GUWAHATI, April 6 - A maiden stage performance can send anybody into a tizzy, but 11-year-old Reeba Das is confident for she has overcome bigger challenges to be a part of the play, Latkan, to be staged at the Rabindra Bhawan here tomorrow evening. Narrating an inspiring tale, 15 specially abled kids will take to the stage to showcase their special skills.
The programme is being organised by Sahayika, a guidance centre for special kids, in association with the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the State Department of Cultural Affairs. The play will be staged at 6.30 pm. The children participating in Latkan, based on Rasaraj Lakshminath Bezbaroa�s story, have been undergoing training for 20 days to get adapted to the stage, their roles and the audience.
�Acting can be a great therapy for such special kids who learn to communicate and break out of their shell and connect with others. This initiative is an attempt to help them assimilate socially,� said Ipsita Sarma, principal of Sahayika.
Since 1986, the organisation has been helping the specially abled kids, along with providing necessary counselling to their parents and caretakers. It caters mostly to children hailing from poor to lower middle income groups.
�Latkan has been chosen so that the children can enjoy taking part in the play due to the fun element in the story. It is indeed inspiring how the kids understand and enact their roles overcoming all odds,� said Rajib Kumar Saud, director of the play and also a special trainer.
Saud, who specializes in working with children with special abilities in the field of drama, said that acclimatization with the ambience is a must to instil in such kids an interest in acting.
�We take the help of visual aid and background sound to make the performance lively and keep the kids involved in the play. If necessary, dialogues are provided from backstage,� he said.
Apart from the mentally challenged, children with autism, hearing impairment and multiple disabilities are taking part in the play.
