School students witness a short political satire

MADURAI: Political awareness through art is a time tested phenomenon. From graffiti art on walls to street plays to mainstream cinema, art as a vehicle for social and political awareness is not uncommon. A government school in Madurai too went the art way to instill awareness among its students.
On Tuesday, students of the Madurai east panchayat union primary school in Y Othakadai witnessed a short political satire enacted by children of Madurai SEED, a voluntary organisation for underprivileged children and young people.The 20-minute play dealt with land and agriculture rights of people and negligence of politicians and the need for a good leadership.
The head master of the school had no doubts over the influence such plays shall have on young students. “Even Gandhiji’s life changed after he watched the play ‘Harichandra’. We can teach lessons through play because acting develops student’s emotion, body language, language skill, and confidence. It is a different method of education to improve students’ creativity and imagination,” said M Thennavan, head master of Y Othakadai government primary school.
Another play titled ‘Monkey and the man’ was enacted by children activist Madiyalagan and his colleague Marimuthu. The play dealt with environmental issues especially the usage of plastics that is harmful to animals not only in the wild but also in cities. “This is not only a play. It is a method of easy learning. It would be great if teachers follow this method in every school,” said Mathialagan.
The school also felicitated the guests with books instead of the ubiquitous shawls that are presented in any event.