CHENNAI: What Class X student Nishchita Bandekar and her juniors Pavithra Anup and Rajesh Viswa Sudhan had feared the most turned out to be the best part of their trip to Russia. The students from Atomic Energy Central School at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, who went on a month-long trip to Russia and Hungary to showcase their talent, feared that they would feel left out due to the language barrier. But the students not only ended up making friends from different countries but also got a chance to showcase their talent to an international audience.The students participated in a musical titled ‘The Lomonosov’s Scroll’, a play based on the life of the 18th century Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. The play was part of the ‘Nuclear Kids’ programme, an international children’s creativity project organised annually by The Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ‘Rosatom.’“Initially, I felt uncomfortable as there were many students who knew only Russian. But with the help of interpreters and Google Translate, I was able to talk to others. I even taught a bit of Hindi and at the end of the trip, I made friends,” said Nischita.The three students, whose parents work in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, were among 80 international students who performed the play in five cities. They were chosen after they submitted a record of their dance performance.“Since I found it difficult to memorise Russian dialogues for the play, they cast me in a role of a policeman that required more body language and less dialogue,” said Viswa.The trip also gave the students a chance to bond with other international students through various games aimed at alleviating fear and boosting confidence.“We enjoyed the time we spent with other students in both the countries. But the one thing that amazed us was their discipline and punctuality, which most of us, Indians, fail to follow,” said Pavithra.

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