A voyage of discovery

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you did’nt do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” – Mark Twain.

Thus Quoted the invitation of my children’s school day function(primary section).

My children’s school day functions are theme based. Each year is different with themes like Panchatantra( based on Panchatantra stories) , Ithihas ke pannon se… ( emperors of India), Around the world in 80 minutes( self explanatory), Indradanush(rainbow), Raga sudha rasa (about emotions), Pancha bhootha( about the 5 elements) etc.,

This year the staff and students of class I to VII presented ‘A voyage of Discovery’ to highlight the pleasure and importance of travel.

Lot of research, creative work, hardwork, team spirit, co-ordination and practice translated on to the stage where children showcased their voyages to China, Hawaii , Mexico, West Indies etc.
See the invitation below showing the countries against the presenting classes.



Each country’s culture was showcased through the music, dance and a tableaux depicting the landmarks. The uniqueness,contributions and achievements were ably anchored by the respective class children in impeccable English and shuddh hindi. Now, shall we go ….

Off to see ‘ The great wall of China’
China’s culture was beautifully portrayed with a breezy fan dance (The kingdom of fans), a lantern dance,exhibition of martial art skills and with beautiful props of a fire spitting dragon, laughing Buddha, Giant Panda, China ware and the great wall of china and the now world famous china bazaar. Very breezy and bright.



Our next voyage was to….
Aloha….. HAWAII … Here we come!---- A wave like prop embellished with shiny blue sand in the fore ground and a blue duppatta in the back ground turned the stage into a virtual beach. In the back ground were the palm trees, canopy and a volcano . In between the boys and girls of Class II were having sun bath in their beach wear. The stage was sizzling like the tropics, Of course, there was the Hawaiian dance.

From Hawaii we flew to

Mexican fiesta…. Fun ‘n’ Frolic of Class 6 ( my son participated ) was again supported by beautiful props, a salsa dance, bull fighting, a mock beauty pageant and mock footballand other interesting facts on Mexico. The stage was totally on fire with a Mexican ball dance.

Our next port was
Sun ‘n’ Sand of West indies came alive on stage with beautiful beaches , swaying coconut laden palms and a lovely Caribbean song and dance followed by excellent mock cricket. After a long time , we saw Viv Richard and Clive Lloyd in action. We were cleanly bowled.

From there we landed at….
Spanish Rhapsody- Spain was ably recreated on stage by class 3. A Spanish dance, bull fight, salsa dance and again a few boys replayed the FIFA 2010 to ‘ Waka, Waka…’ and held aloft the FIFA world cup. Even as I was thinking that Mexico and spain had similar cultures, the mindreading compere of Class 3 said that the culture was similar since Spanish immigrants settled in Mexico and retained the Spanish culture. Waka waka mesmerized…

From the land of FIFA 2010 winners to..
The intriguing land of the Pharoahs- Fascinating Egyptian culture was weaved on stage with the magnificient pyramids, mummies, sphinx and the blue nile river flowed on stage while queen nephertiti and the beauty queen Cleopatra walked on stage as their rich history was enacted & anchored by class V through a skit. Every one was mummified….

From one ancient civilization to another……we flew to the land of rich culture…i.e..

Incredible India ---- Well, what shall I say about this country? My words would not do justice to the efforts of the children and staff of this excellent school. India’s show began with an invocation to Lord Ganesha complemented with the oldest dance form Bharatanatyam , a jugalbandi of carnatic and Hindustani music, A kathak performance with a huge prop of Taj mahal - The mood and lighting took us back to the time of Shahjehan and the crown of the show was the tableau depicting the culture of India Kerala’ boat race to the northern Himalayas, The Garba of Gujarat to the culture of the northeast were all flawlessly put to act by the children. The tranced audience stood up to give a standing ovation and as for me, I had goose bumps.

Truly, I N C R E D I B L E I N D I A.




It must have certainly been a proud moment for all parents who inspite of being a working evening took time off to be present at the show and had a comfortable armchair voyage .

A very enriching and memorable evening, Thank you Pallavians. I am sure the message of your show must have definitely reached the audience.

“Travel is more than seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard. ( again quoted from the invitation).