The girls of these classes, 61 in number, being older were more organised and wasted no time in getting in to the Big Hall allotted to us for this visit. We gave them drawing sheets and they came armed with colour – water and pastels and got down to business immediately. The topic we gave them was to draw on a Festival or a Season. A Time of 30 minutes plus 5 minutes grace was given to the girls. The photographs will give a better picture of this. The joy on their faces as they drew their favorite pictures was a pleasure to see. They loved what they were drawing and doing it seriously – Some of them, one could see, were born artists while the others did their best. It was time up and the drawing sheets were collected.

Each of the 3 classes were given 2 prizes – a First and a Second. It was indeed a tough task choosing the best drawings as each one was so good and creative and had Nature in all its splendour splashed on their drawing sheets. Finally the 1st and 2nd winners of the 3 classes were selected. Drawings of the prize winners are also displayed on the site aesmparivar.com. You can access it through Google search very easily.

The prizes were:
1st Prize – Bengali story book (This school is a Bengali Medium School)
2nd prize – Gel pen set of 3(red,blue& black).

The prizes winners were:
Class VI 1st – Arunima Dutta, 2nd – Shoma Das
Class VII 1st – Surabhi Das, 2nd – Jaya Pailan
Class VIII 1st – Sangita Kishu, 2nd – Rumpa Barman
Class IX 1st – Rinku Karmakar, 2nd Keya Marik

Then came the significant part of this visit – a Lesson with Posters and Pictures on Saving our Environment, how to beautify Mother Nature and also on Personal Hygiene and Cleanliness. Sugandha Ram Kumar & Sharmila De put in loads of effort and their Posters and Flash Cards were literally any eye opener for the girls who were listening attentively to the entire teaching. Nandita Das did a brilliant job at explaining each poster and flash card to the girls.

The main points of this presentation were :
1,Saving the environment for our future – The girls were told to each one try to grow at least one plant or tree in their own school campus and in their villages and near their homes. This would give more and more people fresh air and greenery to live healthy lives. Do not use plastic bags and if used then to dispose off them in the proper place as this could cause drains to be blocked and plants to die.
2. Save electricity – switch off fans and lights when not in a room and where not needed. Stop noise pollution.
3. Personal Hygiene – Keep themselves clean, have a bath daily, use soap after using the toilet and before and after eating food to prevent stomach infection. Do not to waste water. Fill a bucket of water whilst having a bath and on finishing that fill another bucket – do not keep taps open when not in use as water is precious to us. Keep your hair clean and neat at all times, when brushing hair collect the fallen hair and dispose of it in a dustbin or it could also cause a hazard for plants and humans. Cover your nose when sneezing to prevent infection of others. Brush teeth morning and at night with toothpaste only as this protects the enamel and gums. All the posters and cards were given to the children so they could show and explain to the younger students also.

The children listened attentively and one could see they would follow the lessons learnt. Since these girls were of senior classes they were told to teach the younger ones too what they had learnt so everyone would be keeping the environment clean and themselves as well.

Once this was over it was time for the girls to perform for us which they were happy to do. Their talent was immense and they not only performed several dances but also sang for us and even told us jokes which had everyone in splits of laughter. The dances were choreographed by a student of Pandit Ananda Shankar and the theme was about Dreams and the freedom of Butterflies.. The songs were melodious and with a lot of meaning. The photographs say it all.

Time seemed to fly with these talented and lovely students but not without giving each child a Register and a Pen which they appreciated as they love their studies and books. Sweets were also given to the girls.