Week 5 with Compassionate Clowns: The Banana Song

This week was by far the most fun week we’ve ever had at St. John’s. It started out a little slow for me as I just wasn’t able to connect with any child. Generally for me, connecting with children comes naturally, but this week, it felt the opposite. 

As I was walking from one bed to another, I happened to pass by a mother and her child. He was eight months old with a broad smile on his face. I showed him my arms, and he jumped right into them. We walked around the ward, greeting children and the other interns. His smile remained constant. He also started playing by leaping from my hands to his mother’s and back into my arms again. He lifted my spirits. 

We then decided to do the Banana Song and the Fruit Salad song before moving onto the next ward. But before we could leave the ward, a few of us were stopped by a three-year-old girl; who spoke only Telugu (which none of us understood), and were given strict orders by her to keep singing the Banana song over and over again! She was so displeased with us each time we broke the semi-circle and made sure we stood properly. She also made us play a never-ending game of ring- a- ring of roses, and made us stand in attention and stand at ease. She joined us in ring- a- ring of roses and jumped the highest at “we all fall down.” We were also joined by a seven-year-old boy, whom we had been seeing for the past four weeks. He was getting discharged that evening and was very excited. Together, all of us just kept singing and dancing for almost an hour, non- stop. All the parents were looking at the children, and their happiness was so evident on their faces. It was indeed a beautiful feeling. 

When we first started at Compassionate Clowns, we were a bit worried about language being a barrier in communicating with the children. But after this week’s experience, we realised that it isn’t true. Even though none of us spoke Telugu, we understood what the little girl was trying to tell us, and she understood us. There are no barriers to playing and having fun.

PS: Never underestimate a child’s level of energy.

Have a look at what Compassionate Clowns does through the links below:


Location: Sarjapur Main Rd, Beside Bank Of Baroda, John Nagar, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034, India

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