Participants at the drama competition. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, June 24: Their toil at the rehearsals paid off and the smiles said it all.

Members of the North Bengal Council for the Disabled left nine teams behind to emerge winners at a unique drama competition here today. Kachari Road Abasan Samiti, which presented Bhalur Janmodin, a skit on wildlife, and Santinagar Natya Gosthi’s Old is Gold, on family values, bagged the second and third prizes respectively.

Organised by Medi Check Welfare Society, a local NGO, Ek Sathe (Together) was a first-of-its-kind drama fest with 15-minute skits in which disabled children performed along with their normal counterparts.

The other teams at the festival (held at Kanchenjunga Stadium) included Anubhab Crèche Centre, Kishalay, Karunamoyee Natya Goshthi, Adhikary Coaching Centre and Kathakata. The teams regaled the audience with skits on forest and wildlife conservation, education, family values and child labour.

“We tried to bring the disabled children on the platform as normal ones through a cultural event,” said Anirban Paul, secretary of the society. “Here, they got a chance to prove their talent by performing in plays on different themes.”

Mentally-challenged children like Partha, Milan, Mausumi and Sima, members of the Anubhab team, were perfect on stage while presenting Abatarmama. “We played the soundtrack and they matched their lips and expressions to it,” said Pradip Kumar Dasgupta, general secretary of Anubhab. “It was a tough job but they managed it well.”