In 2011, as part of its celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore, Sampad ,a UK based NGO,that works toward developing a deeper understanding of south Asian arts in Great Britain launched an international writing competition called ‘Inspired by Tagore’ in collaboration with British Council (India).And it is a very proud moment for all Welingkarites that the story titled ‘Beautiful Evenings ‘penned by our own student Anchal Singh ( PGDM –Business Design ), is among the chosen few for inclusion in the anthology published by British Council.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941), also respectfully addressed as ‘Gurudev’ was a Bangla poet who reshaped Indian arts including literature, painting, theater, music, dance and also education thereby creating a renaissance in the cultural history of the then British enslaved India. Author of Geetanjali and its “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse”, he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. His artistic endeavors were viewed as mystical and mercurial; his mesmeric personality earned him a prophet-like reputation and continues to inspire generation after generation .Many Sampad projects have celebrated his legacy or been sparked by a line of his poetry. The team Sampad was absolutely overwhelmed by the fantastic response to the competition which saw a huge number of entries pouring in – over 1400 from 37 countries that ranged from Australia to Uzbekistan, many of which went on to win the coveted prizes and were selected for the anthology.
“I read Kabuliwala after a friend’s insistence; he said it was a great story which he came across in his school syllabus. Reading it reminded me of my sweet memories from childhood which I have made an attempt to narrate” says the modest Anchal.
He was felicitated with a certificate at a special function held by British Council at Ahmadabad for the release of the anthology at the hands of Guy Hutchison and Esther David, litterateurs from UK who were guests of honor at the event.
WeSchool wishes Anchal the very best, may many more laurels and accolades come his way in this literary journey! Just as ‘Kabuliwala ‘the film went on to win the National Award for the best feature film in 1975 and Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival , let us hope that ‘Beautiful evening ‘ receives many more accolades in the times to come.
Enjoy Reading…
Beautiful Evenings
By Anchal Singh
In childhood one of the questions that haunted me a lot was, “Why do people say that the best moments of their life come from their childhood?” Everybody from ‘parents’ to ‘school alumni’ to ‘ghazal writers’ love to cherish their sweet childhood memories. I wondered why because I was the one who wanted to grow up and see the world.
Today my questions are answered when I’m attending MBA lectures at a stretch for long hours, travelling in stuffed Mumbai local trains and just don’t realize how the day passes by.
The protected simple life, meeting innocent hearts, making true friends at school can never come back. Growing up you realise that the world around is so you huge and vast, you just get lost into hush push of life and can’t find a moment to get a peep inside you. One thing that I very clearly remember from my childhood is the routine of day after coming back from primary school. In those days I used to live in a typical Mumbai chawl like building, where all doors of home opened to a common lobby which was also the balcony for us.
After a long day at school which was made of studies, playing in the recess, having a blast in the bus I would be exhausted. A good noon nap would get me completely recharged. After the nap, I used to go up to the balcony to adore a huge tree in twilight for minutes and sometimes hours. It was an unusual kind of meditation for me which I didn’t realize then but I now know what it meant. It used to give me immense pleasure, calm me from inside out and make me happy.
Friends came in to call me for playing. I loved Bhel a lot, which is a sweet sour snack in India. In the mid of the game a Bhelpuriwala always came to our building. Seeing him, I would rush to my mom and she would immediately take Rs.2 coin out & give it to me. Bhelpuriwala always used to give me an extra papdi(crunchy baked biscuit). After having it, I would go straight home do my home work or at least pretend to.
Ones who say that small things in life make it beautiful are right. All these small things made unforgettable evenings for me.
