Rich and resplendent Literary Week across the classes

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives only one- George R.R. Martin.

The Indian School observes Literary Week each year to ignite and fuel new interest in reading, creative writing and public speaking. It is an annual event where authors, poets, intellectuals and literary experts interact with the students. It aims at infusing in the students an appreciation, understanding and love for literature, which is one of the most beautiful articulations of the human mind.

Literary Week this year was observed from 25 to 29 April 2022.

Day 01, 25 April, dawned with the literary odyssey featuring an online talk on Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi by historian Rana Safvi, for the students of classes VIII to X, who advised the youngsters to read historical books so as to share knowledge with the next generation.

The day also featured the screening of Coral Woman, a documentary by Priya Thuvassery for the students of classes IV to VI. Post the screening, the enthralled viewers delighted in exchanging their views with the effervescent documentary maker.

Day 02, 26 April, saw DIG Nitu Bhattacharya, the highly decorated officer and seasoned writer, impress and motivate her captive audience, drawn from classes X and XII, by offering glimpses into the role of women and life in the armed forces. Her erudite observations on courage and choices met with resounding applause.

Meanwhile, Lubaina Bandukwala regaled her virtual audience from classes IV to VI with a book reading session of Coral Woman: Dive into the Majestic World of Coral Reefs with Uma Mani. The children closed their eyes to envision the spectacular colours, life and silence of the underseas as Ms Bandukwala read aloud from her book.

A little later in the day, the well-known author and filmmaker Samina Mishra met and divulged the secrets of happy classrooms to students of classes V & VI. She encouraged the little ones to lead a stress-free life and do what made them happy. It was an interactive session as the children shared their happy moments with the author of Shabana and the Baby Goat!

On day 03, 27 April, the young, erudite scholar, Ms Pratibha, helped the senior students understand the complexities of undoing gender/gender bias to gender neutrality by an in-depth analysis of how the English language has several gender-biased prospects. She referred to linguistics, lexicology, and paremiology, to highlight several male generic proverbs and phrases. She also provided gender-neutral alternatives for the same.

Day 04, 28 April, welcomed the renowned historian, Jasjit Mansingh, who narrated the poignant story behind the Oona Mountain Wind inspired by the tragic loss of her daughter and grand daughter. The students learnt some significant lessons about the hardships and unpredictability of life.

Dr Veena Sharma, Assistant Professor, Gargi College, University of Delhi, addressed the students of classes IX-X on ways to enhance writing skills in Hindi.

Day 05, 29 April, provided insights to students of classes VI & VII into the world of newsprint with Dr A.N Roy. The students had prepared well for the online session appropriately titled Decoding the Newspaper: Beyond the Print and impressed the guest speaker with their intelligent questions.

Through the week, the students engaged in several thought-provoking literary activities with much verve and vigour.

Story narration worked powerfully for the class I and II students. Class, I students watched animated stories virtually and performed tasks based on them. They dressed as their favourite characters, and played letter, word and sentence formation games.

To drive home the message of the importance of recycling, the storytellers of class II used props inspired by daily use items to illustrate their stories. Students used word scramble to construct as many words as possible. They recited poems and participated in a reverse spellathon that helped them enhance their vocabulary.

Class III and IV students engaged in creative activities to enhance the four fundamental skills in language- listening, speaking, reading and writing- DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), a tale a day exchange session, story writing, language song and story narration.

The students of class V wrote short stories using various idioms. The PowerPoint presentation on literary and poetic devices such as idioms, metaphors and similes helped them enhance their spoken and written language skills. The children effectively used these in stories of their own. A few of them donned the mantle of storytellers for their juniors in classes I and II and chose age-appropriate stories to hold the interest of the young listeners.

The students of classes VI, VII and VIII created newspapers. The activity aimed at encouraging students to read the newspapers.

Students of classes VII and VIII designed a vintage newspaper. They researched news from the vintage era and conceived the first page of the newspaper using their creativities.

The students of classes IX and X immersed themselves in the vast deep sea of knowledge. The book reading session, reverse spelling bee, spin a yarn, and debates encouraged them to enhance and reinforce their imagination and creativity.

Class XII students showcased their love for the language by drafting posters & notices on the school theme, Reclaiming our Planet and composed evocative haikus to encapsulate their view of life/ emotions.

Activities in Hindi: Students made posters and book covers, wrote about their favourite stories and writers, presented self-written short stories, and discussed their favourite writers. Besides these, the students also did activities based on Hindi handwriting, enactment, and storytelling in the classroom.

The week-long celebrations culminated with a grand showcasing of the creative work by students at the School reception. It received a lot of appreciation from the visitors, teachers and students.

Literary Week proved to be a great and grand success. It helped students and teachers envision a different world, articulate novel ideas, write meaningful narratives, appreciate the beauty of the written word and most importantly, it stirred the soul!

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