Some Themes for Annual Function

1. 1. Indian Values ‘Sanskars‘ – Program can be built around traditional values imbibed by us as sons and daughters from our parents, as citizens of this country, as followers of a particular caste/region/sect, as inhabitants of a particular zone or area, as citizens of the world or from the values we learn from our Past (including folk tales and mythology)
   2. Humanity ‘Rishtey’ – Lets talk about importance of peace, harmony, unity in diversity, The concept of One God, World is my village “ वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम”, people involved with humanitarian work like Mother Teresa etc. The entire theme is around human values and standing for each other.
   3. Around Geography – There can be multiple themes which can be woven around Geography for example; Rivers of India (You mention the river and show the cultural aspect of that particular region) or you can take for example Ganges and start from the top and end it with Bengal, thereby showing the folk art forms from Kathak to Bihu. Similar themes can be around Mountain Ranges, States, Languages, Regions,, Around the World (Salsa, Afro Jazz, Street Dancing, Ballet ….) etc
   4. History – of the World/ of India / of Freedom of the country / Region – Show events which have been responsible for creating our society and culture and remember those who have made an everlasting impact. for example World – World War, Cold War, Renaissance Columbus, Hitler, Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Mandela, Industrial revolution etc.
   5. Navrasa – There are 9 various forms or emotions mentioned in our art and culture. The entire show can be woven around mentioning these forms and displaying those emotions. The 9 are as follows – Shringar, Karun, Hasya, Veer, Vatsalya, Bhayank, Adbhut, Raudra & Shant Ras.
   6. Children’s World – A place of innocence, Mischief, Comrade-in-arms and Imagination.
   7. Conservation – Save trees, forests, Water, Electricity, Fuel, Words/Temper, Culture etc.
   8. Mother – The manifestation of mother in various forms in Indian culture – Mom, Mother Earth/Nature, Mother Country, Mother Language, Cow etc. It also can include a celebration of great mothers like Sivaji’s mom Jijabai, Rani Jhashi, Parvati etc.
   9. Ambition/Expectation – The idea here will be to make parents understand the child’s dream. This theme is about taking the pressure off from academics, Pains of a kid when he sees mother – father in a domestic violence or altercation – how his ambition of a great family is broken, Child’s expectation from leaders, society, elders etc. All this would be tackled by simplicity and honesty
   10. A day in School – In this theme the program can showcase, what all goes in school. The ringing of bell, the class, the love of teachers, happy-go-lucky punishments, all pranks, PTM, sports etc.
   11. Seven deadly Sins –  Though a little adult in the idea, this can be modulated to suit school students. The seven deadly sins are – Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy & Gluttony
   12. A Human’s life – This theme can expand on the rites of passage and our duty during such events and time in our life.
   13. Society – This theme can show the real life mirror to those watching. This theme can take up various topics in the context of our society and build upon them. The issues such as Dowry, Child Labour, Caste bias etc. A little serious in nature but can be made fun by energising the pace of the show.
   14. All Religion is One – What’s in the name?, there is only one divine power and all fingers point in the same direction. This is a brilliant theme which allows us to create various dance and ballets to be drawn from the life and time of deities or great people like Ram , Paigambar Mohammad, Buddha, Guru Nanak, Sant Kabeer, Jesus etc.
   15. Personalities – There are many personalities, such as Gandhi, Gautam Buddha, Mandela, J.L.Nehru, Swami Vivekanada, B R Ambedkar etc an account of their life and time can be a theme on its own. Little anecdotes, major events, people around them etc can lend itself to ideas. Think of this as a Broadway Musical.
   16. Local Culture
       An ensemble comprising of facets from the local culture can match up to become a great theme.  Bhojpuri, Rajashthani, Bengali, Chhattisgarhi etc.
   17. Celebrating Womanhood
       This is a complete package. Think of things you can do, Showcase lives of Great women – Rani Laxmi Bai, Indira Gandhi, Sita, Mother Teresa etc. Touch upon social issue like dowry, occult, domestic violence, celebrate various forms of woman sister, mother, tecaher etc.
   18. Family: Celebrate different forms of family, the immediate family, extended family, city, state, country and world
   19. Formations of Nature: Just like Nava Rasa theme can be woven around formations of nature like, VIBGYOR (Rainbow), Nine Planets, Seven Days etc. The good part of this theme is you can make everything fit backwards.
   20. The fundamentals of a progressive society.
       This theme can feature items around Power of People, Power of Democracy, Victory of Non-Violence, Strength of Press (Pen is mightier than sword), emancipation of women etc. This can be great educative trip for parents and students alike.
   21. Change is a beautiful topic There are so many things which come to my mind when we talk about change some of which are – change by definition cannot be bad, or change is the only thing permanent, or desist change and you stop existing, the more we change more we remain the same,  avoiding change is like holding your breath etc. Here are some ideas you can use as dance routines and ????  possible play;
       1) a story of our freedom struggle through dance sequence as this was one of the biggest change our country ever saw.
       2) the change we see in our country as western values take control of our lives how do we resist this change and stay true to our Sanskars
       3) How should we not change our attitude towards our dear ones when we see a change around us personally and professionally. You can do a Krishna – Sudama routine
       4) How man has or is changing from ape to a better human form and his mind is changing in reverse order, we should being so different and bring about world peace. Songs on world peace and on shunning communalism.
       5) You can do small kids dance routine on the change of caterpillar to a butterfly
       6) Play/ act on how siddartha changed to Buddha, there are other examples which can be done with several personalities etc.

I will keep adding more if I can come up with more. Hope you will find this useful.