PRI Balachadi Settlement – Culture

In addition to the many undertakings that filled the lives of the residents in the Balachadi estate, cultural activity was of great importance, which allowed for the organized functioning of various interest groups and children’s and youth groups focused on a given field. Janina Dobrostańska, a pre-war actress from the Bydgoszcz theatre, took up cultural activity and – in parallel – extracurricular education in the estate. Her professionalism, diligence, enthusiasm and inexhaustible creative inventiveness meant that the estate reached a very high level in this field. Various structures operated in Balachadi: theatre and dance groups, a choir and a youth orchestra (with several instrument sections), as well as interest sections (report, chronicle, library, press bulletin, wall newspaper and decorative-painting). Janina Dobrostańska involved almost all the residents of the estate in working in various teams and sections. It was she who inspired everyone – not only the youth and children, but also adults (guardians and teachers of the youngest) – to be active and brought back smiles to faces, pouring hope for a better tomorrow into hearts. She was assisted in her cultural activities by Jadwiga Tarnogórska Czesława Ciążyńska.

Initially, cultural activity in the Balachadi estate was spontaneous. The first structures gathering people interested in a given field emerged spontaneously, e.g. theatre groups, which in time staged occasional performances (often on the occasion of Polish national holidays or religious celebrations), to which not only the residents of the estate itself were invited, but also distinguished guests from the Polish diplomacy in India, or local representatives of the authorities, headed by the children’s benefactor – Maharaja Digvijaysinhji. At the same time, it was an excellent opportunity to present artistic skills developed during exercises and classes: vocal, dancing… However, activity in less spectacular sections such as librarianship or chronicling brought no less joy, because it was widely realized how important they were for the life of the estate.

Cultural activity, initially spontaneous, was formalized over time. This was connected with a huge number of people willing to associate in its structures, as well as the growth of the structures themselves. It was precisely because it quickly covered a very wide scope that detailed regulations were developed, which organized all spheres of children’s and youth activity in the field of culture and art.

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