Dramatist Kavalam Narayana Panicker interacted with more than 60 young participants at ‘Rangabhasha’, a five-day camp conducted by the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare at Thycaud on Friday.
The interactive session began with Kavalam talking about his career as a dramatist with special emphasis on drama for and by children. He answered various interesting questions asked by the participants on how to act in a natural way, the significance of facial expressions and body movements.
‘Rangabhasha’ is a theatre workshop for children, mainly focused on the personality development of children. “This training is an exercise for increasing the concentration, imagination and rhythm sense of the children. More than teaching the kids to perform a play, this workshop is a process to enhance the overall personality development of children,” said M G Anish.
Including 30 participants from the capital, more than 60 children belonging to classes 7, 8 and 9 from various districts are participating - four from each district. “Participants include children from the Sree Chithra Home and other juvenile homes. This is to uplift their spirit, enable them to mingle with the other children and to assure them that they are no different from the other kids,” said P Sasidharan, camp director and programme officer of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare.
The kids are being trained by a group of five teachers - M G Anish, Anish Ailam, Reju R Nair, Nasir and Alinkara Sasi.
A memento was handed over to Kavalam Narayana Panicker by Balamohan B, administrative officer of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare. Kavalam Sajeev was also present.
The camp was inaugurated on December 26 by director Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Snake catcher Vava Suresh will interact with the children on Saturday. The workshop will conclude on December 30 with two theatre performances by the participants.