Toddlers in colourful attire and the magic of fairy tales and folklore — the pre-primary graduation ceremony of South City International School was a feast for the eyes. Cute actors and the evergreen story of (picture above) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came alive on Day I. With no signs of stage fright, the young ones made teachers and parents proud with their impeccable dialogue delivery and acting skills. “The little ones deserve all the attention and care and we try to provide that to each and every child. It is remarkable to see how they have learnt to deliver dialogues on stage and I am sure it is a moment of pride for all the parents to see their darlings on stage in all their glory,” said principal John Bagul. Little Naaisha Kundra, who played Snow White, was understandably excited. “I have read the book and I was really excited to know that I will be Snow White,” she gushed. “It is great to see so many children and parents here today. It shows how much the school has progressed in the past eight years. It is a big day for the kids as well the parents as the little ones are graduating from being babies to big boys and girls,” said Edna Gasper, the president of St. Augustine’s Day School, Kolkata, who was the chief guest on the occasion.
The South City International School auditorium turned into a mini Gokul on Day II as around 180 students staged (picture right) Bal Krishna. Five-year-old Aayan Arora played little Krishna to perfection, mesmerising the audience with his acting skills. Melodious songs such as Natkhat natkhat Krishna and Are Gokul ke galiyon mein filled the air as the musical act won hearts. “Students have been practising for the past two months and they have been very excited about it. The biggest achievement is the way they carried on with their act despite the glitches,” said Nandini Chanda, pre-primary co-ordinator.
Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket in A Chocolicious Tale, a musical presented by the junior section of Birla High School for Boys based on Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Complete with songs, dances, impeccable costumes and make-up, it was hard to tell that the kids playing characters such as Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mrs Bucket were actually boys. Class V students Akshat Jain and Rajmit Banerjee, who played Charlie and Wonka respectively, put up a wonderful act. But the group of Oompa Loompas from Oompaland, dressed in rainbow wigs, stole the show. Headmistress Loveleen Saigal thanked the parents for their support. “Nothing would have been possible without them. The musical was a result of tireless work by both our students and teachers.”
Around 200 young children celebrated various Indian festivals, sports and relationships at Celebrating India, the annual concert of Kangaroo Kids at Kala Mandir. Opening with a tribute to freedom fighters and the armed forces, the children went on to celebrate relationships based on special days such as Mother’s Day, Raksha Bandhan and more. “It was a very good experience,” said Shaurya Agarwal, 5, a senior KG student who played the role of Rabindranath Tagore in the opening act. “We need to make sure that GenNext is secure and their values are in place so that they can overcome their challenges easily,” said principal Malika Varma, owner and founder, Kangaroo Kids.
The annual day concert of Kidzee Tulips and Tulipians Preschool, Sairo 2017, at Gyan Manch saw around 150 kids dressed in the brightest of clothes dance on stage. The performers were aged one-and-a-half years to five years and included around 30 specially abled kids. The first act was by the Tulipian choir, followed by Dance of Gratitude Shiv Shakti by students of KG. A deluge of colourful performances followed— two-year-olds shaking a leg to nursery rhymes and students of Nursery dressed as famous personalities of India.
“We have been celebrating our annual concert for 10 years with different themes. Since we are an inclusive set-up we took four major topics that saw around 35 specially abled kids sharing the stage with mainstream kids. We have seen fantastic progress in them and an integrated school helps a lot,” said Ranjana Arora, principal, Kidzee Tulips. The chief guest was Father Benny Thomas, principal, St. Xavier’s Collegiate School, and the special guest was Tollywood actor Saheb Chatterjee. “I am actually feeling so nostalgic. It makes me go back to the days when I was a kid. They are so dynamic and so confident on stage. There is a positive energy around us and it is after a very long time that I have had a lovely morning,” Saheb said.
Text by Trina Chaudhuri, Samabrita Sen, Farah Khatoon and Chandrajit Mitra
Pictures by Rashbehari Das, Shuvo Raychoudhury, Arnab Mondal, Chanchal Ghosh and Koushik Saha
