"I looked for a flaw, just a small flaw but the children were so perfect, there is nothing I can express but praise,” appreciated Dr Suresh Chari, director of research and medical education policy and professor of biochemistry, Salve Medical College, Nagpur. Chief guest at the annual concert of the Primary School section of the J. N. Tata Parsi Girls High School on November 29, 2016, Chari applauded the hard work and dedication of the teachers in putting up the show. "Our future is created by our own efforts. Luck and shagun (good fortune) play a very minor part in what you become. Sachin Tendulkar was not born with a bat in his hand,” Chari said, urging the children to move out of their comfort zone and go the extra mile. He also stressed that the parents’ job does not end with placing the child in a school, howsoever good. They need to teach children by example.
Children of J. N. Tata Parsi Girls’ School, primary section
The two-hour program, attended by parents and invitees, was preceded by a welcome speech by Azra Salam, principal of the Primary School. Also present were the School’s managing trustee Dr Mehru Major Dadachanji, trustees Dr Thrity Patel and Edul Bhagwagar, principals Meena Devnani of the High School and Shanoor Mirza of the Junior College.
A medley of dances set to popular nursery rhymes had the little ones appearing in cute costumes and singing in perfect sync while enacting the poems. There were plays in Hindi, English and Gujarati interspersed with harmonium and synthesizer recitals by students. The bhangra dance was lively, colorful and vibrant. The choir sang old familiar English songs and classical Hindi ragas with equal ease.
Apshugun ka Chakkar, the Hindi play, wove in many current topics like demonetization, black money and the blind belief that people still repose in soothsayers and (supposedly) holy men. Ultimately, the young son of the protagonists Lalaji and his wife Umadevi makes them understand that honesty and hard work are what bring success in life, and not the chakkar (pursuit) of shagun or apshugun (ill fortune).
The Gujarati play, Bairao toh Bairao (Women will be women), set in a Parsi office, depicts three Parsi lady secretaries, well into their 40s. The trio is outraged when they chance upon a report from the assistant to the boss which refers to one as a "battered old dabba (box),” another as "énu toh screw dheelu chhè (this one’s screw is loose)” and the third as "too aged and obsolete.” They demand an explanation from the person responsible. The frightened young man blurts out that he was only submitting a report about the condition of their typewriters!