Patha Bhavan, Kolkata

Patha Bhavan is a co-educational private school in Kolkata, India. The school was established on June 28, 1965.^[1]

History

The school was named after the university school of Visva-Bharati University (called Patha Bhavana). It was inspired by the education system started by the poet Rabindranath Tagore as well as the more progressive features of the national movement. It was also influenced by the ideology of the Bratachari Movement which was started by the nationalist civilian, Gurusaday Dutt, ICS. It was founded in 1965 by the Patha Bhavan Society under the guidance of the legendary film-maker Satyajit Ray, the historian Susobhan Sarkar, a judge of the Calcutta High Court, Tarun Bose and an eye-specialist, Amiya Bose. Satyajit Ray, whose contribution to the success of the school was considerable, designed its logo. The eminent legislator and academician Mira Datta Gupta also played an important role in the school's establishment. The eminent educationist, Uma Sehanobis was the Founder-Principal of the school. The eminent exponent of Rabindrasangeet, Jyotirindra Moitra, one of the most popular mentors of the school, was associated with Patha Bhavan in the 1970s. He wrote the school's song, Amader Patha Bhavan.

The management of the school has been in the hands of eminent personalities of Calcutta, such as the well-known economist, the late Santosh Bhattacharya, former Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University and the eminent historian Barun De, former Chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission, both of whom were for some years its General Secretary. Satyajit Ray's involvement with the cultural development of the school was immense. He played a key role in the organising of Sukumar Mela, a festival organized by the school to commemorate 100 years of Sukumar Ray's birth.

Aims

The aim of the founders was to establish a co-educational school in Calcutta which would offer education in both Bengali and English. In the early years it was a policy of the school management not to give excessive importance to examinations, although half-yearly and yearly tests were held from its inception. The first batch of students from the school took the Madhyamik (Secondary) Examination in 1972.

Another aim of the school was to impart an education to its students in an open atmosphere similar to the method of teaching followed by Rabindranath Tagore in his school in Santiniketan, although the medium of instruction at Patha Bhavan is more formal in nature. While paying heed to the importance of traditional methods of learning, the founders of the school do not allow excessive emphasis on traditional learning to dominate teaching. The institution follows the principle of secular education evident in Tagore's ashram in Santiniketan.

Academic

The school has Montessori, Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary/Junior College branches at different locations. Higher Secondary Branch offers subject combination in Science, Arts and Commerce.

Language policy

The school offers education in the mixed medium. At the start of primary school, a student is streamlined into the Bengali or the English medium. Each standard has four sections, of which two are held in Bengali and two in English. The other two languages taught are Sanskrit and Hindi, both of which are offered as third language in the ninth and tenth standards. third language is compulsory in the eighth standard for each students.

Administration

Administration of the branches of the school is carried out separately. The High School is administered by an Executive Council which has a President and a General Secretary. The daily administration of the school is in the hands of the Principal.

Affiliations

The Secondary Branch of the school is affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, while the Higher Secondary Branch is affiliated to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education.

Cultural activities

Since one of the main objectives of the school is to encourage education in Bengali both inside and outside the classrooms, it culturally identifies itself with Tagore's Patha Bhavana in Santiniketan and holds programmes which have been traditionally held in that school, such as the Sahitya Sabhas.

The Sahitya Sabhas are annual meets where the students of the school participate in the writing, reading and recitation of Bengali short stories and poems. Pochishey Boishak and Baishey Sravan are also celebrated and observed every year, and a fair, Sukumar Mela, named after the humourist, Sukumar Ray, has also been held annually. Satyajit Ray allowed the holding of the premier of his film Joy Baba Phelunath (The Elephant God) in the school. Proceeds from the viewing of his other films were also donated to the school for its development. The Rabindrasangeet exponent, Jyotirindra Moitra, has been involved in the development of the school.

Students of the school are placed in houses named after four ancient Indian universities. They are Takshashila (yellow), Nalanda (green), Ujjaini (blue) and Vikramshila (red).

Sports

Students play sports such as cricket, football and table tennis. Its sports ground is located on Fern Road which is close to all the four buildings of the school. It organises a sports day at the Rabindra Sarovar stadium in Kolkata.

Location

The four branches of the school are located at four sites of Ballygunge, a South Calcutta residential locality: the Montessori and primary wings, which function under a single administration, are located at premises on Swinhoe Street and Palm Avenue, Kolkata, respectively. The High School and the humanities wing of the Higher Secondary branch are located at 103, A and C, Ballygunge Place, Kolkata, (a colonial two storied building, popularly called 'Delta House') while the science wing of the Higher Secondary branch is now located at 8/2, Merlin Park, Kolkata, the former residence of Smt. Lakshmi Ray, a former Principal of the primary branch of the school. This is the house, also an example of earlier 20th century colonial architecture, that was given by its owner for the setting up of the school, but due to legal hurdles could be occupied after more than thirty years of the school's establishment.

Branches

There two independent branches of the same school. The first one is the school in Kolkata and the second one is the new branch which has been opened in Dankuni, close to Kolkata.

Notable alumni

Alumni have gained admission to the Indian Statistical Institute, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Indian Institute of Management, Jadavpur University, all the four top Medical Colleges in Calcutta and elsewhere in West Bengal, Presidency College, Calcutta, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Film and Television Institute of India, Pune (FTII), as well as western universities, such as Oxford University and Cambridge University, Royal College of Arts and Crafts, London and Ivy League colleges in USA, such as Harvard University and Yale University.

Academics

• Zaad Mahmood, Lecturer of Political Science in Presidency University and Alumni of both Presidency College (formerly)and of School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
• Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, University of London.
• Amit Shovon Ray, Professor of Economics, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi.
• Dwaipayan Bhattacharyya, Fellow of Political Science, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta.
• Ronojoy Adhikari, Professor of Physics, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy, India.

Journalism

• Madhumanti Maitra, Newsreader and television anchor.
• Udayan Bandyopadhyay, Columnist.

Art

• Gautam Benegal, Eminent artist.
• Indrapramit Roy, Eminent artist; Associate Professor, Faculty of Fine Arts at M. S. University, Baroda; also acted in Ghare Baire.
• Amit Sen, Sculptor-Artisan; has established 3 large studio setups in West Bengal doing TERRACOTTA Murals, Tiles, as well as concrete and fibre glass sculptures.

Cinema

• Harikumar Pillai, Production sound mixer and Sound Designer of "Peepli Live", "Teen Maar", "The Letters", "The Road Home", "Chal Pichchur Banate Hain", "Shipbreakers", "Four Seasons Mosiac", "Chittagong-Strike One".
• Kushal Chakraborty, Film and television actor; child-artist in Sonar Kella.
• Parambrata Chatterjee, Film and television actor.
• Aparajita Ghosh Das, Television actress.
• Anik Dutta, Film director; director of "Bhuter Bhabishyat".
• Sandip Ray, Film director; director of Phatik Chand and Goopy Bagha Phirey Elo.
• Gargi Roychowdhury, Film and television actor.

Music

• Tanmoy Bose, Tabla maestro.
• Kaushiki Chakrabarty, Singer.
• Amit Kumar, playback singer; known for songs such as Bade achche lagtey hai (in Balika Badhu), Teri yaad aa rahi hai (in Love Story), Laila O Laila (in Qurbani), Uthey sabka kadam (in Baton Baton Mein), Ek, do teen and Oye Oye (in Tezaab), etc.
• Indranil Sen, singer.
• Sraboni Sen, Renowned Singer.

References