An experiment in intercultural communication: “Learning from the people in the villages, value their way of life” – West Bengal

Photo courtesy: Freundeskreis Ghosaldanga und Bishnubati e.V.

Since the beginning of my work with people of the Santal villages, Ghosaldanga and Bishnubati, close to Santiniketan, it has been important to me that it is not a one-way street. Giving and receiving should be equally important. This means that I, an outsider, was willing to share my experiences and my knowledge while remaining curious to learn from the people in the villages, value their way of life and cultivate their friendship.Read the full story by Martin Kämpchen in The Statesman (15 September 2018) >>

Video | Roots and Branches: The Lifeworld of an Enlightened Villager in West Bengal: Documentary (2017) by Ronald Kurt © >>

Dr. Boro Baski works for the community-based organisation Ghosaldanga Adibasi Seva Sangha in West Bengal. The NGO is supported by the German NGO Freundeskreis Ghosaldanga und Bishnubati. He was the first person from his village to go to college as well as the first to earn a PhD (in social work) at Viswa-Bharati. This university was founded by Rabindranath Tagore to foster integrated rural development with respect for cultural diversity. The cooperation he inspired helps local communities to improve agriculture, economical and environmental conditions locally, besides facilitating education and health care based on modern science.

He authored Santali translations of two major works by Rabindranath Tagore, the essay “Vidyasagar-Charit” and the drama Raktakarabi (English “Red Oleanders”), jointly published by the Asiatic Society & Sahitya Akademi (India’s National Academy of Letters) in 2020.

Other posts contributed by Dr. Boro Baski >>

Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust
Registration under Trust Registration Act 1982
P.O. Sattore, Dist. Birbhum
West Bengal-731 236
India

For inquiries on Santal cultural and educational programs, please contact:
Mob. 094323 57160 or [email protected]

“The smart boy or clever girl who is deprived of the opportunity of schooling, or who goes to a school with dismal facilities (not to mention the high incidence of absentee teachers), not only loses the opportunities he or she could have had, but also adds to the massive waste of talent that is a characteristic of the life of our country.” – Nobel Awardee Amartya Sen in The Argumentative Indian (Penguin Books, 2005), p. 344 | Find this and other books published in India >>

Related: Tribal Children’s Right to Education | Video documentary: Lifeworld of an Enlightened Villager >>
Childhood | Childrens rights: UNICEF India >>

Santal culture: music, video, eBooks and more

Audio | Santali Traditional and Fusion Songs: Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust – West Bengal

Boro Baski

eBook | Background guide for education

eBook | Free catalogue: Banam: One of the ancient musical instruments of the Santals – West Bengal

eBook | Free catalogue: Museum of Santal Culture (Bishnubati) – West Bengal

eBook | “Santals Celebrate the Seasons”: Creativity fostered by Ashadullapur Gramin Silpa & Sastha Bidhan Kendra – West Bengal

Education and literacy | Right to education

eJournal | Writing and teaching Santali in different alphabets: A success story calling for a stronger sense of self-confidence

Infusing the Santhali Element in Schooling by Rina Mukherji

RSV School & Museum of Santal Culture

Santal | Santal Parganas | The Santals by Boro Baski | Santal music

Santals as a community: A brief introduction to their culture and approach to development

Santal village development and social work inspired by Rabindranath Tagore: Visva-Bharati’s Sriniketan – West Bengal

Santiniketan

“Saving our heritage”: An insider’s article on modern education and cooperation in support of Adivasi traditions and values – West Bengal

Tagore and rural culture

The Importance of a Community Museum: Its Role in the Education and the Development of the Santals – West Bengal

Video | Roots and Branches: The Lifeworld of an Enlightened Villager in West Bengal

Video | Santali video album “Ale Ato” (Our Village, Part 1 of 2) – West Bengal

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