Visual treat by visually-challenged in Madurai

Over 200 students from 17 institutions showcase their talent

December 01, 2013 09:34 am | Updated 09:34 am IST - MADURAI:

Visually challenged students performing in the city on Saturday. Photo: R. Ashok

Visually challenged students performing in the city on Saturday. Photo: R. Ashok

Visually-challenged students from schools and institutions from across the country put up a grand display of various dance forms at the All India Dance Competition for the visually challenged, which was jointly organised by the Indian Association for the Blind and Amway Opportunity Foundation, in Madurai on Saturday.

As many as 217 students from 17 different institutions put up dance performances in different categories, which included group folk, classical solo and freestyle.

Most participants, who had converged in the city for the competition, said that apart from their love for dance, the opportunity to travel and perform outside their home State was something that motivated them.

For the 10 girls from the Rehabilitation Centre for Blind Women in Tiruchi, the past month of rehearsals and practice has been an enjoyable experience. “Learning something new as well as practising as a group was interesting and enriching,” said a visually-challenged C. Selvarani, who was part of the dance troupe. The students from the rehabilitation centre put up a ‘karagattam’ performance and enthralled the audience with synchronised dance movements while balancing pots on their heads.

“Of the 2,000 students I have taught, the experiencing of teaching this group has been a unique and fulfilling one,” said M. Ilangovan from the Kavin Kalai Kuzhu who had trained the girls.

“The process of teaching is a slow and systematic one. We started with an emphasis on balance and then move on to steps and formations,” he explained. Echoing his point, Manoj Kumar Rath, headmaster School for the Blind, Odisha, said that it required a lot of time, patience and enthusiasm from the students and teachers alike.

In the group folk category, the students showcased a variety of folk styles from their States, which included Sambalpuri and Jogwa.

The competition was inaugurated by Justice K.N. Basha, Chairman of the Intellectual Property, Appellate Tribunal. C. Ramasubramaniam, president, Indian Association for the Blind, and secretary S.M.A Jinnah were also present.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.