The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : A spectacle of students' skills

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 30, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

A spectacle of students' skills

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, OCT. 29. It seemed one could never get enough of the spectacle at Vel's Vidyashram School.

There was display of skills on the stage, presentations in halls and exhibitions in the classrooms.

Located at a spot overlooking the Pallavaram hills, the entire school from kindergarten to the higher classes, looked excited on the occasion.

`India of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow' was the theme of the exhibition. The students and teachers made a presentation at the air-conditioned auditorium backed by light and sound effects. There were scenes of village life, children playing merrily in joint families, `Rishis' teaching in `Gurukulas' and farmers tilling the soil.

The stage becomes dark. A video screen flashes images of the British rule and the freedom movement. The film montage was done by the school's IT coordinator, K. Edison. On stage comes Mahatma Gandhi with a host of other freedom fighters. Following another film clipping on the dawn of freedom, the students do a freedom dance. They enact the assassination of the Mahatma.

The scenes shift to present day India. They show entry of politicians, corruption, breakdown of joint families and other social evils. The show ends with Vande Matram and `Ma Tujhe Salaam' as flowers shower on the girl dressed up as `Bharat Mata'.

There was display of early men and women living in caves, hunting and eating meat; and communication with each other through drumbeats, and marathon runners relaying mail.

`Past Foods' bunks featured buttermilk, paruppu payasam and ragi adai, while fast food bunks exhibited bread, pizzas and cake.

The Vel's Vidyashram chairman, Ishari K. Ganesh; the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Group of Schools dean and director, Mrs. Y.G. Parthasarathy; the principal, Vidya Mandir, Mylapore, Bhavani Raghunandan; and the school director, S. Kamalakannan, appreciated the exhibition. They also enjoyed a live kolu comprising kindergarten children dressed in different costumes representing various States.

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