This little boy in yellow found a job to his liking at a children’s programme held recently at National Library auditorium. With a mischievous smile on his face, he merrily knocked off the toy brick house that the girl had made. The interactive session with kids and parents was organised by Read On..., a centre for communication skills in the English language. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

From Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth and Brutus to Maarich, Ravana and Manthara of Ramayana to Mahabharata’s Kansa, Valmiki led all of them on the path to reform at the Science City auditorium recently. The occasion was the Founder’s Day programme of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy.

Parivartan — A Global Metamorphosis, the play presented by students of the school, was truly global in theme. Taking off from Tagore’s dance-drama Valmiki Pratibha, the story of a dacoit turning into a sage, the play portrayed some well-known literary and mythological negative characters in good light. The characters were not shown as evil and were instead depicted as victims of circumstance, who are ready to change for the better if given a fair chance.

In a world held to ransom by terrorism, the show put up by the 275 students from classes III to XII offered a new perspective on fighting evil. The songs were self-scripted and the narration was in a mix of English and Hindi. The choreography was innovative, set to music from six different countries, including Scotland, Ireland, English folk and ballet, West Asia and an Afro-Latino mix (picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya).

The show was a success, thanks to people like choreographer Sanjay Bhattacharya and play director Rajesh Gupta.

Saheli Mitra

Learning curve

Three days of learning coupled with oodles of fun. Sounds contradictory? Well, that is exactly what the youngsters who recently gathered in Bangalore from 25 cities across the country had to say about their experience. The occasion was the national finals of the Horlicks Wiz Kids 2006, an inter-school festival organised by Activity.

From November 3 to 8, the 44 finalists, selected through city finals from schools across the country lived it up at the Ancient School of Wisdom, an institution set in an idyllic landscape 32 km out of Bangalore. The roster of activities included a talent round, a project presentation and an outing to Pegasus, an institute where the participants engaged in activities that ranged from obstacle race to rope wall climbing. A night trek under the moonlit sky capped the adventure agenda for the participants, many of whom were staying away from parents for the first time. Nilabhra Mondal of Don Bosco School, Liluah, one of the 12 shortlisted candidates, thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the night trek being the high point of his trip.

The Grand Finale, held at Ambedkar Bhavan in Bangalore, included a talent round where the 12 candidates showcased their special flair. The clincher was the Judges Round where they battled it out amidst questions dealt to them by Rajeev Gowda of IIM Bangalore, Nirmala Karunan of Greenpeace India, Colonel Anil, the NCC regional head, and Geeta Ramanujam, principal of National College, Jaynagar.

Mani Sudhir Selvaraj from Bangalore, Anupama Kumar from Cochin, Deepika Easwaran from Chennai and Kishlay Kishan from Patna emerged the winners. They get to go to Philippines on an educational-cultural exchange from January 6 to 9 where they represent India on the Charter of Human Responsibility, a global project which is a platform for students to create awareness on social and environmental issues.

Said Anupama: “Earlier, I wondered whether the friendship I struck with other participants here will suffer because I won and they didn’t. But we have become like a family.”

Romila Saha

Finalists of Sona Chandi The Great TTIS Challenge

Day Two of prelims

WESTERN GROUP MUSIC

Dolna Day School, St James School, The Frank Anthony Public School, Don Bosco School Park Circus, St Paul’s Mission School, Aditya Academy Secondary School Barasat, Salt Lake School, Springdale High School Kalyani, St Joseph’s and Mary’s School, Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan, AK Ghosh Memorial, St Augustine’s Day School Ripon Street

FUSION DANCE

Vivekananda Mission, Springdale High School Kalyani, Aditya Academy Secondary School Barasat, South Point High School, Agrasain Balika Siksha Sadan, Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan, Don Bosco Liluah, Rajasthan Vidya Mandir, Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education, Don Bosco School Park Circus, Young Horizons School, La Maternelle High School, Oxford House, St James School, St Joseph’s and Mary’s School, AK Ghosh Memorial, Our Lady Queen of the Missions School, St Helens School

Day Three of prelims

EASTERN VOCAL SOLO

Archi Bhattacharya, Aditya Academy Secondary; Dipayan Banerjee, South Point High School; Ishita Chakrabarty, The Frank Anthony Public School; Titas Bhattacharya, South Point High School; Raya Banerjee, Dolna Day School; Madhubani Ghosh, Mahadevi Birla Girls’ High School; Riddhi Dasgupta, Delhi Public School; Abhinanda Dutta, Our Lady Queen of the Missions School; Shrikhyati Ghosh, Army School Barrackpore; Sarbari Sarkar, Jadavpur Vidyapith; Sayan Chowdhury, Methodist School; Archioman Neogi, Springdale High School Kalyani; Arunima Sarkar, St Xavier’s Institution; Sreyashi Bhattacharya, Agrasain Balika Vidyalaya; Punnam Das, Aditya Academy Secondary; Debolina Sinha, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; Debasmita Sengupta, Loreto Day Sealdah; Ritika Talukdar, Shree Shikshayatan; Alakananda Bhattacharya, St Augustine’s Day School Shyamnagar; Ahana Choudhury, Dolna Day School; Aishwarya, Kendriya Vidyalaya Ballygunge

ANTAKSHARI

MC Kejriwal Vidyapith, Lycee, Bidya Bharati Girls’ High School, North Point Day School, Mother International, St Joseph’s College, St Joseph’s and Mary’s School, St Augustine’s Day School Shyamnagar

UNCONVENTIONAL ORCHESTRA

Lycee, Methodist School, The Future Foundation School, Loreto Convent Entally, Our Lady Queen of the Missions School, St James School, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Calcutta Boys’ School, Sunrise English Medium School