We all headed to the Shanmukhananda auditorium with eager anxious faces and palpable thrill of our beating hearts. Chaitra was slated to perform her dance today. It was a big day for her and the entire family. Prithvy was all smiles that day. Kids have a strange sense of intuition.He was pretty cool and confident of his elder sister's dancing skills.
The Winter Funk was a culmination of all the hard efforts taken by the kids for a month practising their steps and sequences. All the parents had arrived to cheer their kids. They were dazzling in their designer clothes, jewelry and perfumes. Some parents were belonging to the lower strata. Dance has no barriers.
All you need is two feet.At that moment, I thought so.
The show began with a spiritual song and soon disco beats reverberated all around the hall.'Dhinka Chika' saw Chaitra with her team dancing synchronously to win our hearts.We were seated on the front seat and Prithvy too danced in the aisles. We stood up and gave a standing ovation, clapping till our hands hurt.
She had no stage fright whatsoever,unafraid of performing before such a massive audience.
Later, the host invited all the parents to come on the stage to show their dancing skills.I took Prithvy on my shoulders and danced merrily.It was pure fun, so far.
After the interval, the curtains went up to present kids with special needs atop their wheel chairs.Some were on crutches and some on braces. The music began and they danced in their own styles, limited by their handicaps. I saw a phocomelic girl who had small arms like wings of a penguin.She was also dancing with gay abandon.The cheers were the loudest for them and everybody stood up,clapping to cheer them. The rhythm of their strong spirit easily overpowered their disabilities. Some were deaf too, but they could follow the steps. They swayed to the song.The dance organisation used to conduct workshops for kids with special needs and always would give them a platform to show their skills. It was a very humble and a pious thought for them.
Their parents could be made out easily by the tears in their eyes. They were the happiest and the proudest parents of all, Yet they cried. It was a poignant sight.A disabled kid brings an end to the ambitions of parents. Their whole life goes in care giving and rearing the child amidst social hurdles.Seeing them on a public platform warmed their sad hearts.
They could dance with their courage in their souls and strength of their spirit.
I silently saluted the special kids and their brave parents.
Meanwhile, Chaitra came from the backstage and hugged all of us.I hugged her with all my might, trying to hold back my tears.
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