Culmination of Literary Week.

Students observed Literary week from 23rd- 29th April16. Through the week the children at different levels learnt and participated in a variety of activities such as storytelling, power point presentations, folk tales of Africa. The movie Madagascar was screened for the children of the primary section.

At the middle and senior level, activities conducted for the students were the reading aloud of extracts from the autobiographies of Barrack Obama, Helen Keller and Nelson Mandela and from the biographies of Bessie Amelia Emery, Helon Habila Ngalabak, Lionel Abrahams and Nadine Gordimer.

The culmination of Literary Week was an important event because the we were honoured with the presence of Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of Egypt with our chairperson Dr. Mrs. Nayana Goradia. The theme of the special assembly was in accordance with the theme for this year The Vibrant Continent of Africa.

The assembly opened with a melodious Egyptian ballet instrumental rendition by our western music assembles. The children incorporated a variety of Egyptian instruments such as the Tumba a big drum for percussion and a smaller one called the Drum Djembe producing an African percussion. This music used the keyboards instead of an accordion. The song called Asimbonanga is a song in mixed Zulu and English and dedicated to Nelson Mandela, which in Zulu means We have not seen him . It was a tribute by the composers and singers- Johnny Clegg and Savuka for Mandela for his having been in jail for two decades for a great cause. In fact at one of their performances, Nelson Mandela himself joined in to sing along with them!

The students of classes 9 to 12 presented the story of the warrior Sinuhe in a perfect fusion of monologues and acting. It is a classic which seems to have a timeless appeal. The tale of Sinuhe is a 4000 year old, six hundred page poem, which appealed to one and all and ignited in us a wish to bring back this story in the form of a play and connect it to todays harsh reality of migrations. It is quite interesting that this classic even after 4000 years, gives us an insight into present day situations around the world. When Syrian refugees, some of whose names are known like those of the two year old Aylan Kurdi, while others whose identities are hidden from the world, travel to places like Greece, Canada, Lebanon, running away from death and their motherlands with just one thought in their minds If only I could go back to my motherland.

The Siddi dance of Gujarat was showcased by the students of classes 9 and 10. Siddis are believed to be the descendants of the Bantu-speaking parts of East Africa who arrived and became residents of the sub-continent during the 12th-19th century. The cultural heritage of the Siddis dates back to almost 300 years. Dhamal is one such dance form that reflects the Siddis passion for hunting. During the reigns of kings, Dhamal was the main source of entertainment for rulers. Its an action filled dance performed with a lot of energy and zeal. Costumes usually include peacock feathers below the waist giving it colour and flare.

William Shakespeare continues to mesmerise us even after 400 years of his death, with his characters and their relevance to modern times. So, keeping with the importance of Shakespeare, the students of classes 9 and 10 conducted a quiz based on their power point presentation on the life and works of William Shakespeare who is being celebrated across the world. The students were very enthused with the questions asked and actively responded with their answers.

The grand finale of the assembly was a historic speech of Nelson Mandela at the Pretoria court room in 1964, presented by Saruby Sharma of class 11, whereMandela emphasised the situation in South Africa where the Whites enjoyed the highest standards of living and the Blacks were relegated to a life of poverty and misery. Through this speech, he wanted to bring about awareness in the West and highlight his ideal for his country.

The Chief Guest Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman was delighted with the brilliant performances and foot tapping music from Egypt. He spoke about the similarities of cultures of India and Egypt and emphasised upon the sharing and exchange of cultures through the youth. He then presented a momento for our School to Dr. Mrs. Nayana Goradia.