19 June 2009, New Delhi : Their nimble fingers once worked tirelessly to carve out the intricate designs of exotic embroidery and jewellery. Today, these rescued child labourers and victims of child abuse narrate the stories of their wretched past through street plays and songs. They travel from one place to another raising awareness about child labour.

This mobile theatre troupe of eight children Mukti Karva is a concoction of talent, creativity and never-say-die spirit. From ideating concept notes to scripting an entire play, the children manage everything themselves. For the past one month, the group has been performing plays in Seelampur basti and Narela industrial area. And the theme of most of their plays revolves around missing children.

Aged between 8 and 17 years, these children were rescued by the Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (BBA) an NGO that works for protection of child rights across India.

Seventeen-year-old Prashanto recalls the hellish days when he used to work in a jewellery shop in Karol Bagh. "For days together we wouldn't get food and had to work without any breaks from dawn to midnight. I was fortunate to be rescued in May, 2007 when a raid was conducted by BBA. Like me, 92 other children also got a new lease of life,'' he says.

Prashanto, who hails from Hubli, West Bengal had gone back to his village after being rescued and received a state compensation of Rs 20,000 under the Bonded Labour Act. But he decided to come back to BBA in Delhi. "I was put up in the Bal Ashram, where I started learning to read and write and nurture my interest in acting. I met a few more boys who had similar interests. We decided to get together and formed the Mukti Karva,'' he adds.

Another child artist, Kamil (13), who may have never got an opportunity to board an aircraft, dreams to fly a plane. "I want to be a pilot one day. It was my dream even when I was scrubbing pots and pans as a domestic worker. My owner neither gave me any salary nor any chhutti to go home. I had come from UP to this city with a relative, but instead of putting me in a school they sent me to work in a house in Rohini,'' says Kamil.

The troupe has travelled extensively and performed in scores of villages and towns across Bihar, West Bengal, and UP.

"We modify our plays to be able to connect with the people from a particular place. So if we are performing in Patna, we tell people the story of a child who belonged to Patna. Our acts are always based on true stories,'' said Naveen (20), the oldest member of the troupe who hails from Rajasthan.

"We want to become professional actors,'' they say in unison with their heads held high and hearts brimming with hope.

These children needed counselling so that they could eventually get mainstreamed into education or take up some vocational skills. "These kids have a lot of anger in them that needs to be channelized towards creative activities. We thus encourage them to take up theatre and go to their villages to spread awareness against child labour and trafficking. Mukti Karva has had a huge impact in states like Bihar and UP,'' says Kailash Satyarthi, founder, Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

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