A Class VII student, Nazeefa Bilal, recited Swami Vivekananda’s lines from the World’s Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1893, on stage.
“We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.”
Nazeefa, who is Kashmiri, lives in the city with her mother. Her father works in Kashmir.
The 13-year-old was performing at the annual concert of St Stephen’s School that celebrated the spirit of 75 years of Indian independence at Mahajati Sadan on Wednesday.
The children, most of whom are from financially deprived homes, expressed through songs, dance and recitation of lines from speeches of freedom fighters their idea of nationalism.
There was a fashion show — but it was about upholding the diversity of the nation.
A skit where children dressed up as animals brought out friendship, bonding and the need to stand up for each other.
A girl dressed as Gandhi spoke about ahimsa.
“In school and through programmes like these, we help our children imbibe the values of nationalism. About 80 per cent of our children are from the minority community and they do not have to prove their nationalism to anyone. For our concert this year, we could not have selected a better theme than 75 years of Indian independence and uphold the country’s diversity and unity,” said Imran Zaki, honorary secretary, St Stephen’s School.
The school’s annual concert was being held after four years. Many of the students were on stage for the first time.
Returning to school was not an easy option for many of these children because some of them had joined their parents in their work during the Covid pandemic.
Many children lost a parent to Covid and had to support the family income.
“There are daily wage workers who lost their source of income... businesses had shut down. In such families, children had to join the workforce when things opened up. We had to talk to them and to the parents to bring them back to school,” said Ayesha Iqbal Siddiqui, headmistress of the school.
But on stage, they had few inhibitions and performed with confidence. The 1,100-seat auditorium was packed to capacity. Families of all the children, from nursery to Class XII, came to cheer them on.
