Ritanjali Hastir, Associate Editor, 23rd April, 2019, Shimla
Literature is news that stays news – a statement that always holds good, no matter what time and age it is. Brilliant students from five different schools, namely Convent of Jesus and Mary; St Thomas; St Edwards; Bishop Cottons and the host school, Loreto convent, came together to exhibit power of knowledge and oratorship as they participated in the Inter School Literary Festival organized by Loreto Convent, Shimla here today. The morning began with a tribute to the literary doyen William Shakespeare as the students present a beautiful adaptation of the Seven Stage of Life. The chief guest and all the judges were warmly greeted by presentation of a flower pot, followed by the prayers and lightening of the lamp.
An innovative and creative idea was materialized by the host school which brought variety of competitions under a single umbrella. The day was thrilling as thought-provoking Debate on topic “Are the so called developed nations developed enough to sustain their development, was quite an eye opener. Turn Coat – yet another great idea where participants were given an on-the-spot choice of a topic and asked to writer their views ‘for as well as against’ the same in both languages Hindi and English. (CLICK TO SEE ALL VIDEOS)
Spell Bee turned out to be more fun and creative way to learn your spellings as participants racked their brains to look for Kangaroo words or made new words from the same words. A jumble of letters with a final spelling challenge showed their mettle.
Slogan Writing and Crossword tested their power of creativity as well as vocabulary.
Presiding over the competition Manisha Nanda, Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary of the State, appreciated the students for their skills and knowledge. She said that development is all about personal happiness and this is a lesson she learned from a rural woman. Materialist happiness is always temporary and hence can be easily disturbed by external forces but no one can take away what you have within you.
School Principal Sister A. Nirmala, congratulated the participant and thanked them all for becoming part of the festival. She said that the school will be holding many more events that will bring a wind of change in the city so that children get an opportunity to exchange and share their ideas.
Judges for the day included Ravinder Makhaik, veteran journalist; Neelima Kanwar, English Professor from the Department HPU; Ms Geetanjali, English Lecturer from St Bede’s College; Vandana Bhagra, Keekli Editor and Bhavani Negi yet another active and experienced journalist from Statesman.
Loreto Convent Tara Hall was adjudged the best school but being the host Principal politely offered the prize to Convent of Jesus and Mary, followed by Bishop Cottons Boys.
