We The People | Of Green Thumbs And Good Hills: The 'Bhalo Pahar' Of Raska

Bhalopahar. Doesn’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 ann-ual Bengali magazine that dares to offer writings outside the established scho-ols of literature). The gro-up 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 Chak-ra-b-orty aka Kamalbabu. If you ever meet him, you will know his elements smell of earth, tree sap, tribal skin and a little bitterness aga-inst 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, Chakra-bo-rty 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 San-t-hal 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 Purulia’s laterite soil.