Malhaar 2019

Malhaar is the most unusual of ragas in Indian classical music associated with entreating the rains. It is a harbinger of love, life and communion. The Indian School, once again, celebrated the raga that settles the dust of the scorching summer and brings in the cleansing rains by proudly hosting Malhaar- Inter school completion of Music, Dance, Art and Drama on 25 July 2019. As many as 17 leading schools of Delhi-NCR participated in this cornucopia of competitions to showcase the inherent ingenuities of their students. Our School participated in all the events but as customary ar our School, did not compete for a prize. Aarnav Singh Chugh and Anisha Gupta of class XII were the emcees at the event.

Each year, as an enrichment exercise, we select an epoch in history, a country, an individual or an event that has had a profound effect on our lives, changing the way we think. This year we chose the States along the East Coast of India. The states that we covered atMalhaar were West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The event was diligently organised. There was a soul to it. A soul that was vibrant, contagious and exuberant. At the entrance of the School building, a huge board announced the names of the participating schools. The minute one set foot in the auditorium, one could feel the vibrancy! Outside the auditorium, assembled students dressed in their colourful dance costumes set the mood for the celebration. The decoration was also very festive.

We were honoured to have Padma Vibhushan Smt Sonal Mansingh as our Chief Guest. Dr Sonal Mansingh, MP, is a highly acclaimed Odissi exponent and scholar. She is also Member of the Rajya Sabha.

The grand festival was declared open after the after the lamp-lighting ceremony, symbolic of dispelling ignorance or darkness and enlightening ourselves through knowledge. This was followed by a rendition of. the timeless Qadam Qadam badhaye ja by our junior choir. The hall resounded with applause for the young ones who set the tone for what was to follow.

The chief guest was then invited to address the gathering. She gave a beautiful message to the audience where she said we must remain grounded to our roots and culture. She urged the youngsters to follow only those aspects of the West which befit our Indian culture. She spoke of the essential unity of Netajis bal and atma bal, picking up from the welcome song. She spoke of how the performing arts and art in general are an integral element of education and must be included in the curricula.

A wide array of judges specialising across genres were invited to judge the events. The event began with the dance competition. The judges for this were Shri Ram Sankhla, an accomplished Mayurbhanj school and contemporary dancer, and Guru Anirudh Das, an exponent of Odissi. The theme was INAIVU. The participating teams had to present a fusion of a folk dance from the east coast of Indian and a modern dance. The competition began with our Schools entry based upon the theme- Game of Dice from the Mahabharata. The participants looked resplendent in costume and presented the dance with aplomb. It was followed by the performances of other participating schools.

Our next event, the vocal music competition was adjudged by Mr Yogesh Sharma, noted guitarist and Mr Yar Mohammad, folk singer and senior artist with AIR. The event took held in the AV room. The theme was VILAY (fusion). The teams were required to present a fusion piece of folk and western.

The third event was the Art competition. The artwork of the budding artists was appreciated by the judges Ms Sangeeta Gupta, abstract artist and film-maker and Ms Nupur Kundu, writer, director and an artist of high repute. The venue for the event was the library. The unusual themes were Pattachitra painting and Film Poster Art- Tollywood and Kollywood. The participants exhibited a skilled and rich pallette of offerings.

The participants of the Drama competition were adjudged by Mr Gautam Dasgupta, actor and reputed mime artist. The short plays were embodiments of careful research and planning. Our students presented a play based on a true story related to the Indian judicial system. The audience was captivated by the performances.

School bore a different look that day. The venues were beautifully dressed up. One could see the anxious yet excited look on the students faces as they got ready for their performances. While the artists were busy trying to breathe life in their work of art, the talented musicians had the audience craving for more. The audience seemed to enjoy every dance performance as they cheered and applauded for the teams after each performance got over.

As all good things come to an end so did this eventful day. It was time for the most awaited moment, the results. Finally, the results were declared by Principal, Ms Tania Joshi. Even though we were not vying for the prizes our teams stood first in the Dance and Music competition. We also won the second prize for Pattachitra painting. Our participants felt overjoyed and encouraged.

The results of the various events were as follows:

Dance Competition- VILAY

First Position: Tagore International School, East of Kailash

Second Position: Gyan Bharati School

Third Position: Air Force School, Subroto Park

Music Competition

First Position: Mothers International School

Second Position: Tagore International school

Third Position: Somerville School

Art Competition

Theme 1: Pattachitra Painting

First Position: DPS, RK Puram

Second Position: Ahlcon International School

Third Position: Tagore International School, East of Kailash

Theme 2: Film Poster art- Tollywood and Kollywood

First Position: Modern School, Barakhamba Road

Second Position: Gyan Bharati School

Third Position: Ahlcon International School

Drama Competition

First Position: Tagore International School, East of Kailash

The Rolling Trophy was awarded to Tagore International School, East of Kailash.

The day drew to an end as the audience left with a lingering memory of the wonderful show they had witnessed. It had been a day with a lot of fun and excitement packed in good proportion. It was like an exquisite potpourri of dance, drama, music and art.