‘The Golden Lion King’

Life is a circle and each one is a part of it. Each one has a role to play, however small or insignificant it may seem, but we need to take our place to fulfill our purpose in life.
Well that's the underlying theme of ‘The Golden Lion King, a two day musical performance that was staged by students of St John's High School, Chandigarh, at Tagore Theatre to mark the school's Golden Jubilee celebrations, last week.
On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the St.John’s High School and the Christian Brother’s Education in Chandigarh, the school presented a splendid live musical-theatre performance in the name of unlike anything Chandigarh Has Ever Seen.
Taking inspiration from Walt Disney's The Lion King, the play brought out many a lesson from the jungle for us humans: Be brave only when you have to, don't go scouting for trouble; understand the balance of nature and respect all creatures; look inside yourself for you are more than you have become. The most important theme was of course essayed by the young lion Simba, who finally musters courage to confront his past, believes in himself and takes charge.
Though the lions, including Simba's dad Mufasa and his evil uncle Scarface, looked regal in their beautiful masks, it was the three laughing hyenas who stole the show. The chubby-turned-lean Simba to the wise Rafiki, the colourful Zazu to the cute Timon and portly Pumba, the elegant Nala to the dancing meerkats, the cart-wheeling monkeys to the bisons running roughshod, the graceful antelopes to the perfect pelicans, every boy played his role just right.
This was an act par excellence put together by none other than the students themselves at the Tagore Theatre. Marking the 50 glorious years, the musical was an endeavor to support the cause of educating over 300 under-privileged children who are, today, able to access a holistic education at the St.John’s High School and are part of the mainstream system. This in itself is a unique manifestation of the cause that the under-privileged children are seen as one with the rest of the students. Through this, the school has been instrumental in transforming many lives. Other than this, all eyes were on the five main characters that wore the masks designed by artist Viney Vadhera.
“The minute we told Viney about the idea, he volunteered to be a part of the endavour,” explained Kavita Das, the principal. “The Golden Lion King was a grand production directed by J. Likhari. From the students, their parents and the staff, gave their best. No professional was hired for this because we wanted to represent the talent within the students and also give them an opportunity to develop their acting abilities,” she adds.
Viney, who took nearly two weeks to design one mask said, “The whole process of studying the characters, designing and collecting material for the masks was a challenging one. I had to work within a limited budget and time. The masks had to be light in weight, so I used paper mache for them. Initially, I made large -sized masks, which Kavita Das politely turned down. She wanted small and light ones. So, we had to take the moulds of the five main ‘heads’ and that’s how I managed to make the masks.”
Due to the school’s exceptional social effort and undying intent towards this endeavor, Meena Bazaar extended their support by sponsoring the musical shows.
The circle was complete as the play was all about reaffirming the sense of belonging. Hats off ... all... cheers for the St John's family.