Children perform at the South Point fest at Madhusudan Mancha

This pre-Puja blast left most seven- to 10-year-olds thrilled. South Point School organised its inter-school fest, Ullas, for primary school students at Madhusudan Mancha on September 26. Danseuse Alokananda Roy inaugurated the show, which saw participation from several big city schools.

The morning began with a quiz contest, Kwizwiz, that had four finalists — Birla High School for Boys, St Augustine’s Day School, Shri Shikshayatan and the hosts — lock horns. The prelims of the event were held on September 24.

After six direct, audio and visual rounds, the host school clinched the trophy. Birla High and St Augustine’s were second and third, respectively. The girls from Shri Shikshayatan had begun on an impressive note in the direct rounds but failed to capitalise on their early lead.

In Do Re Mi, or the Western music competition, each school got four minutes to sing. The first prize in this round went to Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, for Jingle Bell Rock.

“We know Christmas is three months away, but we wanted to feel it from now. It was our way of welcoming the festive season,” said the participants. South Point singers came second, with their rendering of It’s a Small World, while Delhi Public School, Megacity’s Be Glorified won them the third place.

The participants from Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan and Modern High also stood out in this round, the former singing Making Melody In My Heart, while the latter opted for a medley of songs.

The elocution competition, Kavyanjali, that followed was judged by eminent elocutionists and theatre artistes Jagannath Bose and Basant Rungta.

The participants from DPS Megacity had everybody laughing to their Galat Angrezi. It was about a couple’s failed attempt at mastering English. They secured the first place. South Point came second, with St Augustine’s at the third slot.

The highlight of the fest was Razzmatazz, or the skit competition. Each participating team staged a short play based on environmental awareness. The host school’s performance, Yesterday, Once Again, was much appreciated and earned them the first place. Birla High’s Heal The World bagged them the second place.

Finally, it was time to groove to folk music. Jhoomar, or the folk dance competition, was a huge hit, with participants displaying various folk dance forms of India. From Lavni to a Naga tribal dance, the young dancers did it all. But the winners stuck to home ground, depicting various aspects of rural Bengal through their dance forms.

The hosts were brilliant as they depicted the world of fishermen. DPS Ruby Park and Megacity came second and third, respectively. In the end, South Point School was declared the overall winners. They handed the trophy to the first runner-up — Modern High School for Girls. Delhi Public School Megacity was declared the second runner-up.

Pandal scan

South Point High School and MP Birla Foundation had organised a contest — MP Birla Foundation Puja Utkarsh Samman — for the best Durga pujas in town.

Eighteen students from South Point and six from MP Birla Foundation visited some famous pandals across the city on October 2 and 3 in groups of four for evaluation.

The winners included Vivekananda Sporting Club-Haridevpur (Best Image), Babubagan Sarbojanin Durgotsab (Best Pandal) and Barisha Club (Best Ambience).

The winners were selected from about 100 shortlisted pujas. A workshop for the young judges was held on September 27.

chit chat

Actress Arpita along with the students of Birla High School for Boys after their win. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Under the archlights

Three city schools — Mahadevi Birla Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Birla High School for Boys and Calcutta International School — reached the finals of the All-India Annual Inter-School Drama Festival, 2011, organised by the British Council and the Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, in association with Prabha Khaitan Foundation.

The inter-school drama festival, that was part of British Council’s theatre project for almost three decades, went national for the first time this year. Its semi-finals were held at the Kala Kunj auditorium for five days. The theme of the event for the year: “Inspired by Tagore”. Around 45 schools from all over India qualified for the semi-finals.

Actress Arpita, along with Sundeep Bhutoria from Prabha Khaitan Foundation, and Sujata Sen, the director of British Council (East India), gave away the certificates to the seven finalists on the closing ceremony last month. The finals will be held in Delhi on December 10.

The finalists also included Vasant Valley School, Delhi; SN Kansagra School, Gujarat; Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Maharashtra, and DAV International, Amritsar.

Students of the Ananda Shankar Centre For Performing Arts during their annual show at Rabindra Sadan last month. (Bishwarup Dutta)

Past, present and future

St Joseph’s Convent, Chandernagore, celebrated the conclusion of its 150th anniversary with much fanfare recently. The school had been holding events since 2010 to celebrate the landmark. A programme organised on the occasion on the school campus was attended by Rt. Rev. Thomas D’Souza, the co-adjutor archbishop, Archdiocese of Calcutta.

The event began with a thanksgiving mass. The school reverberated with beautiful hymns sung by the school choir. Post-lunch, the students put up a colourful drill-and-dance show on the school ground. The huge ground was a riot of colour as the performers displayed a “candle formation”, covering the entire length of the field. Dancers performed along with several numbers, the styles ranging from classical to Tagore to contemporary.

“A 150th anniversary is a unique occurrence in the history of any institution. Each phase of the school’s year-long celebration aimed at giving shape to its sesquicentennial motto — Preserve the Past, Perfect the Present, Promote the Future,” said Anna Maria, the principal of the school.