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Rhyme, drama and talent
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The two-hour long programme was colourful, well presented and toddlers and teenagers displayed their talent much to the delight of an applauding audience.
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The children share a warm moment with Trisha.
MATHRU MANDIR, which translates as Mother's Temple in English, is a home for Down syndrome children. It was started with six children 20 years ago, and now has 150 in its new centre in the city. Children with special disabilities learn to cope through therapy, and have been quite successful judging by the show they put up to celebrate the mandir's annual day on Sunday.
The two-hour long programme was colourful, well presented and toddlers and teenagers displayed their talent much to the delight of an applauding audience. Movie stars Raja and Trisha participated, and the children loved it!
The show began with children between 11 and 15, who welcomed the audience with `mithva sun mithva, ye dharthi apana hai, ambar apni hai, aa jaa re..." (Hark my friend, this earth and sky are ours, come home... ) while 30 children who are shortly to be integrated into regular programmes enacted half a dozen nursery rhymes.
The older children presented dance dramas, which included Radha's marriage to Krishna, where the children decorated the stage for the marriage and Nature (that includes birds, peacocks, monkeys, bees and flowers and the moon) lent a hand to decorate Radha. After the wedding Krishna disappeared leaving Radha to nurture the world.Kahin aag lage lag jaave, a song number from the Hindi movie Taal was an all-girls show, which was surely by talented children and not otherwise.
Rekha Ramachandran who introduced the children and led the audience through the show, said a child with Down syndrome could live to be sixty plus with proper training and family support.
A 12-minute performance on the keyboard by Babli, whose family nurtured her since birth, was aimed at motivating fathers who are inclined to abandon their family under such troubled circumstances.
Mile sur mera tumhara, a song on national integration followed. The audience which loved every moment of the show agreed with Mrs. Ramachandran that these children with special abilities loved music and expressed their love for the world through it.
Four-year old Sanuka is from Erode and came to the Mandir for therapy. Just when things seemed to fall in line, she was diagnosed with multiple complications and she had a series of expensive surgeries at the Child's Trust hospital. Sanuka is recovering now and will soon be part of the Mathru Mandir. Her father said he had been unhappy in the beginning but now is no longer so. He told the audience, "We need to keep our confidence because they are actually normal babies."
The Vishwanath Reddy award for the best teacher went to Vatsala Neelakantan whose daughter will represent India at the special Olympics to be held in Dublin, Ireland this year. Her daughter has also mastered computer programmes.
A cash award of Rs. one lakh has been instituted in Babli's name for any child requiring surgery. Ms. Trisha released the centre's first souvenir.
By Sujatha R.
Photo: S.R. Raghunathan
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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