Talent hunt

The initiative,under the Parle Centre of Excellence,focussed on the all-round development of a child. At present,the initiative is a state-level affair,with the participation of over 650 schools across the state.

With the overwhelming response that was generated in the first year itself,Rao was encouraged to take a step ahead,including exploring latent talent among students.

“Over time,we found that there were schools that had a lot of talented students but were extremely hard pressed for funds. We decided to give an opportunity to students to display their talents in terms of drawing,story and poetry writing,in categories according to their age. We have promised that we will bring out a magazine and publish the best entries,” he said.

Interestingly,the schools that have been targeted are not the the ones that are among the top ones in terms of popularity. “We are going to schools that are not-so-privileged and not such schools that do not have any dearth of funds. Again,we have kept some prizes for the underprivileged. In the first year itself,we gave a prize to a blind school. They deserved it by all means and the recognition given to them made them so emotionally charged. The excitement among them was palpable,” he added.

It is also ensured that the prize money of over Rs 2 lakh is rightly spent. The authorities take an undertaking from the winning schools that the money would be utilised in upgrade of infrastructural and other facilities that the school – it could be in terms of buying additional books,buying computer or even maintaining a garden.

Rao,a part of the giant corporate house,has hardly any time for socialising but this project has become a part and parcel of his life. “Initially,the core objective was to build Parle’s equity but now,after a decade,I think I have put in more of my heart than mind. The project is very close to my heart now. It makes me proud to see the children when they come up to receive the prize with such great enthusiasm and joy. I feel privileged to provide a platform where talents of children from different unknown corners of Bengal are showcased,” he said and assured that they would maintain the consistency.

In future,they plan to promote jatras in Bengal.