Monument Speak by INTACH

India is rich and diverse and has some excellent specimens of history in the form of monuments. It is one of those few countries that not only has a great many monuments but also some natural heritage sites dating back to the time of early cave man. These edifices are however, are under threat today as a result of pollution, negligence and unscrupulous construction.

INTACH (the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) is an organisation, working diligently, to upkeep our national heritage. Recently, on 24th January 2017, INTACH, on the occasion of their Foundation Day, organised a competition for schools at the India International Centre.

The competition titled Monument Speak provided schools with an opportunity to prepare a presentation on the monuments adopted by them. Our School, was able to showcase efforts made towards our adopted monument, the Firoze Shah Tughlaq tomb.

The programme began with a motivating speech by Ms. Purinma Dutt, Principal Director, INTACH, followed by a short film by HECS (Heritage Education and Communication Services) on Indias natural, built and cultural heritage. The movie aimed to spread awareness amongst all, particularly youngsters.

Nineteen schools from across Delhi showcased their presentations through creative modes such as nukkad nataks, silent stories, qawallis and power point presentations.

Eight students of class IX of our School participated in this competition. They presented a self-composed song along with a video elaborating our Schools efforts towards the maintenance and cleanliness of this monument. The video showcased the regular cleanliness drives taken up by our students in and around the monument, efforts to spread awareness amongst citizens towards its preservation and their regular pleasurable visits to their own adopted environment.

A wonderful endeavour by INTACH, it gave our youngsters the opportunity to use creative means to safeguard our national heritage. Our Schools efforts were applauded and well- appreciation by the Director of INTACH, who then distributed participation certificates and trophies to the winning teams.

Ms. Neha Sachdeva.