Sri Sri Academy
A platform for both teachers and students to showcase their creativity — that was Sri Gurotsav Fest, 2023, in a nutshell. The annual event was hosted by Sri Sri Academy on May 13, to mark the birth anniversary of the school’s founder, Sri Sri Ravishankar, and celebrate teachers and their work.
The fest was originally conceived to give teachers a platform to showcase their creativity. This was the first year when students were involved too, both in the planning stage as well as in the events.
Students and teachers from 10 city schools locked horns in various creative events on the school premises. The aim was to reinforce the belief that teachers continue to play a significant role as the architects of society.
The fest began with a traditional ceremonial welcome. Some teachers of the host school sang at the inauguration. The theme this year was Synergy, and the participating schools took part in many creative events keeping the theme in mind.
Talented teachers and students competed in five categories — Dialogues in Dance (on dance), Transforming Reality (on recycling), Patachitra (art), Plate Up (culinary event), Sound Spirit (music) and Quiz.
In addition, there were quiz, football and table tennis for the teachers only.
The audience was highly appreciative of all the performances. Medals and certificates were awarded to the schools. Indus Valley World School stole the show with an incredible all-round performance across categories.
Some of the participating schools included Birla High School, Frank Anthony Public School, The Heritage School, Future Foundation, South City International and Asian International School.
“The has been conceived as a tribute to our founder on his birthday anniversary. Sri Sri Academy is dedicated to excellence in education and developing creativity in students. Thus it becomes essential for us to nourish and celebrate the teacher through this festival,” said principal Suvina Shunglu.
Apeejay School, Salt Lake
It was time to celebrate new beginnings at Apeejay School, Salt Lake.
The Upper Kindergarten students celebrated their graduation to the next level with songs, dance and a formal cultural programme. The event began with a welcome dance. The tiny tots grooved to a fusion choreography that had both Kathak and Bharatnatyam steps.
Principal Anindita Banerjee gave a welcome speech to the parents present in the audience.
The teachers also presented a skit on the theme of the event — Sow Empathy, Grow Bond — that encouraged kids to celebrate values such as kindness, ethics and friendships. Children of a Montessori school, Play and Joy, partnered with the host to perform a group dance and take part in a fancy dress show.
Up next, the Pre-primary teachers presented a PowerPoint presentation to the parents, highlighting all the activities done throughout the year. Finally, the students got their graduation certificates and hats.
“Each day is a surprise and an opportunity to do something new…. Graduation Day ended on the hope that our students touch new heights,” said the principal.
M.C. Kejriwal Vidyapeeth
New prefects got their badges at a formal investiture ceremony in the auditorium of M.C. Kejriwal Vidyapeeth on May 11.
The chief guest on the occasion was Praveen Kumar Tripathi, commissioner of police, Howrah. The guest of honour was Colonel Neeraj Chaudhary, commanding officer, NCC, 21 BN. They were welcomed with a guard of honour.
The event began with lamp-lighting followed by the school anthem.
Principal Mallika Mukherjee administered the oath of office to the young leaders, who promised to serve the school community to the best of their abilities.
They were then draped with sashes of honour and the badges of office by the guests, school chairman Kishan Kumar Kejriwal, director Neelkantha Gupta, headmaster Biswajit Majumdar and the principal.
Student leaders stood brimming with confidence as they got ready to embark on their new journey. The chief guest congratulated them and advised them to be impartial and honest in discharging their duties. Col Chaudhary advised them to place the well-being and interest of others above their own.
The ceremony ended with a vote of thanks by school captain Uday Kumar Bansal, followed by the singing of the national anthem.
“The term investiture implies empowering students with certain responsibilities. It is a small step towards nurturing the leadership qualities in students, so that they can efficiently handle greater responsibilities in future,” said the principal.
Douglas Memorial Higher Secondary School
A grand open-air celebration was organised by the students of Douglas Memorial Higher Secondary School to pay tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his birth anniversary.
The event began with a hymn. It was followed by the reading of the Bible and a prayer by school administrator Ashwin Kumar Medidi.
The bust of the founder-father of the school, Rev. G.V. Prasada Rao, and the poet laureate were garlanded by principal Sonia Gidla and the administrator. The principal addressed the gathering of students and parents, highlighting the vast literary contribution of Tagore.
Nitika Singh of Class XII compared the show. The cultural programme had over 60 students reciting, singing and dancing to Tagore’s works.
The senior students also performed a dance drama, Chitrangada, that was much applauded.
Primary school co-ordinator Sushmita Roy Chowdhury delivered a speech on the Noble laureate. The event ended with the national anthem.
Ruby Park Public School
Forty-five students of Ruby Park Public School paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his birth anniversary by presenting a beautiful cultural programme at the school auditorium.
The participants were from Classes III to XII.
The event began with the lamp-lighting, along with the recitation of Sanskrit shloka. A welcome song followed.
Principal Joyeeta Majumdar gave a speech on Tagore and the importance of his contribution to building a nation.
Taking a cue from the words of encouragement, the students charged the atmosphere with renditions of Rabindrasangeet, dance and recitation.
The students danced to Jagote Anondo Jogge, recited the bard’s poems in Bengali and English and sang Prano Bhoriye Trisha Horiye, among others.
The performances spoke of their hard work and hours of practice. The programme ended with the national anthem.
“To commemorate the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, our students presented a praiseworthy performance. Their effort made the programme a successful one,” said the principal.
Darjeeling Public School
Like every year, students, teachers and staff members of Darjeeling Public School came together to celebrate the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore with fanfare.
The students and teachers shared cultural programmes in two sessions. The aim was to involve as many students as possible from the school.
The Pre-primary and Primary section toddlers were energetic in their performances as the seniors.
The students and teachers danced to evergreen songs such as Phule phule and Ananondoloke and recited poems such as Proshno and Nirjhorer Swapno bhongo, among others.
The students also showcased Riturongo or the flavours of the six seasons through their performances.
The seniors performed Achalayatan, a play by Tagore showcasing the theme of doing away with stereotypes. Author Subhamoy Sarkar and educator Suphal Biswas were chief guests of the first and second sessions, respectively. The event came to an end with vote of thanks by principal Shreya Mitra Biswas and chanting of the Kalyan Mantra.
“All our students enthusiastically celebrated Rabindra Jayanti on the school premises on May 9. It was a small tribute to the plethora of contributions of Tagore in the field of literature, music and art. Various performances were staged by the students and teachers in two sessions, depicting various works of Tagore. We hope that through such programmes our children remain connected to their roots and become the torch-bearers of our culture,” said the principal.
