Underprivileged hill children to judge city's Puja pandals

Ten underprivileged boys and girls selected from various tea gardens of the hills have been chosen to judge the Durga puja festival in Kolkata under an initiative being undertaken by the Ramakrishna Mission of Darjeeling.
The initiative has been christened 'Paharer Chokhe Samataler Pujo', or 'Puja of the plains seen through the eyes of the hills' by the Mission.
Four boys and six girls between the ages of six and 12 years have been selected to be part of the puja 'parikrama' (tour) and they left for Kolkata today.
Talking about the initiative, Amlan Biswas, secretary of the Kolkata-based Concern for Human Welfare (CHW), said it was a puja gift to the 10 children from the tea gardens and an opportunity to learn new culture. CHW is one of the organisers along Darjeeling's Ramakrishna Mission Nivedita Educational and Cultural Centre (RMECC) and others.

"Normally, celebrities and prominent personalities of Kolkata judge the puja pandals, which is a huge event. However, we feel that children and their parents from the various tea gardens of Darjeeling are no less celebrities themselves. They work really hard for the cup of Darjeeling tea that we savour and relish each morning," said Biswas.
Secondly, the purpose of the unique enterprise is also to foster brotherhood and acquaint the hills with the plains, and what better catalysts than children, the organisers said.
"These children will represent Darjeeling in Kolkata. So the idea is to provide the children from the hills with the opportunity to be part of a culture which is different from the ones they are accustomed to. We want them to learn and interact and pass on the experience to others in the hills," Biswas said.