International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts
The Mumbai-based Ryan International Schools Group (RISG), promoted in 1976 in a small shed with an initial batch of five students by education entrepreneur Dr. Augustine Pinto, has since metamorphosed into India’s largest privately owned school chain. Currently, RISG comprises 107 primary-cum-secondaries with an aggregate enrollment of 200,000 students facilitated by 10,000 teachers spread over 15 states across India.Committed to providing holistic, broad-based education to its students, Ryan International stages several international conventions/events to promote camaraderie, linkages and extra-curricular education. In 2001, RISG initiated its first Indian Model United Nations Conference (INMUN) followed by the first International Children’s Theatre Festival the next year. In October 2006, RISG’s 6th INMUN attracted 500 delegates from 110 schools in India and abroad.
More recently, the group’s 8th International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts (ICFPA) which was staged in New Delhi over six days in end November (2007), received widespread publicity in India and abroad. EducationWorld’s special correspondent Autar Nehru filed this report from Delhi.
The Ryan International Schools Group hosted its spectacular 8th International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts in New Delhi from November 23-28. ICFPA 2007 attracted a record number of 5,000 children, teachers, artists and educationists from 30 countries and over 100 schools in India to New Delhi’s National Bal Bhavan, where they made common cause for world peace.
Perhaps the biggest children’s festival held in India, the 8th ICFPA featured 200 events of dance, drama, music, puppetry, workshops, theme nights and other ceremonies during the six-day cultural extravaganza. "God created a desire in our hearts and gave us a vision that we should connect with different types of people within our nation and the whole world. To do it, He gave us passion and we embarked upon this auspicious journey eight years ago. We felt that if this passion can work for five or ten countries, it can be pursued on a larger scale as well and credit goes to Jesus for making our efforts successful," says Grace Pinto, the charismatic managing director of RISG, explaining the rationale of this annual multinational children’s festival.
Given the great importance accorded to co-curricular education — music, dance, painting, pottery etc — in the 107 Ryan International schools countrywide, hosting an international performing arts festival for children seemed a natural fit. "The medium of performing arts leaves lasting impressions on audiences, and we encourage children from diverse countries to showcase their culture to celebrate diversity and foster mutual respect in the cause of world peace," says Utkarsh Marwah, festival director.
The seeds of ICFPA were sown in the millennium year when RISG staged its first National Children’s Theatre Festival simultaneously in Mumbai, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Surat and Raipur. Subsequently, it became an annual event and from 2003, foreign participation was invited transforming it into an international festival. Since then, it has been hosted in Delhi. "Delhi has good infrastructure and a theatre culture; besides events of this scale can only be managed here," explains Marwah.
In its latest avtar ICFPA, which routinely attracts troupes of children from Denmark, Germany, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Bangladesh and France, hosted delegates from 12 more countries (Estonia, Croatia, Israel, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela, West Indies, Canada and Iran). "I have been coming here for the past three years and our children have developed a strong bond with India. Moreover with each passing year, ICFPA is growing bigger and becoming more enjoyable," says Visha Manohari De Silva of the Visha School of Dance, Sri Lanka whose students presented charming folk dances from the neighbouring island nation.
Over the years the broad objective of ICFPA — to promote inter-cultural understanding, mutual respect and world peace — has begun to enthuse politicians, ambassadors and members of the media. Inaugurating the 8th ICFPA, Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of the Lok Sabha described children as the "real torchbearers of peace" and expressed hope that the festival will create thousands of friendships across national borders, and ambassadors for global peace and harmony. "This festival provides a global platform for developing love and respect for each other and a rare opportunity for fostering cultural bonding between nations. The Millennium Development Goals — access to quality education for all children and decent standards of healthcare — can get a boost if we assimilate the good from diverse cultures. This festival symbolises our long held ideal of unity in diversity," said Chatterjee.
"These interactions amalgamate cultures and infuse peace and understanding among children at a young age. They are indeed essential to make the world a better place to live, for all," added Union tourism minister Ambika Soni (see box).
Comments & commendations "Since we reap what we sow, the theme of the festival is most appropriate considering the present global scenario" — Union I & B minister P.R. Dasmunshi "I hope that the creativity exhibited during the festival will be chronicled as a valuable document for posterity" — A.S. Lovely, Delhi’s education minister "Children are the hope of the future and they must learn to live together in peace and harmony" — Dr. Karan Singh, president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and former union minister "Propagation of peace and tolerance is one of the most essential dimensions of contemporary education, if we want a better world for our children. If children of the world know each other in their innocent years, they will be more inclined to respect and tolerate their different ways. Performing arts, by addressing both the eyes and intellect is a perfect tool in cultivating these ideas" — Halil Akinci, Turkish ambassador to India "I hope that these young people will maintain contacts and get to know one another better. We have two group performances from our country and feel proud to showcase our culture here" — Miklavz Borstnik, charge d’affaires, embassy of Slovenia |
Inevitably, the highlight of ICFPA 2007 was the colourful medley of song, dance and cultural performances of children in all venues including the National Bal Bhavan, Sri Ram Centre of Arts and the Kamani and LTH auditoriums. And the high point of the festival was the harmonised dance sequence of children from 30 partici-pating nations to the tune of
vande matram (the A.R. Rehman version).
Perhaps most pertinently, children from all participating countries had a whale of a time and bonded marvellously. "I will treasure memories from ICFPA 2007 for the rest of my life," says Nazmeel (18) a student from Pakistan. Refreshingly the Pakistan students’ delegation of 40 was represented by three theatre groups. "There is great cultural affinity between India and Pakistan, which can help overcome our political differences," says Farhad, a student from Karachi.
Given the multinational character of ICFPA 2007, quite evidently considerable pains had been taken to practice and rehearse the events staged at the festival. "This is our first performance on stage and when passion gets such a platform and encouragement, performance levels go up several notches," says Vaibhav Vijay representing a rock band from Ryan International (Transyamuna), Delhi, which brought the house down and won a television contract. Dazzling dance sequences were presented by school children from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa and Punjab.
By all accounts the Ryan International initiative has succeeded in its mission to win friends and influence for India. "This is my first visit to India. The people are very kind and made us comfortable. Memories of ICPFA 2007 and India will last a lifetime for me," says Eve Noormets, a school teacher in Estonia.
Similar sentiments were freely expressed by participants from Germany, Iran, Zambia and Slovenia. "Though it was a long journey getting here, the warmth and friendship of the Indian people made it worthwhile. And we’ll keep coming," says Julika Mucke, a student from Germany. Adds Tabasum Mirziv, a student from Aeen Theatre Group (Iran): "We received great appreciation while performing and we must thank India’s people for that."
Although nomenclatured festival of the performing arts, ICFPA 2007 provided a holistic learning and development experience for the 5,000 children who thronged the venues bringing joy, colour and enthusiasm into the lives of the 15,000 members of the public who witnessed it. The cultural feast was supplemented by 15 workshops, and a symposium on subjects as diverse as clay modelling, puppetry and theatre forms.
"Eight years on, ICFPA has come of age and is now internationally acknowledged as a children’s festival of varied art forms, rich music, drama and dance among other performing arts. It’s an appropriate forum for expression of universal human sentiments such as love, peace and cooperation," says Dr. A.F. Pinto the promoter-chairman of RISG, with evident satisfaction.
Festival highlights The 8th International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts (ICFPA) featured 200 events of dance, drama, music, puppetry, workshops and other ceremonies during the six-day cultural exchange extravaganza. Highlights of the international presentations were:Germany. The student delegation from Germany presented a play (Circ A Holix’s Bewegt Moved) featuring an imaginary railway station with strange, lovely and crazy people through aerial acrobatics, juggling and dance.Israel. Lullaby for a Puppy, a selection of songs in Hebrew presented by the Smile Group enthralled the audience. The flawless rendition by Israeli children was accompanied by visual stimulation, stage actors and dolls.Malaysia. The Malaysian ministry of culture, arts and heritage presented Ali Baba, the story of a poor wood cutter and 40 thieves. Nepal. A mime performance by the Sarwanam Theatre Group revolved around the plight of a girl sold to a money lender. The girl ultimately breaks free from bondage with her courage. Holland. The Dutch contingent comprising ten children presented their play House, which combined several theatre styles — classical, epic, realistic and abstract — showcasing the country’s multi-culturalism. Pakistan. Three children’s theatre groups made their mark with plays which were well received. These were Gul niki Jai by the City School, Sayyan Nainaa Wallian from Punjab theatre and Kissa Ham Sab Ka from Natara Natak. Canada. Canada was represented by Robert Morgan’s solo show Morgan’s Journey, winner of the prestigious Chalmer’s Outstanding Play award. An exploration of joyous yet challenging childhood experiences, the performance delighted the audience. Slovenia. The Slovenians used a mix of acrobatics and dance to tell the world that life originates from a single cell, and that we all are the same (mikroorrganisms). The other special performance from this country was from the famous Taka Tuka Club, a theatre group for the deaf and dumb, which performed Winnie the Witch.Others. The Polish group presented folk song-n-dance sequences, while the Russian dance from the Movement Group spread magic among the audience. Singapore’s dance troupe gave a mesmerising performance. Hearing impaired children from Turkey presented Purple Night and Blue Day to thunderous applause from the audience. The Sri Lankan dances of Mayur Vannama, snake dance, Lee Keli and other traditional and modern performances were a class apart for their detailed presentation.
The UK troupe presented Eastside Story — a multimedia dance drama about friendship, mistaken identities, and music. The Venezuelan presentation Azul revolved on the environment and mother earth theme. Bengali New Year celebrations came alive with a rendering of the Bangladeshi dance Nobanno. The French contingent showcased a puppet show. The romantic opera Cinderella, through the language of dance and music, was a key attraction at the festival and was presented by The Crystal Cube of Brightness from Croatia. The Trio of Piglets by Eve Noormets of Estonia had children performing circus tricks and playing assorted musical instruments. |