Penning their thoughts is something that comes naturally to the bunch of writers at Calcutta Girls’ High School (CGHS). Encouraged by teachers to explore beyond the expected, they have earned several accolades.

“Creative writing teaches one to express ones thoughts. When they write what they speak, it builds confidence. A friendly teacher-student relationship is essential to foster imaginative output,” says principal Basanti Biswas.

“We encourage our students to read, as it has no substitute. For ISC students, we have made the novel compulsory despite protests from students so that they read more. We also plan to start a literary club, where students will have essay writing, extempore and literary discussions,” she adds.

The hard work has borne fruit. Stories by the school students found place in The Best of Scholastic Writing Awards in 2007 and 2008. Aratrika Ghose’s contribution was The Journey of Life, the story of the 11-year-old who faced a tough time witnessing her parents’ separation and their coming back together. Janhabi Chakraborty’s Deepa recounts the story of a mason’s daughter who juggles the roles of a domestic help and student.

Publishing house Scholastic comes out with Stories for Kids by Kids, featuring 20 stories (fiction and non-fiction), selected from students of 10 to 16 years from across the country.

Four stories by students from the school featured in the collection recently. Creative writing award at the Don Bosco School, Park Circus fest and bagging the first position in an essay writing contest organised by the state forest department were other feathers in the school’s cap.

The school also participates in the Albert Barrow Memorial Inter-School Creative Writing Competition, held by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations. Writing for the school magazine is one of the must-do things in the students’ calendar. “Some students are logical, others give precedence to emotion. We encourage both kinds to express themselves through words,” says Esther Rajan, one of the teachers in charge of creative writing.

The students feel the school plays a major role in honing creativity. “In an essay on, for instance, a boat ride, we cannot get away with mere description. There has to be a surprise element to interest readers. We are also given interesting topics like ‘flipping through the pages of a photographer’s album’,” says Class XI student Meghna Paul.

Says Class XI student Madhura De: “Since Class IX, I would show my poems to teachers for feedback.” Along with friends, she has started an informal poetry club, where poets are discussed. “We plan to start an online forum too,” she adds.

Jhinuk Mazumdar

Going corporate

Indraneel Mukherji receives the Army Commander’s Gold Medal. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

Many sons of armymen are opting for the corporate world instead of donning the olives. Such was the feeling at the 10th medal award ceremony of Army Institute of Management, 80 per cent of whose seats are reserved for wards of army personnel.

Held at the Fort William auditorium on August 14, the army medals and graduation certificates were handed over to 120 students of the outgoing 2006-08 batch.

Indraneel Mukherji, from an army family himself, had to quit his plans of joining the forces after a bout of jaundice led him to be disqualified in the medical test. But Indraneel, who won the Army Commander’s Gold Medal for best all-round performance, did not lose heart.

“The discipline inculcated in me because of my army background will help me to work in a corporate environment,” he says. Yogja Singh was awarded the Patron Silver Medal for second best all-round performance and Bhavna Panigrahi, the Chairman’s Silver Medal, this year.

Established on July 28, 1997 by the Army Welfare Education Society, it admits students on the basis of CAT scores.

Lieutenant-General V.K Singh, general-officer-commanding-in-chief, Eastern Command, the chief guest for the award ceremony, had words of advice for the students: “You are going out into the corporate world where you will be judged by your performance. You have to create innovative and practical solutions and not be hindered by bureaucratic tangles.” Also present was A.M.Verma, the general-officer-commanding, Bengal Area and the chairman of the managing committee of AIM, who handed over the certificates to the students.

Most students from army backgrounds, said institute director K. K. Chaudhuri, diverge to management studies because of family or health issues rather than for the lure of lucre. Agrees Indraneel: “The army might not be as lucrative a profession as management, but it has several perks, and the prestige of serving the nation cannot be discounted.”

Reasons notwithstanding, the students have begun well, with a 100 per cent placement for the current batch.

“The average pay the students have been offered is Rs 4.28 lakh per annum while the highest is Rs 6.51 lakh per annum, with companies like Infosys, Ernst and Young, Tata Consultancy Services, ABP and Standard Chartered conducting campus interviews,” said Chaudhuri, while presenting the annual report.

Subhajoy Roy

STAR SPOT

The pianist

He struck the piano keys for the first time at the age of six, following in his father’s footsteps. For someone born into a family that lives off music — his father owns the shop Braganza and Company on Marquis Street — tunes came naturally to him.

Since then 18-year-old Alistair Braganza has come a long way, having passed Grade eight from Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and performed at numerous venues in the city.

The Schubert aficionado has not restricted his tastes to western classical music. U2, The Beatles and Pink Floyd figure largely on the list of songs that he plays for his school band. As a keyboard player, the Class XII St Xavier’s Collegiate School student has also picked up the best instrumentalist award at the La Martiniere for Boys’ School fest for two years in a row, along with four gold medals for the school band from 2005 to 2008 at St Xavier’s, Don Bosco Park Circus and La Martiniere fests.

He was among 15 students who visited Ireland for an exchange programme to Belvedere College in Dublin in 2006.

He enjoyed playing variations of Mozart’s Twinkle twinkle little star at a Calcutta School of Music (CSM) concert, as well as attending workshops with a Czech pianist in 2003 and a Japanese musician in 2007. On August 30, he will appear for his first solo recital at CSM, where he will play Bartok’s Romanian Dances.