Vajra Inauguration

 

On the 24^th of March, Vajra, the new sports stadium was inaugurated by Sadhguru. As he lit a cauldron with the sports day torch, a subset of students burst out in a fusion piece weaving lyrics and elements from K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” and rhythms and stylistic elements from Dangal’s Rajasthani folk-inspired pieces. Soon the gates of the stadium were open! Sadhguru played short matches of table tennis, volleyball and badminton with the school’s reigning champions, before addressing the eager crowd. The senior students stayed back for a Q & A with the founder. Overall, the inauguration was a wonderful experience. The students are very excited about using the stadium next term!

Farewell

 

In keeping with the tradition of the annual Farewell, the class 9 and 11 students planned an evening for their outgoing seniors. They kicked off the event with a series of team games in the sports ground. The seniors were given time to freshen up before assembling in the Gnana Shala gardens for a special dinner, an entertaining variety program and dancing. Students then assembled in Tarana for a tribute and slideshow. The planning and preparation took unexpected twists and turns, but in the end it turned out to be a memorable and engaging event.

MS performs “The Prince and the Pauper”

 

It all started at the beginning of February when we were introduced to a novel written by Mark Twain for our book study, it was called The Prince and the Pauper. Another surprise came in our drama class when we found out that we were going to put up a production based on the novel that we were studying!
First there were auditions which were held by the director, Amishi akka. We went through many stages of eliminations and callbacks, until we had the final cast! We, Ritvikka and Vidhata, were privileged to receive the lead roles of the play, the prince, and the pauper!
Right after the auditions we started rehearsals which were very intense but at the same time lots of fun! The rehearsal went on for a month and a half where we were being coached mostly by Avanti (assistant director), Gur anna and Amishi akka. Then from the 10th of March we joined the lighting, music, and stage management teams, and we collaborated to fix minor details and technical issues.
On March 13th we were given our amazing costumes which were made with lots of hard work by Amrith akka. We tried on our costumes and had our first dress rehearsal. On 14 March, we had our final dress rehearsal which turned out to be a success. Finally 16 March was show day! We performed to JS and MS; they loved it. But it wasn’t over yet because we still had another day of performance. We were expecting a full house and indeed it was! That night was a night to remember, the whole cast, crew, and music team put their heart and soul into everything they did which made that performance truly spectacular. As the audience left Tarana with big smiles on their faces, we all hoped they would not forget this night because we wouldn’t too. But this show would not be possible without the help of so many people who worked hard behind the scenes. We would like to say a big thank you to them. We feel privileged to have acted the main roles in this production. It was a mind-blowing experience.
– Vidhata & Ritvikka

Students’ Sharings:

This music orchestra was the biggest music group MS has ever had till now. The auditions were held after the drama auditions, in Suryakanthi. Everyone was really eager to be a part of it. The auditions, conducted by our music director, Anandhi Akka and Alice Akka, consisted of playing the recorder, the drums, and a little bit of singing here and there. To everyone’s great fortune, they all made it through! The MS orchestra now consisted of 15 people. The rehearsals then began and went on every day from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. It was ridiculously tiring but our efforts paid off in the end when we, after a month of practice, put up an amazing show! We were so happy to receive comments like, “It sounds like it is being played like a recording!”
But of course, when something starts, it has to end. And so did our music group. Anandhi akka was so pleased with our performance. We surely did learn a lot from this experience.
– Ashwin & Shatvica.

17 March was the big day! The ashram, samskriti and a few other guests were gathered in the house [house is a professional and theatrical way to say hall]. People were chatting, cameras were being set up, and I nervously watched all of this happen. All the last minute touch ups were going on. Finally, Anandhi akka cued the music team. Everybody was ready to start. I was given the role of Princess Elizabeth. I got to wear a poofy dress, fancy jewellery, a very fancy bonnet, and of course a lot make-up. As I went on stage, a prickle went down my spine. What if I mess up? What if I trip? What if I stutter or forget my lines? All these thoughts were floating around in my mind. But once I uttered my lines, I did feel like Princess Elizabeth.
– Aradhana.

I have never had such an amazing time working on a performance. The days I’ve spent with everyone rehearsing was an experience I will never forget. I was back stage waiting for my cue when I suddenly realized that a chair was supposed to be put center stage for me to sit on. I panicked. I always did when something was missing or something was not in place. It’s alright, I said to myself as I limped onto the stage as Miles Hendon, an accomplice to the prince dressed in rags. I really have a vague memory of what happened after that. I guess I did better than what I expected to. All in all, the MS drama was a memorable experience.
– Alisha.

Film Appreciation Workshop

 

Mr Jethu Mundul, a veteran film editor who has worked with leading movie makers across the spectrum of Indian Cinema for the past few decades, and who was a teacher at the Film and Television Institute at Pune, conducted a series of workshops at IHS during the first fortnight of March, 2017.

He put together three different workshops for the purpose of introducing the comedy genre to the students. For the Junior School he conducted three sessions in which he played clips from the pioneers of modern comedy, such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Mr Mundul was happy to witness the unfettered joy and mirth of the junior schoolers, who had a hundred follow up questions after every session.

For the middle school, Mr Mundul played a few clips from the pioneers of comedy films, which included those of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. He gave the students a brief overview of the development of this genre of movies. Many children liked the screening of the films more than listening to a talk about the history of film making.

Mr Mundul’s main contribution was the seven day workshop which he devised to show case not only the development of the comedy genre, but also a general understanding of how the pioneers of movie making explored the various ways in which they exploited the potential of this magic instrument called: movie camera. The workshop focused on the silent era, and the students were shown the work of people like the Lumiere Brothers, Edison, W Griffiths, Alice Guy, Buster Keaton and of course the inimitable Charlie Chaplin. The journey showed how the early magicians and artists used this medium, and with very little technology other than an ability to shoot pictures in rapid succession, to slowly weave the pictures into stories, fantasies and even futuristic drama all without the use of the spoken word or the magic of editing. The workshop culminated with the screening of the Chaplin classic – “A Dog’s Life” – through which Mr Mundul was able to help the viewers delineate the possibility of how humour could be used to depict poverty, suffering and discrimination through the use of visuals and some appropriately designed background music. This movie was played to all children across the school.

The children were left in splits when the movie was playing but the message was not lost on them. I spoke to a couple of young students from the junior school house Jajji who told me that the movie was called “A Dog’s Life” because both Charlie Chaplin (Who played a Tramp) and the Dog named Scrap, underwent similar problems in the movie.

During his last evening at IHS, Mr Mundul had a short session with the teachers with whom he discussed “A Dog’s Life” in particular, besides the various developments in Comedy Movies in general. Mr Mundul told us that he would now present the same programme to other schools and institutions.