Saptarshi Pal, a student of Jadavpur University, West Bengal has won an International Essay Competition 2008 organized by the World Bank in collaboration with Cities Alliance and the Government of Norway.  The topic of the essay was 'What can you do to shape the city of your dreams.'  Over 3000 participants from 148 countries participated in the competition. 

Pal was one of the 8 finalists selected to present his essay during the ABCDE Conference in Cape Town, South Africa on June 9. An international jury unanimously judged his essay and presentation as the best.

Saptarshi Pal’s essay titled 'A little goes a long way..’ is a tribute to the pioneering work being done by a group of committed and enthusiastic school students to make the citizens of  Kolkata aware of their obligation to the city and its environment.   It exhorts the people to take action and not be mute spectators to issues that affect their everyday lives. In his essay, Saptarshi writes:  “a nation goes down not because of the actions of the corrupt but inactions of the good ….We don’t take a stand …. it is inconvenient.  As long as the youth takes to convenience than to conviction, the nation will go downhill.”

Pal dreams of his city Kolkata “with clean air and water, without unhygenic slums, no child labor and adequate number of public schools for poor kids.”  While in school, he alongwith a group of friends set up Nature Clubs in about a dozen schools in the city.  The students campaigned against pollution of the East Kolkata wetlands and worked to beautify Park Street – one of the major streets of the city. “I dream of a city with fresh air, water and soil,” writes Pal. “How does it feel to know that the air you are inhaling every moment is not giving you life, but taking the life out of you –it’s slowly poisoning you?”

Pal’s efforts to awaken the young to become significant participants in the growth and development of the city has not gone unnoticed or unsung.  In their efforts to expand their movement across the city, the Club received the support of the media and the corporate sector.  A proposal to get administrative buy-in for the Club through the Mayor’s office is now under consideration.

When asked whether their Green movement will be limited to a few schools and a few students, Pal answered with an emphatic “No”, clearly confident about the enthusiasm of the thousand-strong band of young students who are working with him to make Kolkata a better place for its citizens.  In the concluding lines of his essay, Pal says that Helen Keller was once asked, “What’s worse than not having eyesight?” Her reply: “having eyesight with no vision!”

Pal and Rodriguez, winners from India and Colombia respectively, have been invited to attend the World Leadership Conference at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to be held in October, on the topic “What kind of world we want –the future generation speaks”.