Unity in Saraswati: At these Kolkata schools, Muslim pupils hail goddess

KOLKATA: Over 95% students in Kidderpore Milani Girls' High School students are Muslims. Yet, Saraswati Puja - which celebrates the Hindu goddess of learning and knowledge - is one of the biggest events on the school calendar. With only five Hindu students on its rolls, it's the Muslim girls who take the lead role in organising the puja, right from designing invitation cards, decorating the room where the idol is placed, drawing alpana, arranging materials for the puja to offering anjali and, finally, distributing prasad.

Headmistress Mousumi Bhattacharya says it's a tradition of many years. "We are proud of it," she says. "I think the secret lies in the school's name - Milani - that translates to harmonious co-existence. This year, the girls have designed the puja mandap with mandala art.

There are at least nine other schools in the minority-dominated Kidderpore-Mominpur-Ekbalpore belt, where Muslim students organise Saraswati pujas in state govt-run schools. And they celebrate the goddess of knowledge with as much reverence and fanfare as their Hindu classmates.

At Kidderpore Balika Vidyayatan, 99% of the 182 girls are Muslims. "We never think of Hindu or Muslim, whether during worship of the goddess of knowledge or while we are teaching," says Monidipa Banerjee, the headmistress.

Afiya Ali, Mahin Khatoon and Mantasha Parveen from the neighbouring Babubazar area joined Prity Kumari and Divya Kashyap of Lajpat Balika Vidyalaya for final decorations, alpana and puja preparations on Tuesday morning. "Here, many students are first-generation learners from nearby dockyard areas and migrated from other states," says Rosy Bhattacharyya, teacher-in-charge of the 71-year-old Hindi-medium school in Kidderpore. The school has more than 900 girl students, where 70% are Muslims.

Decorations at Sarat Chandra Paul Girls High School are talked about in the neighbourhood. "Here, 90% students are from minority community," says Shrabonti Naskar, teacher-in-charge.

At Bankim Ghosh Memorial Girls' High School, a heritage institution in Watgunge, all the girls offer anjali by chanting Sanskrit slokas.