Special children, special play

November 26, 2008, was any other day for the average Mumbaikar. Any other day, that is, until the terrorist attack. What happened to the city’s mindset thereafter is what 31 children with learning disabilities will attempt to define through a play, Mumbai Calling, today.

The children are students of JBCN PAN Academy and are fresh off a thunderous response at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, considered to be the world’s biggest arts festival. The JBC students were the first Indian contingent in the school category to perform at the festival and are gearing up for an encore. During rehearsals on the school’s terrace, walking sticks, cut-outs of taxis, huge paintings on cloth of important city buildings and flags jostle for space and attention with the excited children.

“For them, it is only now that the enormity of what they did is sinking in. They have become mini-celebrities among their peers,” says Piya Marker, principal, JBCN PAN Academy.

Mumbai Calling is in English, but its elements and dialogues are typically local. We have Parsis exchanging news in a park, a brawl at a water tap, a squabble in the ladies compartment of a local train, taxi drivers doubling up as guides for unsuspecting foreign tourists and even hijras. In between these glimpses of Mumbai life, the children break into song and dance, a la Bollywood.

One of the lead dancers is Darshi Dani, 15, the school’s head girl and an aspiring fashion designer. “My best memory of the trip is that I got to dance so much for so many people,” says the shy girl. Matching her steps is Shahrukh Buhariwala, 18, who wants to become like his namesake — an actor. “Performing on stage, in front of people, is an amazing experience and it is something I want to do throughout my life,” he says.

The children, aged 12-18, change roles and dancing parts. “They also helped us with the costumes and creating the props,” says Shivani Sawant, co-author of the play and rehearsal supervisor.

“They are so enthusiastic that they have learnt one another’s parts.”

Like Savin Contractor, 12, who did a spoof on the entire play, mimicking his friends’ parts. He does various roles in the play, his favourite being the scene where he plays “a hijra at the signal stop”.

Mumbai Calling will be performed at YB Chauhan auditorium today, September 24, at 7pm. Tickets are priced Rs350. Write to jbcn.pan@gmail.com or call 3254 2200