At dawn in 18th April, 2018, 8 students of classes 11 and 12 accompanied by their teacher Ms. Vandana Tewari, reached the New Delhi Railway Station to board the train to Kathgodam.
Chuffing past the city buildings and the plains beyond the city limits, in due course, the terrain changed and slowly we sighted the hills. From the Kathgodam station the group headed to Nainital by car.
Journeying through the twisting mountain roads, the group arrived at the hotel and after freshening up, headed for lunch on the campus of our host School, Birla Vidya Mandir. The school was organising, over the following two days, its multi-event inter-school competition. After a sumptuous meal in a beautiful setting, we were walked around the school. The huge cricket ground, the basketball and tennis courts and the heavenly peaks veiled by the clouds in the background- all of it was enchanting. The remainder of the day was spent preparing and deliberating for the following busy days.
The next morning began early with the breakfast. There was a fresh drizzle and we hoped it was a good omen for what we were headed to do! The group left for the venue and the registration process followed. The main hall soon got filled with students from both local and outstation schools. Some prominent schools were Mayo College Girls' School, Ajmer, B.K Birla, Pune, Delhi Public School, Bokaro, etc.
[gallery link="file" order="DESC"]The school Principal extended a warm welcome to the students and the opening ceremony followed. A detailed description on the flow of the day was given by event coordinator, Mr. Parnab Mukherjee. Mr. Mukherjee is a renowned literary resource curator who has conducted several workshops and competitions on the general arts across the Indian subcontinent. Students were soon asked to disperse to different venues for their respective events.
In the Debate prelims, Avantika Chodha and Aatif Hussain of class 12 received the topic ' Real conversations are more important than a digital chat'. Utkarsh Pandey of class 12 participated in the bridge round event of the debate prelims where he was to write his views proposing and opposing the motion-This house believes that a short military controlled government should be compulsory for all nations.
Aatif, Avantika and Gauri Awasthi of class 11 participated in the Quiz prelims where they were required to answer a questionnaire consisting of 30 wide-ranging questions. The top 6 six teams were to be selected to compete in the final, stage round.
Mirambika Mukherjee of class 12 and Gauri represented our School in the creative writing event where they were asked to present pieces of prose and verse on a given visual input.
For the Art Installation event, The Indian School team comprised of Sehaj Kaur Bedi and Prabhsimran Kaur of class 12 and Mehul Tandon of class 11. The theme given to them was ' 30th of March, 1948' ( Martyrs Day) and the props provided were brown tape, strands of rope, pieces of wood, some adhesive, a chair and a table.
The names of the schools which qualified for the finals of the quiz were announced and much to our excitement, our School had made it to the final!
The Quiz final was one of taut nerves and spilling emotions. From names of famous golfers to Neerja Bhanot; from Auroville to the last play watched by Abraham Lincoln- quizmaster, Mr. Mukherjee encompassed a diverse amount of subjects. After half-an-hour of ardently answering questions and intriguing quizzing, the team was able to put up a great score to take the first runner's up position!
The debating team cruised to the semi-finals and finally sealed a spot in the debate final which wad to be held the next morning. The day ended early for the Indianites, especially for the debaters who ensured for themselves a good night's sleep.
The morning of 20th April belonged to the eloquent speakers. The motion for the debate final was ' This house grudgingly accepts fairness creams, item number, enhancement parlours and other ideal of objectifying beauty. The Indian School faced Mayo College Girls School. The event was intense. Both the parties spared no effort to offer sterling performances. The block and tackle format followed where Avantika was given an impromptu motion, This House is an idea'. Avantikas presence of mind and her ability to keep her nerves during the block and tackle round got her a standing ovation from the Principal of the host school and the entire audience! Towards the culmination of this final event of the competition, it was truly tough to pick a winner.
We proceeded to the last chapter of the competition, the prize distribution ceremony. The students won a number of laurels for their School and were expectedly delighted!
1) First runner's up: Debate 2) Best Speaker: Avantika Chodha 3) First runner's up: Art Installation 4) First runner's up: General Quiz
Post lunch, the students retired to the hotel rooms. A relaxed afternoon was followed by an enjoyable evening where the students strolled the lively market on Mall Road and bought little mementoes for those back at home.
On 21st April, the group spent some time at the Naini Lake, enjoying the absolute tranquility. We caught the afternoon train back home.
Gauri Awasthi, class XI.
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