Underprivileged children at the carnival. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

For one day, discipline was cast to the winds and the grounds of Loreto Convent, Entally, was turned into a fun zone. Children from Rainbow — the home for destitute run by Loreto schools — were seen having a fun time as they took part in the kids carnival on March 1.

Organised by Supreme Fighters, a society dedicated to the cause of underprivileged and orphan children, the eighth edition of the event saw 700 girls participating from all Rainbow homes. Then followed a day-long extravaganza of song, dance, a drawing competition, games and antakshari.

There were joyrides — toy train, whirlpool and bouncers — to add to the fun. The biggest draw was the tattoo stall. Children waited for hours in queues to get pictures of butterflies, flowers and cartoon characters on their body. “This is so much fun. Why can’t the carnival continue for a couple of days?” asked Class II student Mumtaz Khatoon of Loreto Dharamtala, as she flaunted a Tricolour tattoo on her palm.

“We hoped to brighten the day for these children and inspire others to help the needy,” said Deepika Poddar, the cultural secretary of Supreme Fighters.

Despite the heat, the kids remained enthusiastic. As music played in the background, they took turns at dancing, playing games or savouring French fries, cakes and ice creams. At the end, there were toys and chocolates to take home.

“It is a great effort to collect so many kids and organise a carnival,” said Sister Cyril, the principal of Loreto Day School, Sealdah, who started the Rainbow project. “Other schools should also have residential facilities for underprivileged children,” she added.

Jhinuk Mazumdar

Cairo jaunt to judge films

Naman shows his jury identity card for the Cairo International Film Festival for Children. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

It would be difficult to beat Naman Jalan in history this term in school. After all, the nine-year-old has seen the Pyramids up close. Add the cruise down the Nile, the tour around the Egyptian Museum and a dive in the Red Sea, and it will be safe to say the Class III student from La Martiniere for Boys has an edge over his classmates.

Naman was in Egypt earlier this month as the only Indian kid in the jury for the Cairo International Film Festival for Children.

In its 19th edition, the festival saw participation from over 53 countries and screened films in categories like feature, short, animation, TV and Arabian films. Naman was part of the jury that picked the best films from the animation and TV category.

“I had to watch around 36 films in a span of three days,” says Naman, who received a rousing applause when he rejoined school recently. “I made new friends from different parts of the world.”

The other Indian at the nine-day-long festival was a certain Remo Fernandez, who was part of the senior jury.

And like Remo, who was in Cairo for the first time, Naman extended his stay and travelled to other parts of Egypt. “I went to Alexandria, Sharm El Sheikh and Luxor,” he smiles. “In Alexandria, I visited the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, one of the largest libraries in the world. I had the best time in Sharm El Sheikh, where I swam in the Red Sea and saw corals.”

But back in school, no one believed he had actually gone inside a Pyramid. “They were all astonished,” says Naman. “But I did go in. It was all dark inside, with dim lights on the side. But I didn’t find it scary. I was more frightened to see the skulls of the mummies at the museum.”

Having watched films from different countries in the last couple of weeks, Naman is now back to his favourites. “I love Hrithik Roshan, especially Koi… Mil Gaya,” he gushes.

But it won’t be easy for Naman to brush aside the memories from Cairo. After all not everyone becomes part of an international film festival jury at nine. And not all nine-year-olds can soak in all the fun and funda like him. Because the little big man would rather say “shukran” these days than “thank you”.

Pratim D. Gupta