4th July 2015, Saturday
A mad tea party went underway here as the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland was celebrated here at the Centre.
Watch the official video for the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0MnsOCkU44
Lewis Carroll needed no introduction and before the event even began, children and adults alike began to enjoy the setting of the evening. A signpost with the directions, ‘This Way’, ‘That Way’, ‘Wrong Way’ amused the little ones to no end. In the book, the magical Wonderland was stuffed with food, from the Queen of Hearts’ stolen jam tarts to the mushroom Alice nibbles to change size. A similar mood was set for the evening as the most delicious cupcakes, wafers and tea were served to those present.
The introductory speech was followed by a dramatic reading of selected excerpts from the book. This was where Keya as Alice, Purvi as the Dormouse, Randhir Khare as the Mad Matter, Pooja as the Caterpillar (all dressed for their parts) shined and delighted the audience. Lavanya, a 11-year old, then elegantly recited ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’, one of Carroll’s more eccentric poems. After which, children were taken in for a ride as three vital scenes of the 2010 Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland were screened. There was no denying the amount of pleasure they had as they shouted in delight for the Jabberwocky to be slayed! The event concluded with a light session of the Lobster Quadrille dance that was carried out for a little while.
Carroll wrote books for children that, by their humor, logic and imaginative absurdity, also appealed to grownups. Going down the rabbit-hole, sipping a cup of tea with the Mad Hatter, defending the White Queen’s rights- all these are things we grew up with. And who can forget the Queen screaming, “Off with his head!”
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