Happiness in the Hills!

March 25, 2009: This story hails from a beautiful place located in the Aravallis, a couple of miles from the ever-so-growing Gurgaon. The place is called Mewat, an important region of Haryana, one which is characterized by the richness of its land and water, and at the very same time, the low literacy of its people.

One fine morning at Deepalaya Gram

Ask someone from Deepalaya, and they will tell you a fresh tale. ‘Gusbethi’ is the one word which sums it all. The place, which happens to be one of the remotest parts of the state, houses the Deepalaya Gram – Deepalaya’s major institutional care hub comprising a school, hostels for boys and girls, a mobile clinic, a dispensary, agricultural farms and everything else that’s required for life.

Saturday marked the Annual Day of Deepalaya School, Gusbethi. Far away from the business of the City, it was a colorful function marked by many events which were achievements in themselves to happen in Gusbethi. Girls from the most orthodox families dancing and those from the most conservative backgrounds opening up and singing their hearts out were just some of the examples.

An all involved audience

The programme started at 10 in the morning. Block EO Mr Sukhbir Singh Sherawat was the Chief Guest. Among other prominent faces were Mrs and Mr Mathew, Mrs and Mr Philip, Ms Sudha and Ms Shikha from Deepalaya, a couple of Corporates and NGO partners, and volunteers from Holland, Canada and France.

Mary lights the lamp

Following a song by a group of children and welcome speech by Father Benny, prominent women folk were invited to light the lamp. The ‘positive discrimination towards the girl child’ keeps manifesting in many forms at Deepalaya – sectors, regions, programmes and ages.

Rukhsar and Rubina sing their heart out

Former school Principal Mr Aas Mohd congratulated the children for being able to put a good show. The Chief Guest was also impressed with the level of participation the girls displayed, and the way they managed to break the barriers which kept them from coming out in the open. “I’m delighted to have young girls perform like never before in Mewat. The fact that they could make it to the stage in front of hundreds of men and women is an achievement in itself. That they also sang only adds to it”, said Mr Sherawat as he praised the performance of Rukhsar and Rubina, girls from the middle sections.

The girls bring down the stars on the earth

The event had a bilingual compeering done by a teacher, garnished with frequent reading of original shers by Mr Faiz to keep the audience involved. Soon after, Nilofar and group presented a beautifully choreographed dance sequence on taare zameen par. The hilarious skit presented by the middle secondary children told the tale of a modern bahu. It was warmly received by one and all. This was soon followed by an energy-packed performance by the junior students. Another skit presented by the senior students was a piece of satire – a unique death procession, aptly called the ‘shava yatra ka anand’. It talked of how daily responsibilities make people so hollow that they can’t even concentrate to carry the corpse and bid the deceased a decent, humane final goodbye.

Volunteers Rana and Raila enjoy the programme

“They are just amazing. All they need is good nurturing”, said Rana, a French volunteer with Deepalaya, as she talked of the tremendous amount of talent that lay hidden in the children. The children’s programmes were followed by Headmistress Ms Anita’s speech. She also read out the Annual Report which quite impressed the Corporates and NGO partners present at the function.

Sridevi refuses to give back the football

Jacky, who is one of the ‘product’ of Deepalaya Gusbethi and now works for Indian Heights School, Dwarka shared how his life changed after Deepalaya and expressed deep gratitude towards the organization and its people. He did his bit by shaking a leg on a popular Hrithik number. Jacky’s performance was followed by a medley from a 90s Bollywood flick featuring our very own young little Sridevi and Anil Kapoor. Not to forget that the girl took quite a while to return the children’s football even after a number of pleas and requests by our Anil and children.

Well done my child!

Mrs and Mr Philip, and Mrs and Mr Mathew distributed prizes to the meritorious children in the later half. The programme concluded with National Anthem. All in all, the children put a good show.
Happiness in the hills prevailed with the school’s birthday!