Muskaan, a joint initiative of Prabha Khaitan Foundation and Education For All Trust, organised a puppetry show followed by an interactive with Mumbai-based Puppeteer Shreedevi Sunil on 22nd March.
The event took place at the Indian Museum where around 70 children from local NGOs were in attendance. The children were introduced to the art of puppetry by Shreedevi, who told them a beautiful story with her puppets. She then went on to interact with each of the children and helped them make puppets from paper.
Shreedevi, who is a well-known puppeteer, said “Puppetry is a wonderful way to engage, express and entertain audiences. It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to present this interactive session to the children from Muskaan. “
“Indian Museum, Kolkata being a cultural enterprise and has been engaged in developing its foundations on a broader scale by promoting tangible and intangible heritage of our nation. Indian puppetry is one of the primary forms of traditional entertainment. It was a pleasure collaborating with Muskaan for the marginalised children from various parts of the city with the purpose of promoting and preserving the traditional entertainment and convey a message on moral values”, said Arijit Dutta Choudhury, Director, Indian Museum.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the performance and interactive session and also loved the accompanying craft activities. They were all treated to lunch after the event.
Muskaan is actively engaged in promoting skill development among children through webinars, courses and workshops. Muskaan seeks to popularise and teach arts, culture, heritage and literature among young children in India by weaving it into the formal and informal education system. Muskaan, supported by Shree Cement Ltd under their CSR initiative, also supports needy and marginalised students by providing them with tuition or coaching classes; stationeries and study materials; distributing nutritious food and providing basic hygiene amenities.