Unmesh brought together Kolkata’s prominent English-medium schools to promote Bengali culture.

Unmesh, the first inter-school event held entirely in Bangla at Indus Valley World School (IVWS), took place on June 23. Fests in Bangla are uncommon in the English-medium educational system, therefore the host school’s success in bringing 15 schools together for this event was noteworthy. Birla High School Mukundapur, Garden High School, BD Memorial Junior School, Ektara School, Loreto Dharamtalla, DPS Ruby Park, Mahadevi Birla Shishu Vihar, Gokhale Memorial Girls’ School, Mahadevi Birla World Academy, Apeejay Park Street, Modern High School for Girls, Silver Point School, Sri Sri Academy, and The Future Foundation School were among the schools that participated in Unmesh (which means: a birth or awakening).

Many seminars and competitive events effectively showed the rich culture of Bengal. The principal of the school, Reshma Bhattacharya, stated, “Our festival is meant to spotlight Bengal so that the new generation experiences and imbibes the richness of the state.”

The special visitors, Manipuri dancer Bimbavati Devi and writer, producer, and art therapist Madhuja Banerjee, expressed their profound appreciation for all the schools’ hard work and talent. It was wonderful to see youngsters having a good time thanks to a programme that aims to foster a love of Bangla language and culture, according to Banerjee.

The programme opened with a duet of “Anjoli loho mor sangeetey…” as flowers were offered to the Almighty by the visitors, setting the mood for the day. The sophisticated “Biswashaathe joge jethay biharo” that the IVWS Middle School choir performed belied their age.

Eminent Manipuri dancer and guest of honour Bimbavati Devi remarked, “Being a part of Unmesh was a great experience. It was an exquisitely planned occasion that exuded splendour and rich aesthetics.”