Participants at the dance competition “My School Rocks” at Vidya Mandir. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Forty-three teams before the lunch interval and as many more raring to take the stage after. The Vidya Mandir auditorium on Wednesday was the site of power-packed moves all day long. The occasion was the city leg of “My School Rocks”, a national inter-school dance contest organised by the Disney Channel. “After the success of the film High School Musical, we are releasing the sequel in India on the channel on December 9 at 11am. The contest gives children the chance to identify with the film’s theme of following one's dreams,” said K. Seshasaye, head, corporate communications, The Walt Disney Company (India). Calcutta was the last city they were coming to on their eight-city trip.

For the India release, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had been roped in to compose music in Hindi, inspired by the High School Musical soundtrack. The participants were given a choice of the 10 tracks on the album, to which they were to perform. “We danced to Ek hai hum,” chirped the girls of Douglas Memorial, Barrackpore.

Close by, the team from Dum Dum’s Aditya Academy received feedback from their teacher on their bhangra-pop fusion performance. “We missed class tests today to take part in this contest. But our school allowed us to go ahead,,” said Class VIII student Soilee Barma.

The big prize is getting selected for a music video to be choreographed by Shiamak Davar, who is the judge for the contest. Though Davar wasn’t present at the auditions, two cameras were at work taking the footage of the performances back to him in Mumbai.

With the stakes so high, the teams were keen to give their best, as were their supporters. Ila Barua stayed on her toes and clapped to the beat as daughter Rimi — from Birati’s Annie Besant School — danced with her schoolmates. “Who will support them if we don’t?” said the mother.

Lack of support was a peeve point for Eraline, Abha, Sheo and Catherine. The girls from St. Agnes Convent had put up a great show after just half-a-day’s practice. If they were tense over a fault in the last step, the next team from MC Kejriwal Vidyapith had no such worries. Their simultaneous show of Indian and western moves — divided into two groups — drew a huge applause from supporters and onlookers alike. “We were the only team to have demonstrated two forms of dance and carried a message in the end,” said teacher Sangita Gupta.

But they will all have to wait for the results till December 9, when the film releases on the channel.

Sudeshna Banerjee

State of nations

Students of St Augustine’s School, Barrackpore, stage the play Maanraksha on their annual day. Picture by Amit Dutta

Twelve students from schools and colleges across the nation participated at the 8th Inter-Institutional L.N. Birla National Debate at Vidya Mandir Auditorium on November 23. The topic — a reflection of these troubled times — was “In the opinion of the house, nationalism is fundamentalism”.

Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi presided as the chief guest of the debate. Through characteristic wit and humour, the governor touched on some of the valuable aspects of the topic. The panel of judges included Dr Anuradha Das, principal of Calcutta International School, journalist Kishore Bhimani, Aniruddha Lahiri, president of the Chatterjee Group, and eminent neuro-surgeon Dr Sandeep Chatterjee. Dr Suman K. Mukherjee, director of the JD Birla Institute, acted as the moderator.

The debate started off with the school category. Three speakers spoke for the motion and two against the motion. The argument highlighted the activities of Hitler and Stalin, simultaneously pressing on the “symbiotic” relationship between nationalism and fundamentalism. “Fundamentalism is not only negative,” said Shruti Bhaskaran, a student of P.S. Secondary School, Chennai, who bagged the runner-up position, “Look at Japan’s unity after the bombing, and you’ll know what I mean.” A mention was also made of the artworks of M.F. Husain and the hue and cry these caused among the parochial masses not only in India, but also globally. “Is this nationalism not fundamentalism?” asked Afrah Saleem from NASR School, Hyderabad, who bagged the winner’s title.

The College category saw a radical turn. A matured approach, marked with statistics and contemporary examples threw open the ethics of Nationalism in a broader perspective. Speakers included Rituraj Sapkota from Loyola Academy Degree College, Hyderabad and Prachi Arya from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. The latter bagged the second position with an eloquent and informative delivery, highlighting on the exhibitionism of today’s political parties. However, Sakshi Arora from Presidency College, Calcutta was brave enough to state that “Nationalism is like a mother’s love; you know it is there, but you don’t need to show it always”. With vehement opposition against the motion, she bagged the first place. All participants were rewarded with books, gift cheques and hampers. The runners-up received an iPod each, while the winners were given laptops.

Lala Tanmoy Das
St Xavier’s Collegiate School