Audience spellbound as special children take the stage

It was like a still from Taare Zameen Par, with songs, recitation, mime, dance and fashion shows by the children at Vidya Mandir as the proud parents and teachers looked on. The Birla High School for Girls had organised the three-day festival for the special children to showcase their talents. “We always see children of different schools taking part in festivals, but the special children do not get such opportunities. So we arrange such events where the differently-abled children can come and perform,” said Sharmila Basu, Principal of the Birla school.

Next year, the school is contemplating inviting students of other mainstream schools to take part in the event, in order to provide a platform of interaction between the two streams. Approximately 200 special students from eight schools along with non-organisational day care centres like Reach, Manovikas Kendra, Mentaid, Akshar, Ahead, Oral School for Deaf, Noble Mission and Alakendu Bodh Niketan participated in the festival.

“There are a number of Acts for the disabled, but we are still a long way from eradicating the discrimination against these special kids. Such events are necessary where the mainstream students can interact with the special children,” said Lina Bardhan, Principal of Noble Mission, a daycare centre for differently-abled children.

“My son sang a song and made me proud,” said Anjali Malhotra, whose 8-year-old son Druv Malhotra always had a smile on his face despite being bound to a wheelchair.