Honours at inter school debate

3 of the ablest debaters of The Indian School participated in the first LAHARTARA THOUGHT CONCLAVE held at Sunbeam School Lahartara, Varanasi on 11 July 2018. The event marked the Quincentenary year of the death of Indias most revered 15th century mystic poet Kabir Das, and the 178th death anniversary of James Prinsep, founder of modern Varanasi and artist extraordinaire.

The formidable trio of Avantika Chodha XII D, Aatif Hussian XII B, and Shrey Gogia XI A, escorted by Ms. Kaajal Manchanda, arrived at Varanasi on 10 July and spent the day visiting local attractions along with the other outstation teams. The excited visitors were joined by Mr. Parnab Mukherjee, popular knowledge content curator, theatre personality and quiz master, on the sightseeing tour.

The tour de Varanasi began with a visit to the paternal home of Lal Bahadur Shastri, former prime minister of independent India, which is now converted into a museum. The next stopover was the famous Assi Ghat.

Varanasi gets its name from the two rivers Varuna and Assi. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in India. It was a delight to learn about the temple town from Mr. Mukherjee who described it in the words of Mark Twain, It is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.

The Thought Conclave commenced on 11 July with a warm welcome and presentation of mementos to the 4 outstation teams: The Indian School, Delhi, Mayo College Girls School, Ajmer, DPS, Gaya, and BK Birla Centre for Education, Pune. The visitors were joined in their quest for oratorical excellence by teams from the 6 home branches of Sunbeam Schools.

The debate was moderated and adjudicated by Mr. Parnab Mukherjee and Mr. Sahaj Umang Singh Bhatia, Asst. Director at White Balance Social Media Influencer. The preliminary round was a combination of extempore, turncoat debate and a bridge. The ten teams were given concepts with diametrically opposite words,and asked to construct a motion based on these. The Indianite team constructed their motion "This house believes that nationalism is a commodity", based on the concept - Country versus Club. Avantika Chodha parried forth on the motion in an impressive delivery.

[gallery link="file" order="DESC"] The seasoned teams of The Indian School, Sunbeam Varuna, BK Birla and Mayo College Girls entered the semi-final round. The audience was treated to a veritable display of some outstanding debating skills as arguments flew fast and furious on the motion- Commonwealth is a sign of colonial hangover. Aatif as the turncoat speaker impressed the judges with his vigorous and powerful performance.

Amidst much applause and appreciation, the teams from The Indian School and BK Birla Centre for Education articulated their way into the finals. The gathering was delighted to see the adroit handling of the block and tackle round- We have forgotten how to listen- by the finalist teams. In this round, block stands for opposing the motion and tackle for proposing the motion. During the course of the speech, the speaker has to abruptly change stance when the moderator interjects with either block or tackle.

In the bridge round, the speaker has to write a speech covering both stances of the motion. Here, Shrey's pen proved mightier than the sword as he flawlessly penned his views on," This house believes that in the light of Doklam and shifting international policy - preferences of Nepal and Sri Lanka, we as India, will bend before China but not yield."

The brilliance of the young, energetic speakers enthused the students of the host school. They were enthralled to see the two titan schools of the national debating circuit, engage in a battle of wits and words.

Avantika Chodha (XII D) won the award for BEST SPEAKER having proven her mettle by successfully circumventing Mr. Mukherjees block and tackle hurdles. Shrey Gogia (XI A) won the award for the BEST BRIDGE.

The ecstatic team returned home bearing proudly the FIRST RUNNERS UP trophy!

Ms. Kaajal Manchanda.