Monthly Report March 2023
17.04.2023 News
Besides the continuation of regular activities, two major programmes were held this month. They are as follows:
Adibasi Baha Parab (An inclusive approach to Santal festivals)-
This year the Adibasi Baha Parab completes 33 years. Since last three decades the organization has been celebrating this event as the extension of the traditional festival of ‘Baha Parab’ (spring festival) for general public. The reason for celebrating the festival has its background.
Santal festivals have always been closed community festivals. There is little scope for non-Santals to join and integrate with them. Considering this limitation, 33 years ago, we started to organize the Adibasi Baha Parab. The main objective was to open this festival to Santals of other villages and to non-Santals, and thus making it inclusive. We wanted to disseminate the ideas of Baha among the people at large. We celebrate it for one day, after the traditional Baha of the village is over. We hold it at the large playground of Ghosaldanga. After the procession in the village, a symbolic Baha ritual is performed on the playground. Later various tribal sports, folk dances are organized, especially the Santals’ traditional sporty activities that are on the verge of dying, such as, using of the bow and arrow, shal leaf plate making, pot carrying on heads, climbing of grease pole, throwing hay bundle and so on. For folk dances, apart from the popular dance forms of dong, sorhae and lagre we give emphasis on rarely performed songs and dances like baha layong, dasae, karam, dom don, gilwari enec and danda don. The rest of the night is dedicated to Adibasi drama, recitation of the myths of creation, are also incorporated in the program.
Since the last ten years, we have been giving the “Adibasi Baha Award” to the personalities who have made an outstanding contribution in the field of Adivasi empowerment and development. The areas of excellence include sports, politics, medicine, social service, education, music, art and culture.
In last one decade we have been honored to felicitate several such personalities like, Mr. Ram Kisku, the legendary Santali singer; Dr. Dominic Mardi, Social activist; Dr. Suhrid Bhowmik, writer; Dr. Dhirendranath Baskey, writer; Mr. Ram Hembrom, Herbal medicine maker; Mr. Chaitan Hembrom, Karam Guru; Ms. Birbaha Hansda, film actress and Minister, Govt. of West Bengal and the list is long. In these long years several government and private institutions have collaborated with us in organizing the festival. The local administration has also always been supportive of our initiative.
This year the Adibasi Baha Parab was held on 4th March 2023, at Ghosaldanga from 9:30 am onwards. We are happy that Mr. Sibu Saren, playwright, Birbhum; Mr. Stefan Soren and Mr. Huren Murmu, Bangladesh and Dr. Dhuni Soren, author and social worker from Bowarijore, Dumka/Liverpool, United Kingdom, were present as the special guests for the celebration.
Documentary film show
A three day documentary film show was conducted at RSV and in the surrounding villages. The show was organized in collaboration with ‘Ayash an Effort’, a Kolkata based NGO working in the education for the children of poor and marginalized communities.
