Biswajit Mondal, Voice 9, Dhaka Bureau: Poet
Sunirmal Basu wrote, ‘My pathhala is worldwide. I am a student of everyone. I
am learning new things every day and night in many ways.’ The name Pathshala
reminds me of the childhood of a man in his 30s. Seeing this picture of the
lost pathshala, many people are lost in the life of ink and pen, at least for a
while.
Though extinct in the 1980s, Kalipada Bachar, a 70-year-old scholar, has
retained this memory. Dumuria Dakshinpara Shishu Shiksha Niketan of the Sadar
Union of Chitalmari Upazila of Bagerhat was established in 2005 and has been in
operation for 18 years. Young children use ink and bamboo pens to write on palm
leaves. Such a representation of Pathshala may appear to the current generation
like a fairy tale.
Just the past, that's all. Most people's
recollections will still be shaken by this image. In this palm leaf class,
those lovely recollections from the morning were mixed with the shouting of
little kids. Children learn the first letter at this stage. Every day in the
late afternoon, children leave this location having learned vowels, consonants,
spelling, alphabet, shatakia, namta, religious, and moral education. The
youngster is healthy enough to attend kindergarten.
According to Pandit
(teacher) Kalipada, he has been doing hatekhari to young
children for a considerable amount of time. Each student's family pays the
current charge of Tk 150 in exchange, which he uses to buy his prescription
medications.
Speaking with the local children's parents, they
learned that fifty children practice writing the Akshar on palm leaves in this
pathshala. Writing letters on palm leaves requires skilled handwriting. From 9
a.m. to 1 p.m., the kids learn, perform music, write poetry, and engage in
religious and moral instruction.
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