Some came in all whites and were given tricolour sashes by the school, while others came in elaborate lehengas and dhotis.

With Independence Day and Janmashtami falling one after the other last week, the tots of Nurturing Minds preschool held a joint celebration on August 14 at their BB Block branch. The Independence Day celebrations were attended by councillor Ratna Bhaumik, who watched the kids marching and dancing before a huge flag that was unfurled on the wall, to songs such as Aye watan and Des rangila.

“Kids are like flowers, beautiful and full of positivity. They cheer up everything around them. But it is also up to teachers and parents to educate them about our freedom fighters,” said Bhaumik.

The Janmashtami celebrations followed, centred around a colourful corner with a Bal Gopal picture. Kids like Divyartha Sarkar Ghosh and Shriyan Brahma dressed as Krishna, while Amairah De and Anontini Bhar came as Radha. Aarvi Banerjee admitted she wasn’t too sure who Radha was, but could confidently explain her Radha look: “Eyeshadow, rouge, lipstick – my mother dressed me up,” she flashed a smile.

The kids danced to songs such as Woh Kisna hai and Sri Krishna Govinda around jhulan swings that they had made as craftwork and a pot of cotton as imitation butter.

“About 65 children took part from both our CK and BB Block branches,” said Soma Chandra, principal of the latter. “We could have simply declared holidays, but it is important to teach them our history and tradition even if they are too young to fully understand. Our teachers also staged a play to show how the good break free from oppression – a simplified version of our freedom movement.”