It was triple celebration for Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education on August 15. Not only was it India’s 75th Independence Day and 150th birth anniversary of Aurobindo Ghose, the spiritual leader and freedom fighter who the school is named after, but it was also the foundation day of the CL Block school itself.
On August 13, junior students had taken stage at EZCC and on August 15 it was the turn of the seniors. “I cracked my voice trying to mind the junior school kids but it was fun,” smiled psychology teacher Rupa Das
The seniors’ show began with speeches by the school’s governing body members, an Odissi recital and a piece on freedom fighters like Netaji, Gandhi and Dadabhai Naoroji interspersed with dance and music.
Overcoming hurdles
The event was not without glitches. After a dance item, the curtain got stuck midway while being drawn. It was a good 45 minutes before the show could resume.
The school’s alumni association had also arranged for former students to watch the live streaming of the show sitting in a room outside the hall but a technical snag stopped the webcast. It caused disappointment but the 50-odd alumni members turned the occasion into a reunion of sorts.
All the world’s a stage
Students put up several plays. There was a one-act play Towards the Future, written by the Mother, and a Bengali production, Lachhmaner Ma, written by Mahasveta Devi and directed by Bengali teacher Amanita Nath. “We let the actors act with a free mind and kept another set of students in the wings to utter their dialogues. We have been using this system successfully for a long time now,” Nath said.
Suchismita De of Class XI was ecstatic to have landed the lead role in the play. “I had always wanted to play a Rajasthani or Bundelkhandi woman that I can in this play. The rehearsal was great fun too,” she said.
Tagore’s dance drama Bhanushingher Padabali was perhaps the most cheered event of the day but Sreejita Basak, who played a dancer in the piece, had mixed feelings. “I was excited as extra-curricular activities have been an integral part of my school life and what better excuse to skip classes than attend rehearsals?” laughed the Class XII student. “But I’m also sad since this is my last year in school.”
The Hindi drama Lakshmi ka Swagat, written by Upendra Ashk, was followed by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. English teacher Runa Banerjee spoke of the challenges during rehearsals. “On August 14, one of our lead cast fell ill and I had to prepare another boy for the role,” she recalled. “He rehearsed the entire evening as well as this morning. They gave it their best shot. Many in the audience said they felt like they were watching a movie,” she beamed.
Projato Majumder, who played prince Donalbain in Macbeth, was happy with the way the show turned out but was even happier when principal Anthony Das announced that their examination was getting postponed by a week. “I’m in Class X and didn’t want my exam preparation to get affected because of these rehearsals. But now I can be well prepared,” he smiled.
A choir followed this act and the event came to an end with students singing the national anthem.
