Theatre and fun

The turnout today seemed larger than usual, but the day was still quite sober. I was welcomed with the usual hugs, and requests for piggyback rides
The theatre group from Christ college arrived to entertain the kids. The skit which the troupe put up allowed for a lot of interaction and flexible roles. Many times, the kids would go up on the stage area and contribute to the skit, a clear indication of their excitement and enjoyment. The interaction between the actors and the kids held their attention till the end. They loved the troupe so much that when it was time to say goodbye, they were not allowed to leave (or the process was made considerably more difficult). 


-- Ahalya Acharya,

Ballet, hunger, and cheers

I was just as excited to be going for the ballet performance as the kids were and was really looking forward to it. Even the kids who weren't eligible obviously caught the excitement and wanted to go. There was a lot of begging, screaming, crying and an inexplicable increase in the bus line. After a lot of consoling and some "Akka I'm actually 10 years old", we finally boarded the bus (with no extras). There I was told of a murder that recently took place and how the body was found. Everybody had a slightly different version, but they all agreed that nobody knows who did it, or why it was done.
I spent the rest of the journey just sitting and talking to the other kids. When we reached the auditorium, many kids informed me that they had been here previously to watch Dr. Abdul Kalam deliver a speech. When we got inside they were very excited to see the performance. Many of them were awestruck by the dancers on their toes (they asked me if they were "real people", it was very cute),much like I was, as it's always been a dream of mine to learn ballet.
Since there was no dialogue as such, many didn't understand the story so I explained it to them. The ones who knew the story of Cinderella made their own inferences. Just before the interval, the hunger bug caught the kids. Many lost interest in the play and got really distracted. When the program finally ended, they cheered loudly, though I'm not sure if it was because they genuinely had a lot of fun, or if it was because they were finally leaving...

-- Ahalya Acharya

First day

      As a couple of other tacklers and I made our way through some roundabout route the auto-driver decided to take, and being outrageously overcharged, we thought that our mood and energy had hit rock bottom. The deserted lane to the school didn't hold anything promising for us either. It seemed desolate and slightly shady. We were not sure how welcome we would feel when we actually turned up. To our pleasant surprise, we were proved completely wrong. We were welcomed with open arms, wide smiles, and the kind of noise level and excitement one would associate with recess!! There were kids everywhere, running around, jumping, laughing, squealing, on the ground, colouring, cutting paper, laughing, and just spreading a lot of cheer and warmth around.



     ...Time flies when you're having fun, and I discovered exactly that, when we were told that we had another half an hour to wind up. Between all the  cleaning up, and making sure that we were left with how much we began with, I somehow found myself in the dance room (after we were done counting, and disposing the trash, of course). Who needs parties in fancy clubs when we can do the same at a place where you're so much more comfortable flaunting your moves? Two girls who had joined me in doing what I thought was dancing shyly told me that next week, they'll teach me a few steps. They went on to talk to each other in Tamil. When I replied to them in their language, they seemed shocked, then excited,  then happy. A bond was formed...