Indus Valley World School hosts inter-school Bangla fest

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Unmesh (meaning: a birth or awakening), witnessed the participation of schools like Apeejay Park Street, BD Memorial Junior School, Birla High School Mukundapur, DPS Ruby Park, Ektara School, Garden High School, Gokhale Memorial Girls’ School, Loreto Dharamtalla, Mahadevi Birla Shishu Vihar, Mahadevi Birla World Academy, Modern High School for Girls, Silver Point School, Sri Sri Academy and The Future Foundation School

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Several workshops and competitive events aptly represented Bengal’s rich culture. Reshma Bhattacharya, principal of the school, said, “Our festival is meant to spotlight Bengal so that the new generation experiences and imbibes the richness of the state.”

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The guests of honour - Manipuri dancer Bimbavati Devi, and writer producer and art therapist Madhuja Banerjee - were warmly appreciative of the work and talent exhibited by all the schools. Banerjee said, “It was a delight to see students enjoy themselves through an initiative that seeks to instil the love of Bangla language and culture.”

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Setting the tone of the day, the programme began with a duet “Anjoli loho mor sangeetey…” as flowers were offered by the guests to the Almighty. The IVWS Middle School choir sang Rabindranath Tagore’s complex “Biswashaathe joge jethay biharo'' that belied their years. This was followed by the senior school presenting their dance interpretation of “Aaji jato tara tabo akashe” that captured both the awe and joyous litheness of Tagore’s lyrics and music

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Guest of Honour, Bimbavati Devi (eminent Manipuri dancer) said, "Being a part of Unmesh was a beautiful experience. It was a meticulously designed event, aesthetically rich and splendorous. The enthusiasm and warmth of the teachers, authorities and students were highly appreciable." The students from all the schools then immersed themselves in seven artistic interfaces judged or facilitated by noted experts in their respective fields

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IVWS decided to break new ground by giving every participating school a code name to ensure transparency and impartiality. These names also had a special significance – they were the various homes that Tagore had stayed in at different points of time in his life

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There were five competitive events for children from classes III to IX. The juniors from different schools participated in group presentations of Rabindrasangeet and an exciting vocabulary quiz which tested the children’s knowledge of traditional Bengali cuisine and mishti as well as their ability to spell correctly. The children from classes VI – IX presented Rabindra Nritya of a very impressive standard which clearly showed the effort put in by the participants. Creative writing and painting inspired by a Rabindrasangeet that was played were other events that showcased the wealth of talent in our school children

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In an attempt to make the fest a rich learning experience, the host school had arranged two workshops where participants from different schools could learn together in a spirit of bonhomie - one was on the traditional art of alpona and the other was on elocution in Bangla. It was a rare opportunity for the children to learn from experts in their respective fields. Amita Prasad, director, Indus Valley World School said, "The thought behind this event was to encourage students to go beyond the confines of their textbooks and syllabus and to create a fun-filled learning environment where children could develop a love for the arts of Bengal. We wanted to help students to get a taste of the richness of Bengali culture so that they would be encouraged to learn more."

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At the end of a fun-filled day, Indus Valley World School was declared the overall champion. Being the host school, they handed over the trophy to the Runners-up - Garden High School. Prisha Moitra, a student of Grade 7, IVWS, shared her personal highlights of the fest and said, “I took part in the fest as one of the dancers. All the schools mesmerised the audience with their elegant, bold performances. When our group went up on stage, we felt nothing but the thrill of dancing.”