A Fair for the young readers

DO BOOKS attract the students in this age of instant technologies? Well assumptions can be hazardous.

Going by the turnout at the Students Book Fair, the reading habit is still `in'.

And isn't that encouraging, especially at a time when reading habits of children has taken a back seat due to the cyber revolution.

The fair, the biggest student activity in the city, got underway at the Emma Foulger Matriculation School in Royapettah on Saturday.

The inauguration was colourful with a song and dance ensemble by the children.

A choir of about 5,000 students set the tempo with melodious strains of the theme song ``Peace within - Harmony around''. About 1,500 pairs of feet went tapping to the composition by Madras Youth Choir which was penned by Dr. Tamizhanban.

Eleven schools participated, each depicting in attire and style a State in India.

For the record, students of the National Public School hopped away with the first prize.

The Corporation High School, T.P. Koil Street, Mylapore, and Bharat Senior Secondary School won the second and third prizes respectively.

The inauguration was done by Mr. R. Jayasimha Babu, Madras High Court Judge, who stressed on the inculcation of values among children.

Sunday was the day of tiny tots between nursery and third standard.

They were seen vying with each other over their fancy attire. The days to come will witness a number of such competitions for children.

On Monday, July 30, the creative art of Best Out of Waste would be held and on the following day, a skit in Tamil on the themes Tolerance, Duty and Discipline, and Unity, Peace and Harmony.

A Road Safety Day to familiarise the students on the various aspects of road safety, will be held on the forenoon of Wednesday while the evening is slotted for an on-the-spot painting competition.

The following day will be dedicated to light music with both solo and group performances happening on the same day.

Literary events continue on Friday with Story Narration by children in the forenoon and Book Review after.

Saturday has been booked for the spice of the fair, the Variety Entertainment show.

Finally, the event which many a student looks forward to - the oratorical competitions in English, Talk Your Way to London.

The winner of the event will be given away return tickets for two persons to London with a few days stay too. Sounds cool? Grab the opportunity folks.

The trip will also include a package wherein the student can interact with the academia in London.

Sunday afternoon is reserved for the Cookery competition. Those who have their taste buds already throbbing, don't miss. They can cook good stuff.

Last, the curtain will come down on Monday with the Education Minister, Mr. M. Thambidurai, distributing prizes to the winners of the various events.

The final day will also witness another dance competition involving children from 16 schools.

Besides, the fair has about 50 stalls this time and the sale of tickets already touched 1.5 lakhs. This year, public service agencies including Posts and Telegraphs and Telephones have also put up stalls.

The fair is completely ``of the students, by the students and for the students,'' said Mr. K.V. Mathew, founder secretary, Students' Book Fair.

It was conceived to develop organising capacity among the students. ``Catch them young...'' is the motto.

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

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Section  : Southern States
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