A rumble from the jungle

Parents, friends and family learned all about these and a score of other creatures, big and small, endangered or otherwise at the Ladies College primary school performance of a "Rumble in the Jungle" recently.

The three-storied Simon block of classrooms, was turned into miniature rainforests of South America, Australia and Sri Lanka, complete with the ground layer, under storey and canopy. Family and friends trekked through undergrowth and thicket, occasionally brushing away falling leaves and overhanging foliage, where thick trees and dense copses were full of caterpillars and bugs, snakes and slugs. Truly a place to be avoided by the faint-hearted!

And amongst all of this, enthusiastic students of the primary school were strategically placed like verbal encyclopedias to explain the entire background and each minute detail of the rainforest creatures. The students were so very familiar with the subject matter that it was almost impossible to outsmart them. 

Beautiful imitations of Red-eyed tree frogs, White-lipped tree frogs, spiny echidna, Hoatzin and Quetzal were made and exhibited by the students. There were miniature tapirs and scarab beetles in all their colourful splendour. 

Apart from the creatures, there was enough to learn about plants, fungi and the importance of decomposition and the value of the rainforests, all vividly explained to improve awareness. Amazing facts about each and every creature and their habitat were researched and remembered by the students who learned about the structure and ecology of tropical rain forests and the need for conservation. 

As expected, walking through a forest could get too thorny for some trekkers. To overcome this hazard, there was a colony of 'army ants', the prefects of Ladies College, complete with antenna and mandibles to guide a lost trekker. 

A scene from 'A Jingle in the Jungle' 

The students of the middle school cooked and served food to visitors. On offer was bread fruit, manioc, vanilla and cocoa, needless to say, much in demand! The Science and Environmental Societies of Ladies College conducted games in the back garden all of which related to the tropical rain forests. There was a long line for the artistic touches of the talented face painters. At the end of the day, Flower Road was swarming with an assortment of colourful birds and frogs rushing home from school! 

A short walk took visitors from the rain forests and into another performance called 'A Jingle in the Jungle.' This time the students made an upbeat presentation of song and dance encouraging awareness of these great assets. The four act routine included the Grade Fives with the Grade 6 choir in The Rain Forest song. They showed how these wonderful forests are being destroyed by human acts of devastation. The end result is famine and desolation. 

The Grade Four Frog song with the upper school chorale saw a stage swamped with frogs, frogs and more frogs! They crawled and hopped out of every nook and crevice and looked resplendent in their vivid colours. 

Hanging Around for the sun to go down was what the 'bats' of Grade 6 did. They portrayed the importance of bats in the rainforests and ecology. There were 'cool' bats and 'crazy' bats accompanied on stage by the Grade 5 and 6 choirs.

And lastly, the entire grades of 5 and 6 were on stage for the grand finale of 'Feathers, Furs and Fins'. There were bats and frogs, snakes and slugs, spiders and fish all showing off their feathers, fur and fins and no matter whether they walk on legs or fly on wings, they are all Mother Nature's marvels that we should all save.

The message was to instill in all of us the importance of our roles in nature to save and protect the forests and its plant and animal life. It was truly a "rumble in the jungle" of a performance!

Clothes Line

Blind Brother 

I do not know 
How you feel about the world 
But when I saw you at first 
I felt so sorry for you...

I believe nature 
(And nature is my God) 
Gave you a sound mind 
Gave you your protection 
But 
Why not your eyes ....

You are a blind man 
Who is victorious over everything 
I am a sensitive girl 
Who prays for you 

- Kamanthi

Not so green on the other side

This is regarding the comment on 'Indians model better' dated 19th August 2001. I do agree with you on the point that the model is not advertised but the product. I also agree with many of the other points you've put across but I think you step a little overboard with the statement "Sri Lankan models lack the flair and beauty that the Indian models have". I don't suppose you have seen all the models in Sri Lanka to make that statement. Anyway, models or no models your attitude towards appreciating the beauty in Sri Lankan models is questionable - I'm sure what Nilu meant by her letter was that we hardly see Sri Lankans on TV, leave alone the models. Please be a little more cautious of your statements. As Sri Lankans we must learn to stand up for what is ours and appreciate it. It is alright to appreciate the beauty of others but not at the expense of putting our people down. I guess our models hardly get the chance of modelling due to various reasons, but that doesn't mean it gives us the right to make unfair statements like that. Where is our loyalty? And please remember I have nothing against you too, but the grass is not always greener on the other side. 

Ray