Bhalopahar. Doesn바카라™t the name have a feel-good consonance? Bhalopahar Society in Purulia, West Bengal, was founded by five dreamers and writers associated with Kourob (a renowned annÂual Bengali magazine that dares to offer writings outside the established schoÂols of literature). The groÂup exhausted all their savings in order to promote afforestation. It is poetry of green amid the rudeness of depleting forests and wilderness. It is an ashram run by Kamal ChakÂraÂbÂorty aka Kamalbabu. If you ever meet him, you will know his elements smell of earth, tree sap, tribal skin and a little bitterness agaÂinst city-oriented civilisation. You can find him on any day, clad in white dhoti and ganji, probably near a tree or with tribal children or writing in his cluttered hut. Over the years, ChakraÂboÂrty has bought more than a hundred bighas of land that he converted into a forest called Raska. Here, the land is lush with 1.20 lakh trees. It restores nature and feeds the birds, insects and small animals. He and his friends educate SanÂtÂhal youngsters to preserve their tribal culture. At present, Bhalopahar Society, which commenced on September 1, 1996, has 55 like-minded souls, who have joined hands to rebuild the greens of Purulia바카라™s laterite soil.
(This appeared in the print edition as "The 바카라˜Good Hills바카라™ and Green Forests of Raska")
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Text and photographs by Sandipan Chatterjee
