The show (off) must go on?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Taking part in a routine pageant proved to be the beginning of quite a story for this city schoolgirl</span><br /><br />It was supposed to be one of the attempted show-stoppers that the city often sees, but a fortnight after it was held, a routine beauty/personality pageant has ended up becoming the cause of a showdown that just shows no signs of letting up.And not without reason; the event''s primary organizer is out of her job as a teacher, another teacher is facing flak for bashing a girl who took part, the girl is off school even as exams approach and her mother has lodged complaints all around.<br /><br />The protagonist of this all-women story, however, is the minor girl, Arpita (name changed). One of the contestants at the show, Arpita is studying in the same co-ed school where Aruna Saxena, the chairperson of the body that organized the show, Fantasies, had been teaching until recently. When Aruna reportedly insisted that Arpita too participate in her beauty pageant, the student couldn''t refuse. But even as Arpita was obeying one teacher, perhaps willingly, she was apparently annoying another. Arpita''s English teacher Nafisa Bohra got so annoyed over her participation in the event that she reportedly gave her a piece of her mind and then some slaps too for good measure, in front of the entire class. <br /><br />"I was hit repeatedly and called all sorts of names by Ma''m Bohra, as if I had committed a big crime," alleges Arpita who hasn''t attended school since then. Arpita''s furious mother Roma lodged a formal complaint with the school management and then went up to the concerned Police Station as well, demanding stern action against the erring teacher. Roma has also alleged that her daughter has suffered internal injuries and has gone into acute depression.<br /><br />However, the teacher in question vehemently denies beating Arpita. "I didn''t even touch her. But yes, I did scold her. Arpita is weak in her studies and being her teacher I had every right to admonish her for not concentrating on studies and instead wasting her time on beauty pageants," says Bohra.<br /><br />While keeping all channels open for a rapprochement, the school management contests Roma''s claim and instead holds Fantasies chairperson Aruna Saxena responsible for playing up the issue. "I do not think that she was beaten, but I have apologized nevertheless for any misbehaviour by my staff. Despite that, the whole thing is being blown out of proportion at the instigation of Aruna Saxena as we have just terminated her services. She is using the child as a pawn to get even with us," claims the school''s joint director Javed Khan.<br /><br />Aruna however claims that she has not been sacked but has voluntarily decided not to return to the school as a mark of protest. "After what they did to Arpita, I couldn''t work there for even a single day," she says. This is one beauty pageant that has not ended up with the expected diplomatic answers, simply many difficult questions. And no one as of now seems to have the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">sahi jawaab...!</span><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mazhar.farooqui@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>