"If they can do, why should we complain about our abilities..." Friday night was an eye-opener for many in Kuwait when they watched the stunning and amazing dance show by a group of people from India where half of them were on wheel chairs and others were deaf and dumb.
Large audience, which includes large number of Kuwaitis with some special invitees including the Chairman of Kuwait Red crescent Society Dr Hilal Al Sayer, Officials from Kuwait Disabled Society, Kuwait para Olympic Federation, several specially-abled Kuwaiti and Indian citizens including some Paralympic medal winners.
Mr Syed Sallauddin Pasha - the founder and initiator of "Miracle on Wheels"
The event was organised by 'Amma Kuwait'- an organization dedicated to humanitarian activities inspired by Mata Amritanandamayi to support the Visually Challenged people in India.
"Miracle on Wheels", the world’s first classical wheelchair dance theatre production company based in Bangalore was bought to perform amazing dance experience by a group of specially-abled people. Many are in wheelchairs, some are with hearing disabilities, some are with talking disabilities and few are on artificial limbs. But the message they left is very big and loud.
In this 2 hour performance held at American International School, Maidan Hawalli, the Wheelchairs and Crutches were converted into different props according to the dance themes like Chariot, Sufi, Bows Arrows, Swords, Chakras, Horses etc.
A scene from the "Miracle on Wheels" performance at Kuwait
"We are here to display their abilities, not their disabilities", said Mr Syed Sallauddin Pasha, the founder and initiator of this group. In our society, we always add that stigma to these differently abled people. As a Choreographer, I was always getting applauds, but this social stigma made me to think I should do something for these people. "I have seen many NGOs are working for these people but they are all showing their disabilities. I felt that they have a lot of abilities and we should showcase the abilities to empower them", Mr Pasha told IndiansinKuwait.com.
Mr Syed Pasha came up with this therapeutic dance theatre project where he trains these people on Wheelchair to do dance steps. It’s a combination of Dance therapy, Movement therapy, Music therapy, Emotion therapy, etc. “It took me several years to come up with this and train these people. I want to transform not only these differently abled people, but also the society”, Mr Pasha said.
There are a lot of challenges in training these people. Each one of them have different type of disability. Some are with multiple disabilities. "Even though I am not disabled, I spend a lot of hours in Wheelchair to find a technique suitable for them", he said.
According to Pasha, “It was a difficult task to break the mental blocks of many families of the disabled about the way they should perceive their children.” But it is a proof of his perseverance that he finally could transform their thinking. “I never teach them as if they were disabled. The moment you think that you are working with disabled people, a huge wall will come in between and that stops you from thinking further,” he said.
Our show is meant for everybody. It is an instant transformation. It is educating, entertaining, motivating and inspiring. "If they can do it, why not me", this is the inspiration our show gives the public. “We see in our life, everybody complains about everything even after God has given them everything. We are not using our abilities but instead complaining. In my work, seeing is believing. We have to thank our self that we got everything”, Mr Pasha said.
"Transforming the society is my moral responsibility; I want to eliminate the negativity and instil positive aspects about the whole idea of the ‘wheel chair’, which is seen as a sign of Hospital, disability etc. in our minds,” he says.
“Miracle on Wheels” has won accolades at national and international dance festivals in India, the United States, Britain, Canada, Russia, Rome, Oman and many other countries.
The show in Kuwait took every guest to a world of miracles as the specially-abled artists gave flawless performances on Sufi music, Bharatanatyam, Yoga and even the recitation of the Bhagavad Gita and Durga – on these wheelchairs. The show kicked off with Ganapathy Vandana, an invocation to Lord. The dances comprised of various art forms like Sufi, Bharatanatyam and Bollywood. Yoga, Bharatanatyam and Bollywood dances where all done on wheelchairs. Unique presentations like the Goddess Durga avatar and Bhagavad Gita dance enthralled the audience. The show ended with the singing of India’s National Anthem in sign language.
The Miracle of Wheels was truly an empowering and enriching experience for not only the specially-abled people, but for everyone who watched their performance.