Nithari kids enact their gory past

RECALLING MEMORIES: children of Nithari village performing the gruesome incident.

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New Delhi: The children of Nithari village have decided to move forward and step out of the fear that enveloped them for the last few months now. They choose to play, and speak about it openly.

While the play looks like any other group of kids at play, there's more than what meets the eye. The children belong to the village of Nithari, infamous for the gruesome murders of children. But instead of shunning the issue, these kids chose to talk about it.

Play performer Soni says, “Our play says talks about how he caught them and how he killed the girls."

And helping them voice their opinions is the NGO SAKSHAM, which has been running a free school for underprivileged children in Nithari since 2002 and joining hands with them an activist theatre group – Pandies.

Pandies director Sanjay Kumar says, "The immediate response is fear, self agitation, every child was feeling guilty but we want to tell the children that its not their fault its ours."

But Saksham's involvement doesn't end there. Thanks to their training, children form the area feel much more confident to face any situation.

Another child who performed in the play says, " It has happened. Many girls have been lured. We know that we should not at all listen to strangers."

While it’s been a catharsis of thoughts for the children, the audience too who came to watch the performance, had much to ponder on.

Till now remembered most for the horrific incident in Nithari, the children now have a different platform to be a part of public memory, thanks to the play.

And it's through endeavours like these that these children will ensure that incidents like the one which happened in Nithari, will not repeat happen again.