Bidhan Sishu Udyan was a cauldron of cacophony as close to 600 students gathered near its main gate, dressed in basanti yellow. Close by, were their guardians as well. Senior women members, with their hair tied in a bun outlined with floral garlands, held a tray each with heaps of coloured abir on it.
Sharp at 5pm, they set off outside in a colourful procession that looked like a meandering stream of yellow. Behind a banner, announcing Basanta Utsab, walked members of the Bengali folk band Dohar singing Orey Grihabasi. They were accompanied by the members of the Udyan’s choir. But there was no sound system to amplify their voices. “Higher Secondary exams are on. We have to abide by the rules. Keep noise to the minimum,” warned Udyan secretary Gautam Talukdar.
The procession meandered out to the main road, keeping to a single lane, as public transport sped by. Heads turned among pedestrians but the guardians of the children were busy recording the journey on their mobiles, sometimes tripping over each other’s feet. “My daughter has to dance on stage after this. Won’t the kids get tired by all this walking? Wish their programme had got over first,” fretted a mother. At the Hudco crossing, as dusk fell, the procession took a left turn and then another left to get back to the Udyan.
By then, not a single cheek was left unsmeared with colours. Senior members tossed abir in the air and many had more green on their scalp than locks of hair. A colour bomb was let off, much to the amusement of the children.
Two groups of girls took the stage one after another. While one danced to Hriday jurey abir makha, a slightly senior group danced to Ogo ki sur tomar dware. Aishi Ghosh, all of 14 months old, was seated between her mother and brother, and was nodding her head and clapping her hands. “She has come with her dada Diptaman who learns athletics, drawing and recitation here. She loves dancing so much that I think I will enrol her in the dance class as soon as she attains the minimum cut-off age of three years,” mother Piyali Das said.
Also watching the show were the senior members of Bidhan Choir. While most wore the choir’s official yellow sari, Piyali Nandy got a new one for the occasion, also on a yellow base. “A choirmate’s daughter drew the design of the anchal,” smiled the resident of Hudco housing complex close by.
Then it was time for Dohar to take over. “Dohar has been with us for several years now, ever since we started this Basanta Utsab,” said Talukdar. Agreed Rajib Das, the Dohar frontman: “This indeed is our home away from home,” as they launched into Orey Grihabasi once more, this time with a microphone, and followed it with compositions of SD Burman and Bangladeshi baul Shah Abdul Karim. Their programme brought students and guardians to their feet, as the dandiya sticks that the girls were so far lamely carrying around finally came to use.