DAV Public School, Khagaul, competes against St Michael’s in the debate at Litera Valley School in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

What is the basic difference between wisdom and knowledge? Tomato is a fruit, that’s knowledge. But tomato should not be served in a fruit chaat — that’s wisdom.

This was the logic forwarded by DAV, Khagaul, student Yashaswi Mishra, who was taking part in a debate under Udaan, a series of inter-school competitions organised by The Telegraph for students of classes VI-VIII.

Every point mattered at the finale of Udaan and Shikhar, another series of inter-school competitions organised by this newspaper for students of classes IX to XII. The two-day inter-school competitions were organised at the Litera Valley School.

The debate topic for the Udaan team was — “Smartphones should not be allowed in schools”. Yashwashi had a point that just having a phone does not make one smart enough to know that tomato, the fruit, does not go into fruit chaat. But the clincher came from Priyanshu, a class VIII student of St Michael’s High School, who said smartphones were a distraction, just a cellphone would serve students’ purpose.

Litera Valley School student Harshit said: “The competition was really tough. It feels good to be in the top five. This kind of event not only enhances students’ skills, but also develops their confidence to speak in public.”

Priyanshu jumped with joy when his team won the Udaan debate. “I was pretty confident but the cut-throat competition pushed me in a dilemma. I’m glad the hours of hard work we put in have paid off,” Priyanshu said.

The minute-long cross-questioning introduced in the finale turned on the heat in the concluding moments of the debate. While St. Michael’s High School won the Udaan debate, DAV public school, Khagaul, and Litera Valley School stood second and third respectively.

The debate for the seniors, Shikhar, was just as lively. A motion like “People from Bollywood and sports should not join politics” could not have been devoid of, that w word, wisdom. International School CBSE student Ranjita said: “What if you plant an apple tree and it starts giving guavas? Likewise, it is better if sportsmen play sports and actors just act. Why step into fields they are not experts in?” But the clincher came from a St. Michael’s High School student, who said many actors had entered Parliament but were not attending debates there.

Competition was tough. All the arguments were made with an eye to make it to the top three positions or, better still, just win.

“While debating, the only thing on my mind was to win. It was a do-or-die situation for me,” said St Michael’s High School student Sabeel.

Rashmi, the school coordinator of DAV Khagaul was seen cheering up her students. “I am really impressed by the transparency in the judgment. A good judgment always leads to fair games. This kind of event helps in overall child development and increases sportsmanship,” Rashmi said.

St Michael’s High school won the Shikhar debate while Litera Valley School and International School CBSE stood second and third respectively.