The following is an opinion piece by Swarachna School leadership team member: Akshay Shetty.
It relates to Akshay’s experiences and opinion of an event that occurred on October 18th in Lucknow.
The Gandhi Corner of the La Martiniere Girls’ College, one of Lucknow’s most prestigious institutions, organises ‘The Day of the Girl Child’ every October. By organising a number of events for girl students from various schools in and around Lucknow, the school dedicates the entire day to celebrating girls and honouring all they can accomplish.
For the first time this year, the staff and students of Swarachna School were also invited to the event. Even though our girls had little idea about what was in store for them, just the idea of a 55 km-long trip to Lucknow was enough to get them thrilled about it.
After weeks of intense preparations, 40 students and 6 teachers left the school on Sunday morning at 6:30 am. The bus journey, as expected, was a riot. An Indian road trip is incomplete without Antakshari and we respectfully followed the tradition.
On reaching the school, the students were divided into their respective age groups and the fun began. First up was the sports event, which was conducted by the NGO, Project KHEL. Soumya from 6th grade came first in the event. What a wonderful start to the day! We also aced the Arts and Craft competition, where Muskan and Pragya won a consolation prize in the ‘Best Out of Waste’ category. A contest in which participants were prompted to create things out of recycled waste products.
Next up was the dance event. Our girls danced to ‘Nagaade Sang Dhol’ from the movie ‘Ram Leela’. The performance of our students paled in comparison to the other teams from Lucknow, especially due to the choreography, costumes and other technical aspects. But standing backstage and watching them perform; I couldn’t hold back my tears. I know where these girls come from, and the conditions in which they have grown up, without any access or exposure to the outside world. For them to perform with such enthusiasm and energy on a platform like this in front of a thousand people is no mean feat. In the middle of the performance, a shard of a broken bangle pierced into Nausheen’s feet, but she continued to perform with abandon till the curtains came down.
A victory we really didn’t see coming was for our teachers. We won the ‘Best Dressed Staff’ award for the beautiful sarees our teachers wear to school every day.
The day ended with the distribution of gifts for all the participating students. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the event and went back with memories that are going to last for a while.
A special hat tip to the staff and students of the La Martiniere Girls’ College, for organising a beautifully planned and well-coordinated event, and ensuring that all the participants had a great time. See you next year!