At 2.35 pm, the Rajabhai Tower clock overlooking Oval Maidan appeared to have stopped. As did many heartbeats. With the gentle afternoon breeze, William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, wafted into the ground while scores of onlookers lining the entrance and a group of people playing cricket stopped in their tracks.
The royal couple charmed their way through, while their security guards scurried to keep pace. Prince William opted for the casual white shirt, chinos and suede shoes look, while the Duchess of Cambridge looked captivating in a printed dress designed by Anita Dongre.
The royal couple could not afford the luxury of recovering from jet lag. They arrived in the city on Sunday afternoon, and their second stop in was a meeting with representatives of three Mumbai-based children’s charities at the Oval. If the couple were indeed travel-weary, you couldn’t tell. The spontaneity and enthusiasm with which they mingled with the children of the three charities came through clearly. Even from the media’s distant viewing stop, the couple could be seen folding their hands in a graceful namaste, while the Duchess made herself comfortable among the children, on the floor.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, who had arrived at the ground a while before the royal couple, was the first to greet them. After a brief chat with him, they proceeded to meet representatives of Magic Bus, Door Step, and Childline, sheltered from the blazing afternoon sun under three different canopies.
Bina Sheth Lashkari, co-founder of Door Step School, was in awe. “I couldn’t see a single trace of royal airs in them. I believe they are just like us, regular, nice people. I appreciate their gentleness. The prince even said, ‘I wish I knew Hindi. I could have interacted with the children better.’” Doorstep has been working for the past 25 years in Mumbai and Pune to put children of underprivileged families in school. “The choice of our charity came as a surprise for us. This will give us more visibility. It can make the cause national,” Ms Lashkari said. The children showcased a classroom activity for the royal couple and sang for them.
Nishit Kumar, who heads communications and strategic initiatives at child protection service Childline, was equally impressed. “They had relevant questions on our model and were very sensitive. They weren’t showing a cursory interest. You could see that.” Global attention such as this will help raise critical funds and focus attention on issues related to children in India, he said. “The royalty were very impressed with the fact that we were handling 9 million calls. They asked us what we did, how we managed the calls, what we did when we reached a child… the entire process.” The children at Childline put on a puppet show, which the organisation conducts on streets in Mumbai and elsewhere.
Then it was the turn of Magic Bus. The couple caught a quick game of dodgeball with the children. The game is one that the organisation regularly plays with the children, with life lessons built in: it has four safe zones — primary education, secondary education, higher secondary and college — and the finish line is livelihood. Their idea they want to communicate: as you move through the safe zones, people will stop you, and then you drop out. At the end it’s the distillation of a message: what did you feel when you were left out? What skills do you need to proceed? “The Magic Bus approach is education to livelihood, which we demonstrated through the session here. Recognition of this kind will help us mainstream the approach,” said Medha Oka, director, programme development.
The Oval Maidan visit concluded with some genteel action, with the couple playing a bit of cricket. They faced ultra-slow deliveries from Tendulkar and a schoolgirl and won many rounds of applause, including from cricketing legend Dilip Vengsarkar, for their batting. The Duke was caught on the third delivery, while the Duchess slugged it out for a while. The drama was not lost on the spectators; a crisp comment followed from a mediaperson: “This is Lagaan all over again,” she said, capturing the moment on her cellphone camera.
Cynical hacks aside, the couple left a lasting impression on the children. Ms Lashkari said those in her group were excited to be seeing a real-life prince and princess for the first time. Kailash, 11, had their names down pat. “Kat and William are coming today,” he told this reporter, while his companion, Kailash, also 11, added, “Rajkumar hai woh!” [He’s a prince.] Asked if they were for real, all that both of them could do was look wide-eyed in sheer wonder.
