The exuberant children of Sandipani Muni School have star power. Naturally.
And they shone and were in their element when Vivek Oberoi came to visit yesterday.
Their spontaneity, their cheer, their bright smiling faces, all 1200 of them, were utterly infectious. From the moment he arrived at the school, Vivek Oberoi and his family was swept off their feet.
I remember one of the first performances where the children were trying to dance—barely being able to put one foot before the other and managing to shake only one hip. This was the standard dance routine for a few years. It was tellingly reflective of the restrictiveness of their lives.
However, they were already having a good time and their ability to seize their right to life was developing in leaps and bounds. They began to feel wanted, be reassured by the regularity of all we take for granted- food and education and safety.
Moreover, they were being allowed their childhood.
Last night, this evolution was on full display. The confidence of the children as they sang with their hearts and danced with all their being, was a sight to be witnessed and cannot be described.
As I write this, I ask myself if I feel this because of the before and after factor in my experience.
Perhaps. But I saw and felt the crowd’s reaction and also that of the Star and Hero, which is how all the people here refer to Vivek Oberoi. Everyone was quite simply, floored by the children’s performances. From Odissi dance to the Bollywood song from Vivek’s film, they held their own and how.
They had all the moves, their dance flowed with confidence and feeling. We experienced their freedom and appreciated how they have worked for it. When they came down to sweep Vivek into the dance on stage, he seemed too intent on watching them to follow. Clearly, he did not want to take the attention away from the children and did not dance as he could, but his appearance in their midst and his participation reciprocally, enlivened them tremendously.
When Vivek spoke, very eloquently and straight from the heart, in the very rasa and bhava filled mood of Vrindavan, which he has also caught, he said he was told that these children are from the section of society that have practically nothing. His experience was, he said, that even so, they have given him everything and they are his great hope for the future of India. These words from one star to all the other stars of Sandipani Muni School are certainly something to keep smiling about.
Hope is the motto at SMS and it is ever renewed in ways that leave us with no doubt that there is something very special here.
"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—"
--Emily Dickenson
