Tag: Tamina

shuktara - 2017 October - Tamina twirling a sparkler

Diwali – the festival of light

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Diwali is Hindu New Year - also called the Festival of Lights, a holiday that all of shuktara look forward to with joyful anticipation.

The festivities begin at dusk as candles are lit in all of the windows, up the stairs, and around the perimeter of the roof. Everyone enjoys lighting sparklers and crackers as well as watching the fireworks that explode above the rooftops of Kolkata. It's a magical celebration however it's possible that no one enjoys it quite as much as Sunil.

shuktara - 2017 October - Prity showing her finished masterpiece

Leaf Painting at Lula Bari

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Our friend Emma Christmas is in Kolkata and she brought some leaves from a local forest with her. On her way back from Santiniketan she had an idea for the Lula Bari girls and young women to make leaf garlands and decorate the house.

Lots of paint and lots of laughter - it was messy and a lot of fun for everyone.

shuktara girls

The girls of Lula Bari

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These polaroids seem to capture the individual spirit of each of the girls and young women who live at Lula Bari.

Thank You Caroline De Penning for spending so much of your time at Lula Bari and for taking these wonderful photos for the girls to treasure.

Caroline comes regularly to our girls home to do fun activities which have included hair and make-up and often other beauty parlour things.

We also appreciate the involvement of Kolkata International Womens Club and their support of our girls. This year they are paying school fees for all of the girls who attend REACH.

shuktara home for young adults with disabilities - 2017 February - watching Butoh on the roof

Butoh performance on the shuktara roof

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Bridget Scott has been to Kolkata before, but this is the first time she has danced for shuktara.

Bridget is from London and lives in Kyoto, Japan where she has been studying two Japanese dance forms: the avant garde style of Butoh and a very traditional form known as Nihon Buyoh.

On Friday evening 24th February 2017 Bridget came to shuktara boys home and performed a selection of Buyoh and Butoh for the young people from both of our homes on our rooftop.

The staff had decorated the roof with saris and placed beautiful textiles on the floor for everyone to sit on.

Bridget started with Buyoh and then did Butoh and some improvisation where she removed her obi (the tie around her waist) and ran around and in between the young people and staff of shuktara allowing them to hold and touch the obi as she ran.

It was an exciting, emotional and interactive performance and deeply moving as well because it was the night of Maha Shivaratri here in India.

We thank Maura Hurley for introducing Bridget to us and special thanks to Bridget who had a heartfelt wish to perform for our young people. We appreciated it. THANK YOU!

shuktara home for girls - Diwali 2016 - Ipshita, Moni and Lali

Diwali at Lula Bari with Sunnie

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Celebrating Diwali with the girls at Lula Bari yesterday!
Masks, photos and so much love from Sunnie Niklaus

All photos by Sunnie Niklaus