Malhaar 2023

Malhaar is a most unusual raga of Indian classical music associated with entreating the rains. It is a harbinger of love, life, and communion. The Indian School enthusiastically and zestfully hosted ‘Malhaar’, its biennial music, dance, art, and drama competition, on 4 August 2023 from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. 25 prominent schools in Delhi NCR participated in this brilliant event, representing all categories. It was our honour to host Sunbeam School, Lahartara, Varanasi, for the cultural event.

Following the tradition since 2004, Malhaar 2023 celebrated the theme ‘Nature and its Various Enchantments’ which was in sync with our School theme for the year 2023-2024, ‘Reclaiming Our Planet’. All the participants beautifully captured the magic and surrealism of a live performance on the theme.

Dignitaries attended the grand occasion including member of the School Managing Committee, Dr (Mrs) Nayana Goradia, chairperson of the Managing Committee, Ms Brinda Shroff, Vice President PTA, Ms Tina Kapoor among others.

The grand festival was declared open after the lamp-lighting ceremony, symbolic of dispelling ignorance or darkness and enlightening ourselves through knowledge. Chief guest, Ambassador (Dr) Amarendra Khatua, former Secretary, Government of India, and former Director ICCR, shared his words of wisdom in a recorded message.

This was followed by the soulful and melodious Raga Malhaar presented by our School choir. The audience was then cordially welcomed by Principal, Ms Tania Joshi, who spoke about the power of the performing arts. She also commended the guest schools for their vivacious and vigorous participation.

Manan Kakkar XII A, Kumar Ritovash XII A, Kirtida Aggarwal XII C, and Akshita Gupta XII E, expertly introduced the prominent judges and the sub-categories that they would be judging.

The music category invited the Indian Classical Group, where the theme was woven intelligently with raagas and bandishes that glorify the beauty of Mother Nature. Dr Saba Hashmi, vocalist par excellence, and Mr Aditya Kumar, trained classical vocalist, judged the music competition. The event was held in the AV room.

The Fusion Dance category was based on the theme, ‘Suron ke Rang, Nupur ke Sang’. This event invited folk dance aspirants to showcase their mesmerising moves, infused with the spirit of green meadows, flowing rivers and the scented breeze, i.e. depicting the beauty of nature. The participants looked resplendent in costume and presented the dances with aplomb. The event was held in the auditorium.

In the Theatre category, the theme for the skit was ‘Reclaiming our Planet’ and participants were required to present a folk tale based on nature. Mr Himmat Singh Negi, well-known theatre actor and director, and Mr Jitendra Kumar, an accomplished theatre artist were thr judges. The skits were embodiments of careful research and planning. The competition took place in the auditorium post the dance event.

The art event was divided into two categories namely, Fusion Folk Art on Soop for classes VII, VIII, and Cheriyal Folk Painting on an SDG for classes IX to XII. Folk Art Fusion explored the colourful combination of folk art styles. The participants had to blend classical subjects with new techniques to create an entirely unique work of art. It took place in the open hall near the School canteen. In the Cheriyal Folk Art category, the children were to create a Cheriyal scroll painting based on the theme ie any SDG. It was organised in the library. Ms Archana Jha, famous art facilitator was the judge for the Fusion Art category and Ms Anamika, art curator, judged the Cheriyal Art competition. The participants exhibited a skilled and rich pallette of offerings.

Principal, Ms Tania Joshi, announced the long-awaited results. Chairperson of the School Managing Committee, Ms Brinda Shroff, and Vice Principal, Dr Anu Singh handed over the prizes. Even though our students as per tradition, were were not vying for the prizes, our teams stood first in the Drama and Cheriyal Folk Art competition. We also won the Second Prize in the Dance category. Our participants felt overjoyed and encouraged.

The following are the winners in each category:

In the Music category

1st position- Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram

2nd position- Father Agnel School

3rd position- Lotus Valley International School

In the Dance category

1st position- Tagore International School, East of Kailash

2nd position- The Indian School

3rd position- Sunbeam Lahartara, Varanasi

In the Art competitions

Sub-category 1: Fusion Folk Art (classes VII-VIII)

1st position- Airforce Bal Bharti School

2nd position- Birla Vidya Niketan

3rd position- The Indian School

Sub-category 2: Cheriyal Art (classes IX-XII)

1st position – The Indian School

2nd position – St. Thomas School

3rd position – Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar

In the Drama category

1st position – The Indian School

2nd position- Father Agnel School

3rd position – Tagore International School, East of Kailash

OVERALL TROPHY – The Indian School passed over the Rolling Trophy to Tagore International School, East of Kailash.

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

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