ABOUT PRANTIK:PRANTIK was
established in 1973 to meet the needs of a growing Bengali Community in
the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Chartered as a non-profit organization in
1974,
it functions to serve two broad objectives. First, Prantik actively promotes Bengali
culture among its members as well as among other ethnic groups of
Baltimore City and the State of Maryland by hosting a number of social
and cultural gatherings in the Greater Baltimore area. In an effort to project
the image of Bengal in this area Prantik had hosted a large number of
performers from Bengal. The list includes, the late Hemanta Mukherjee,
Shyamal Mitra, Sagar Sen, Nirmalendu Choudhury; Sarbashree Tripti
Mitra, Suchitra Mitra, Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Swapan Gupta, Ajoy
Chakrabarty, Ananda Shankar, Mamata Shankar, Usha Uthup, Purna Das
Baul, Anup Ghoshal, etc. Prantik was a co-host of the sixth Banga
Sammelan in 1985 and the twenty-fourth Banga Sammelan in 2004.
Prantik also participates
in many ethnic programs like the India Day, Asian Festival, Banga
Sammelan, Bangladesh Sammelan, etc.
Second, Prantik is keenly involved in promoting community service
and contributing to various charitable causes. In the past, fund raising events were organized by
Prantik to help flood and cyclone victims in Bengal. Funds were donated
funds for the construction of a charitable hospital near Calcutta and
for other similar causes. Within the US, Prantik had helped raise funds for 9/11
victims and makes annual donations to the Baltimore area Soup Kitchen which feeds the homeless.
Prantik suggests an annual contribution of $20 per family to meet its yearly expenses.
Members receive discounts on all Prantik events and receives regular newsletters providing information
on upcoming events and community activities. Persons interested in donating money
to Prantik are urged to contact any of the Committe Members. Prantik is also looking for
dedicated volunteers. Please contact any of the committee members if you would like to get involved
or would like to find out more about Prantik. We hope to see you at our next event.
