At last, here are the fantastic and wonderfully witty videos made by our students at Elurupadu Government High School in AP’s West Godavari District.

The children were prompted to create and film a skit depicting an interaction with the political leader in their village. They then wrote and choreographed a Bollywood-style song expressing the same community issues. We were amazed to see how they came up with the lyrics and the dance moves, spontaneously, over the course of a single day! And the casting process for the choreography was adorable to watch: certain dance talents emerged and took over the choreography, testing out  the various class members by offering them the chance to audition; the verdicts, delivered in a highly official manner, with a serious face and a hand supporting the chin, broke many hearts: “No chance”, “Try again next time”, “Good enough for the second row”.

The content of the skits is also very interesting, as it contains some amazingly keen and astute observations about the process of political action and representation, especially in rural areas. “You talked differently when you wanted our votes!”, the children accuse their “village leader” in the skit, and the leader snaps back “It is not in my hands. I have told the person responsible. What more can I do?”. These are political behaviors that the students have noticed in their communities, and the medium of the fictionalized skit gave them the chance to explore these issues within the safety of the distance afforded by the fictional enactment.

We hope you enjoy the videos!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uk0L3dC6Yc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRj0H5SPvFQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty2kbmPylXA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXZNoEq47rk&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]