Thrissur Sahodaya hits hat-trick
Curtains come down on CBSE festival.
KOCHI: Thrissur Sahodaya has clinched a hat-trick in this year’s CBSE state schools youth festival bagging the crown for the third consecutive time with 1,629 points followed by Malabar Sahodaya with 1,468 points in the second place, Ernakulam Sahodaya third with 1315 points, Kottayam Sahodaya fourth with 1286 points and Palakkad Sahodaya fifth with 1240 points. The festival concluded on Saturday night.
Among schools, Devamatha CMI Public School, Thrissur, was crowned overall champions with 228 points followed by Silver Hills CMI Public School, Kozhikode with 160 points in the second place, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School, Kozhikode third with 120 points, Devagiri CMI Public School, Kozhikode fourth with 112 points and SN Vidya Bhavan Senior Secondary School, Chenthrappinni and Paramekkavu Vidya Mandir, Punkunnam fifth with 96 points each.
This year the organizers included an aggregate winner among schools which is tabulated in terms of the number of participants from each school and points for their grades while for the overall winner only the first, second and third prizes were taken into account. Devagiri CMI Public School, Kozhikode was adjudged the aggregate winner with 345 points followed by Silver Hills CMI Public School, Kozhikode, in the second place with 339 points, Christ CMI Public School, Kanhangad third with 303 points, Devamatha CMI Public School, Thrissur, fourth with 295 points and Saraswathi Vidyalaya, Vattiyoorkavu, fifth with 265 points.
Festival general convener K.A. Francis said that overall 14 appeals were filed till the end of the event and the decisions of the appeal committee were accepted by the challengers. “An important aspect was that in Mappila arts there were no appeals this year. Usually there are a lot,” Mr Francis said. The financial support of the state and Union governments will be sought for the conduct of future state CBSE youth festivals. The prizes were distributed by Mr C.N. Jayadevan MP, actor Aparna Balamurali and CBSE regional officer Dinesh Ram at the valedictory function held in the night.
Students etch eco-thoughts
A 50-metre-long and four-metre-wide canvas set at the CBSE fest venue provided the right background for the students to paint their thoughts on the environmental damage. Slots were set apart for the participants from 26 Sahodayas to express their ideas on the theme ‘nature protection.’ By the concluding day on Saturday, the majority used their slots, barring a few. The students were from the Sahodayas of Thiruva- nanthapuram, Wayanad, Bharat, Venad, Vidya, Vanchinadu, Vadakara, Ernakulam, Chandragiri, Malappuram, Malappuram central, Malabar, Kannur, Idukki, central Travancore, Palakkad, Thrissur and Alappuzha.
Actor Surabhi Lakshmi, who was part of the inaugural function, launched the activities by drawing on the first day itself. “Tree is nature’s boon for us,” she scribbled below the drawing. The paintings, including flora and fauna, exhorted the visitors to nurture mother earth like a mother protects her child. The painters also pointed to the situation, ‘water water everywhere, not a drop to drink,’ referring to our polluted water bodies. One painter said “one cloud is one drop and save every drop of water.” Another went one step further reminding the viewers that “we have a duty to protect our women and nature.”
Kolkali, mime big draws on last day
Kolkali, one-act play and mime were the key attractions on the concluding day of the three-day 27th CBSE state youth festival held at IES Public School, Chittilappilly, here. Mime was staged before a packed audience at the sprawling IES auditorium and it showed the popularity of the event which is colourful and theatrical. No other event witnessed such a huge turnout and perhaps only group dance came neck and neck in audience support. One-act play which displayed the histrionic skills of students kept high standard and the audience remained glued to their chairs as value-based themes were staged.
It was a rare moment of joy for B.P. Babu, an architect, and his wife Sushma Babu, the parents of Sukrithi and Bhoomika, who won first prize in dance events. Sukrithi, class VII student, came first in both Mohiniyattom and Bharanatyam in category II. In Mohiniyattom, she was trained by R.L.V. Ramakrishnan, brother of the late actor Kalabhavan Mani. Her sister Bhoomika, a class XI student, bagged first prize in Bharatanatyam in category IV.