sharma. Of course, it took time. “When I came to know that a lady has come to teach us dance, I thought it was gimmick of another of those fame-hungry social workers, to whom we were actually untouchables. And when they asked me to sign up for the class, I told Ma that gundas do not wear ghungroos,” laughs Akkara. “But my outlook changed when I saw her interact with the prisoners, touching them while teaching as if they were like any other.”

Roy now takes classes separately for men and women, at least three times a week. "The segregation between the genders is very strict. Male and female prisoners are not allowed to interact in the jail," she explains.

Initially, Roy didn’t have any huge plans, such as of trying to integrate them into the mainstream of society. Her classes were more like constructive recreation. Little did she imagine that her instruction would gradually become the road to peace for the troubled souls. "We are born with rhythm and beat; a life without these would lead to destruction. By interacting with these men and women, I realized that somehow they had lost the rhythm of life, and that perhaps it could be re-established through music and dance,” reasons Roy.

Jail in the Indian context entails indescribable mental agony. About 70 per cent of the inmates are just awaiting trial. “That means you are putting a person behind bars without knowing if he or she is guilty,” says Sharma. In order to transform them, they should be engaged in some kind of constructive activity, believes the jail authority. And what could be better than music and dance?

The dance classes worked wonders for the prisoners of Alipore Central Jail. Besides putting up small shows within the premises, they were invited to participate in the Uday Shankar Dance Festival 2007 at the prestigious Ravindra Sadan auditorium. "It was perhaps for the first time in the world that prisoners came out in the open and presented such a recital. They performed so well that the audience gave a standing ovation and, overwhelmed, most of the prisoners ended up in tears," recalls the force behind all this.

After this, there was no looking back. In the last five years, they have done more than 35 shows all over the country. And the revenue generated from these events is donated to the West Bengal Prisoners Welfare Fund. The inmates not only chose a completely different way of life, but also became devoted music lovers, says Sharma happily.

What is of utmost importance is that none of those people, who underwent dance therapy, have committed any crime. “And they never will,” adds Sharma in a matter-of-fact tone. Sharma says that he is not merely hypothesizing, and that it’s his conviction based on his entire career as a prison authority.

Roy too feels strongly about it. "They wouldn’t do anything that would embarrass me. Many times they had opportunities to flee, but none did so,” she says.

Roy’s devotion and hard work paid her rich dividends too. Within a few days of her classes, she became “Ma’ from “Madam”. "I cannot describe in words what have I gained from them. Their unconditional love cannot be compared with any treasure in this world,” she says, her eyes moistening.

So strong became the bonding that the teacher couldn’t afford to miss a class. If she did, she had to face grumpy faces the next day! On her part, she played the role of a mother, full of affection but also scolding them whenever necessary. “If they made mistakes deliberately, missed a class or were lazy, I would tell them off,” Roy smiles.

Thanks to her guidance, the prisoners turned into veritable stars. Their first performance of “Balmiki Prativa” outside the wall in 2007 was not only a huge success, but also a life-changing experience for them. "After the show, most of them were crying, as if they were reborn,” says Roy.

Sanjoy Patra sums it all up. "We have realized that the only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work and love for others. If Ma had come into my life earlier, it would have been a completely different story."