BIS #2942 INDIA SHINING IN THE SCHOOLS OF POLAND

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BOSCO INFORMATION SERVICE #2942


INDIA SHINING IN THE SCHOOLS OF POLAND

Heather Fonseca

POLAND, MAY 26, 2012: Days two and three of the Cultural Festival in Poland saw our Indian troop in action in various schools in Poland.


On May 23, our first performance was at a school called Primary School Adam Mickiewiczch. Our reception there was more than warm and the children's enthusiasm was encouraging. In this school we began the programme with the Rajasthani and Gujarati dances. This performance was followed by the Mongolian song which preceded our Punjabi dance. Next the Japanese group performed their music and finally to conclude the programme we danced the Bollywood dance. On the whole the children were very excited by our performance and were very appreciative. Our next stop was at Publiczne Gimnazjum. This time Mongolia began the show followed by our performance of the Punjabi dance and after the Japanese singing we concluded this show too with the Bollywood dance. Our final show was at a Catholic School Theatre where five schools congregated. The performance here was more elaborate and the audience enjoyed it thoroughly.


From there we proceeded to Good Shepherd Home for Girls having difficult family situations. It is a home run by a congregation of nuns and managed by a team of lay people. They hosted us to a delightful pizza lunch with chocolates, cold drinks and fruits. We also had a look around the home and saw how the children played, studied and lived.


Later that evening we attended the festival where the English group performed a theatrical act. We enjoyed the break dance which was another item in the programme. And finally the last programme of the night was a French band of singers who set the floor a tapping.


On May 24, we began our day with a festive mass in honour of Our Lady Help of Christians. We left Rozanystok at 9:00 in the morning and reached our first destination- Lower Secondary School, Gimnazjum Wlipsku. Since the Japanese group were preparing for their concert today at the festival and the Mongolian performance was exceeding the time limit, ours was the only show today. We began with two choral pieces followed by Rajasthani, Gujarathi, Punjabi and Bollywood dances. During the break Fr. Isaac commented on our (the Indian group of youngsters') role in the festival, and gave them a gist of the nature and beauty of India.


We followed this same routine at our final destination which was two schools together: Primary School Jehube and Antoni Wage and Secondary School Jan Twerdowski. In both these places we got a good welcome and in our last performance the audience enjoyed our dances so much that they even called on an encore. With this our school performances at the festival concluded.


On our return we were greeted by the Japanese workshops. Girls dressed in traditional Japanese outfits were displaying face painting techniques of Japan along with a variety of artefacts and articles which were a part of the exhibition. At the festival, in the evening, a Polish troupe demonstrated a series of interesting and constructive defence tactics in Kyudo and Ken-Jutsu since this was a day allotted to Japanese culture. After this demonstration was a forty five minute concert by the Japanese group. The songs sung by them were melodious and we enjoyed them.


Later that night we had a festive dinner to celebrate the feast of Mary Help of Christians. We are geared up to perform at the cultural evening on May 25, while setting up our exhibition in the morning of the same day. Let India keep shining.


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