Surprise! Obama, Pope, Modi, Salman Khan visit Lobo’s ‘Little Theatre’ in City?
“Where there is righteousness in the heart. There is beauty in the character where there is beauty in the character then there is harmony in the home; when there is harmony in the home there in an order in the nation; when there order in the nation then there is peace in the world”-Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
Mangaluru: Guess what! Probably I was one of the lucky persons to have close encounters with the World’s top figures like Barack Obama-former president of USA, his wife Michelle Obama, PM Narendra Modi, His Holiness Pope Francis, His Holiness Dalai Lama, Sr Anita (Successor to Mother Teresa), Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Cricketer Virat Koli, Football icon Messi, Bollywood hunk Salman Khan, Bollywood hottie Deepika Padukone, Kajol…and others. But unfortunately all these icons were not the originals, but only to be impersonated by the talented children trained by Patsy Lobo, the founder of “The Little Theatre”-Mangaluru.
The 15th performance of ‘The Little Theatre’ titled ‘The Little Theatre Goes on a Peace Mission Around the World’ in music, dance and song was performed by children between the age of 4-13. The play was written, choreographed and directed by Patsy Lobo, with Ms Blossom Aranha as Music Director. This Final Performance of The Little Theatre was held on Sunday, 2nd April 2017 at 5 pm at the 125-year-old Lobo’s residence ‘Nandigudda House’, Attavar, Mangaluru. Nearly 25 children performed well in the play. The children excellently displayed their acting, singing and dancing skills to the delight of an exclusive audience of parents, grand parents and invited guests. The Message brought out in the play was “Peace starts with me”. We live by relying on each other. The ‘Peace Mission’ to four conflict-prone countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria and Turkey, carrying the banner of Peace and having learnt the dances of these countries.
The Little Theatre had worked with 25 children from 7 schools over a span of two months and each child had a statement to make and a song to sing or dance. The story evolved around a Captivating Musical. The dignitaries- Former US president-Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama, His Holiness Pope Francis, His Holiness Dalai Lama, Sr Anita (Successor to Mother Teresa), Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Virat Koli, Messi, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Kajol…While Obama took a Ola Cab to arrive at Lobo’s residence, PM Narendra Modi made a surprise entrance at the end taking a ride on auto-rickshaw tempo, which brought tons of laughter among the audience.
The Message of the Story was “Love as Long as you Live and bring Peace to the world”. The Little Theatre aims at Public Speaking, Confidence Building, Positive Thinking, Team Work and Inspiring Values through Creativity. The Songs were the popular version of The Good old tunes of the 80’s and ended with “The Peace Prayer Song” sung by Marie Lou Rasquinha. This song was originally taken from the speech of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and sung by Usha Uthup.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Patsy Lobo said, “The previous day, nearly 30 children from Infant Mary School-Prashanth Nivas were entertained by the Little Theater to highlight the importance of sharing and caring and being sensitive to the needs of the marginalized children. The “Little Theatre” group aims at recognizing and harvesting the many talents that children possess. The objectives of our group are : To provide an opportunity to project and promote the talents of the children; To create an enabling environment for children to develop creative and innovative skills related to singing, drama, public speaking, poetry etc;; To encourage team-work and leadership qualities; To promote friendship between the children and parents.
“The “Little Theatre” group aims at recognizing and harvesting the many talents that children possess. The objectives of the group are : To provide an opportunity to project and promote the talents of the children; To create an enabling environment for children to develop creative and innovative skills related to singing, drama, public speaking, poetry etc;; To encourage team-work and leadership qualities; To promote friendship between the children and parents. The Little Theatre group promotes the values like Punctuality; Building self-confidence and positive thinking; Seeking out the positive aspects and looking at life with optimism; Inspiring and instilling the values of hard work and perseverance; Promoting unity and goodwill among its members irrespective of religion, caste, creed; Fairness and justice; Discipline and rules of conduct; and Creative thinking and teamwork.” added Ms Lobo.
The cast comprised of – Arnol Vas (Barack Obama); Saanvi Preetha (Michelle Obama); Annora Menezes-(Syrian Dancer); Lysandra Fernandes-(Sr Anita, the successor to Mother Teresa); Dawson Saldanha (Syrian Dancer); Yannick Rodrigues (Master of Ceremony); Suhan Ashraf (Messi); Aiden Vas (Salman Khan); Joanne D’Souza ( Afghanistan Dancer); Aiden D’Souza (Turkey dancer); Suman Mascarenhas ( Karate Champ); Galvin Correa (Nigerian Dancer); Aaron Calvin D’souza ( Multi dancer); Aaron Menezes (Nigerian Dancer); Aiden Mario D’souza (Indian Soldier); Andre Rodrigues (Virat Kohli); Aryan Ajith ( Sri Sri Ravi Shanker); Kedav ( double act as Dalai Lama and PM Modi); Priyamvadha ( Actress Kajol); Thwishaa Pai ( Actress Deepika Padukone); Mansha (guest artist); Eva ( Young Nigerian dancer); Megan D’Souza (Malala); and Yohan Rodrigues (Guitarist)
In conclusion, The Little Theater children took a ‘Peace Pledge’ to do their part, to create Peace for One and All! Let’s spread love and peace throughout the universe, oh Almighty this is my prayer” – these are some of the beautiful words penned by late APJ Abdul Kalam. Every Indian across the world should listen to this beautiful song composed by the People’s President Late Kalam.
The song, sung by Usha Uthup, was Dr Kalam’s prayer to the Almighty for a better world. His wish was for every human to be united, righteous, and help in building a prosperous and peaceful nation so everyone could live in harmony. “Help us to believe the nation is bigger than the individuals,” he wrote, words that echo his own life. A scientist, a teacher at heart and a force to reckon with, Dr Kalam wore several hats through his illustrious life. His most important role of all, however, was that of an inspirational leader. And this song, written by him, will do no less than motivate every individual to make better choices and build a better world.
Let me end this column with the lyrics from Dr Abdul Kalam’s ‘Peace Prayer”-The lyrics go like this..
Oh Almighty…!!!! Create thoughts and actions in the minds of the people above a nation
So they may live united may they live united oh almighty this is my prayer….!!! Oh almighty.. Help them choose the right path
Bless all the people above a nation with strengths of character and a righteousness, Oh Almighty this is my prayer
Guard the people to be tolerant of different points of view help them transform enmity and hatred into love and harmony
Bless the people to welcome perseverance our country can transform into a prosperous and a peaceful nation on the world
Oh Almighty help religious leaders to strengthen the people above a nation to combat vivid forces forces that divide … Oh almighty …!! Oh almighty help us to believe
Help us to believe the nation is bigger than the individuals lets spread love and peace through out the universe
Oh Almighty this is my prayer!