01

Poornam is an annual event organised by Unmish, a learning centre for differently abled children and adults took a different turn this year. The event was online with entries by special children for various competitions which spanned over two days. Nita Diwan, Founder and Principal, Unmish said, “The current situation came with its own challenges but also several benefits. We were able to get children from all over the globe to participate with ease.” Children from across India, from Pondicherry, Mumbai, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, participated from various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) who support similar causes. Stalwarts like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Abir Chatterjee and Tanmoy Bose came forward to participate in the event and interacted with the children and rendered priceless support and motivation to the children.

The first day’s competition consisted of ‘Dhwani’ that was a vocal and musical category which enabled children to get a multisensory experience while developing their sensation, perception, and cognitive abilities. Tanmoy Bose, an Indian percussionist and musical producer helped them to pick his top 10 performances. He started off by making children recite the syllables of Mridangam, Pakhawaj and Tabla and the results he got were phenomenal.

The Second day was graced by the presence of celebrity judge designer Sabhyasachi Mukherjee who shared his thoughts regarding the noble initiative. Mukherjee said, “Only when we learn to live in a more inclusive society, we learn to live without fear, we learn to live with harmony and happiness and I am trying to build an inclusive society through fashion because I think that you know clothing is an expression of ones intellect and I’m very overwhelmed.” Celebrity judge Abir Chatterjee said, “What I try to learn from these children is to try to be happy with smaller things. Children also have no filter and they speak their mind. As adults, we should learn from them to speak uninhibitedly and live a life without any worries!”