Saturday 9 February 2008

No Small Feat

Naina(she studies in KG) was taking part in a dance program at her school. It was for the GRADUATION DAY of the prep students who were going to 1 std the next year to start their formal education.
We braved the cold & went for the program which was held in the open grounds of the school.
The UAE & the Indian National Anthem were played at the start of the program. Pride, memories & tears intermingled as I stood erect listening to the music & lyrics of our National Anthem. The last time I stood like this for the National Anthem was almost 10 years back.
The consul-general of the Indian Consulate was the chief guest, a kind gentleman who, without wasting any time, declared the graduation program open.

The program from start to finish was enacted by the Prep & KG students but ofcourse orchestrated by their teachers. More than 60% of the students participated in the activities. There were various dance programs, which included patriotic song & dance, Indian classical dances, film song choreography & even a beauty pagent.

When a beauty pageant was announced I was skeptical about its intentions. But it was conducted tastefully with a message. For example, they had 3 girls coming up to claim the prize for “”Beautiful Teeth” & then the compere would ask them what the secret of their beautiful teeth was. And the kids would say it was because they brushed their teeth morning & night & ate less chocolate. Then 3 boys came to receive their prize for “the best muscles”(it was actually comical when the lil ones proudly held up their non-existent muscles) & they claimed the secret to their muscles was exercise & using their hands to help others. And so on.

Naina & her classmates performed for the song Jambalaya. A slow number with steps matching the tempo of the song. We craned our necks towards the stage & caught sight of her in the 2nd row. She was doing her steps gracefully, making us shake our heads in a mixture of wonder & pride.

All these days whenever I asked her 2 show me the steps of the dance she showed me some weird paandi steps leading me astray regarding the nature of the dance.

The event culminated with the certificate giving ceremony where all the graduating tiny tots came forward to receive their "degree" attired in a red graduation gown & cap.

Children are capable of so much. We as parents, often underestimate their capacity to absorb & react in accordance. If each of us parents’ truly took initiative to encourage and bring out the talents in our offspring’s in the right manner, the world tomorrow will see a more imaginative & humane generation.


All in all, a very memorable evening.

5 comments:

  1. a very cute post indeed.
    infact i went through most of your posts. And i guess it was even more difficult for u than it is for me. I mean, i work and mostly keep busy with it, i would chew my hands off(or my husbands) if i had to sit at home.
    ur stint on losing weight is funny :) hey, but that is like an alarm to me.. i am not overweight now, but i eat out a lot. I see myself on the same path.(hope not!! :))

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  2. I waited online for u on saturday just to find out how it went. I knew by now it would have reached your blog. Cool. I am so happy for you. It must have been a very proud moment for u seeing your daughter on stage.
    Neha as she turns 4 is going to join Taekwondo classes that are being held in our complex. I am going to start her on self defence first. To brave the world.

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  3. hi ish, thank u for visiting me :-).
    u bet u'll put on weight, so please be careful with wht u put in ur mouth, otherwise work it all out.
    I love food...esp. JUNK food & i'm paying the price for it :-p.

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  4. hey bindu, cool ya....abt Neha joining self defence classes. always wanted 2 join 1 myself but never got the opportunity. hope they start 1 near our place so tht i can send the kids atleast.

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  5. Wow! 2 yr olds dancing for Jambalaya, that wud've been so cute. OMG moments i say ..... the beauty pageant stuff is original and makes so much sense. I'm sure it wud've reached at least a few kids out there.

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