Red and blue pencils live in harmony in the imaginary land of Pencilpur, celebrating each other's festivals and joys, till a king, Mr Ruler, and Captain Divider drive a wedge between them! Was the story relatable?
It was, to all the 100 students who enacted it on stage at Gyan Mancha on November 25. Middle school (Classes VI to IX) students of five city-based institutions — Birla High School, Sushila Birla Girls' School, Sri Sri Academy, Mahadevi Birla World Academy (MBWA) and The BSS School — staged a collaborative musical play Gangs of Pencilpur — as part of the AMI Arts Fest of Kolkata Centre for Creativity.
The aim was to use allegory, satire, emotions and music to take a stand against war, corruption, terrorism and discrimination. Even the teachers of the participating schools were involved. "I was part of the choir. To be able to showcase my talent along with students from other schools is a big opportunity for me," said Aarav Tewari of Class VII, Birla High School.
Boys of Birla High School formed part of the choir, the songs of the production being written by their music teachers. MBWA girls and boys were the actors, while the dance performances were staged by the remaining three schools, with their dance teachers helping them out. The script was written by banker-turned-comedian Shiladitya Chatterjee.
"This was our first collaborative project with schools. No competition here. Each school practised in their respective institute. The whole play was stitched together for five days at Vidya Mandir auditorium. It not only gave students a platform to express themselves creatively but also to think and take a stand against war, discrimination and to learn to rise above differences,” said Priyadarshinee Guha, associate vice-president, Kolkata Centre for Creativity.
The five days of coming together on a single platform also gave students a chance to interact and express their opinions and stand.
"The play helped shape our minds. We would practise in school in the last two periods. During breaks, we would discuss the air quality, pollution, terrorism and the situation in Gaza. Even when all the schools got together, we would keep talking, in between rehearsals, how our generation needs to right many wrongs, such as fascism and social inequality," said Soijayini Kanrar of Class VIII, MBWA, who herself played Mr Ruler, a
fascist leader.
Her classmate Disha Chatterjee was equally vocal. "Children's voices matter. We can make better decisions. I wish we were given a chance to talk. We would have opposed so many rulings, such as the Supreme Court's recent one on street dogs," she said.
The production highlighted sensationalising war news and how corrupt leaders misled the innocent masses, till the time came for Eraser to wipe out the social and political mistakes.
"As I performed, I continuously drew parallels with our contemporary world. Nobody cares about the helpless common people. It was a fun experience where I got to interact with so many like-minded students," added Tejjaswinii Sen of Class VIII, Sri Sri Academy.
"Working with so many students sharpened my creative side," said Koushani Bhattacharjee of Class VIII, The BSS School.
The last scene had all the students say no to war and yes to human rights, a moment of truth for the young performers. "The rehearsals were a welcome break from studies. Yet I learnt so much," said Hrutvi Goyal of Class VII, Sushila Birla Girls' School.