Gopika IS By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A man who lost his wife, child and mother to nature’s fury, a pregnant woman being lifted to safety by the security forces, a mother holding her child close even as they are being washed away; the images that still evoke pain and hope in the hearts of Keralites recovering from two devastating floods, came to life on stage at the Revenue District School Arts fest on Thursday. The mime performance by the seven girl students from GMGHSS Pattom at Theerthapada Mandapam, left the crowd in tears. Mime is a first time experience for almost all the team members. However, the team of Gayathri A R, Gauri P S, Amina A, Anashwara, Aswathy, Arathy and Abhirami, secured the first place in the district to qualify to represent Thiruvananthapuram at the Kerala State School Kalolsavam to be held in Kanhangad. “We had no experience in mime. Now we have a new world open before us and want to take it with us to college and beyond. It was tiring but worth it. Many of us have injuries. I have severe back pain and one of us a fractured arm. She still practiced and performed with the fractured arm,” said Gayathri A R. Sure enough, their performance went on to show the hardwork they put in it. The scene in which one of the students is carried by the other on her head was done exceptionally well to wide applause from the crowd. “I knew she wouldn’t let me go. During the sub district level we did that scene with me on her shoulder but after winning the sub district level, our instructor asked us to take the next step. We got it right in one day, with rehearsals that lasted for hours,” Gayathri said. Their instructor Vishnu Palakkad is happy and proud of his students. “I was sceptical about coaching a group of girls in something as physically exerting and demanding as mime. I was proved wrong. They put in their best and performed well and I couldn’t be more proud. We chose flood as the topic because of the relevance to the period and managed to tell the story well.”

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