Literature Festooned At Seth M.r. Jaipuria School, Lucknow

Seth M.R. Jaipuria School, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow organised its 2nd biennial Literary Fest ‘ELIXIR’ on 28th August 2015. The event started with the lighting of the prestigious Lamp of Knowledge by the Principal Mrs. Promini Chopra and the Guests of Honour Mr. Carlyle McFarland, and Mr Rajeev Tuli who graced the Opening Ceremony with their benign presence and motivational words. Recitation of a scintillating Sanskrit ‘Kavya’, a mesmerizing hymn sung by the school Choir and an inspiring mime enacted on the life of our Former President Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam were the other highlights. The programme was declared open by the Principal, after invigorating words.

The event commenced with ‘HAM-BUGGER’ an adaptation of classic Half-a-minute debate. The participants spoke on an array of topics ranging from ‘mustard’ to ‘slippers’. Plethora of interjections (myriad deemed invalid) and the participants amusing enthusiasm had the audience and the judges all engrossed and ecstatic. The student from La Martiniere College was adjudged the best speaker. Meanwhile the participants of ‘Turn-Quote’ were sweating profusely struggling hard to pen down their view both FOR and AGAINST the topic “Ignorance is bliss”. The proficient debaters brought to light the various aspects and views, the prominent ‘for’ argument being that ignorance saves man from the atrocities of this world. The dominating ‘against’ argument was the simple fact that generally ignorance leads to humongous mistakes and blunders. The first prize was bagged by Army Public school. Next, the audience was enthralled by the students contesting in ‘ANIMIME’, a unique version of typical mime performance. What was special about this edition was that all teams were supposed to enact the plot of any Disney animated movie. Students performed spoofs on ‘Cinderella’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Monsters Inc.’ and many more which sent the audience into fits of laughter. The performance of the host team Seth M.R Jaipuria School grabbed a lot of praise and was given the winners trophy. Simultaneously the wizards of quiz toiled with arduous questions imposed on them in the first and written round of ‘Litr-O-Brania’ and the poets participating in the ‘Gamble of Words’ polished their lingual dexterities. The contestants were given a set of 30 words, of which they were supposed to stitch and submit a poem, using at least 14 words from the list. The themes of the poems ranged from that of witchcraft to the sacrifices made by Mother Nature.

The next much awaited event- Litr-O-Brania began with best six teams shortlisted out of thirteen teams for the final on-stage round. The competition was divided into five rounds, first round being the ‘Dry Questions’ which was fun contrary to what the name suggests. The following rounds ranged from audio visual and thematic to rapid fire. The final round was a little tense as the contestants were nervous but the quizmaster kept boosting up their spirit.. The round finally came to a close with La Martiniere Girls College as the winner.

The next round fulfilled its promise of providing the audience a hearty laugh throughout with advertisement of products like diapers suitable for people stuck in traffic jams, sunglasses for Basanti who couldn’t dance in the unbearable sun, a toothpaste that changes according to one’s mood. ‘Sell-Well’ had a solution for all. Springdale College turned out to possess the best marketing prowess. Fatigue was exterminated and gaiety and fervour engender by the final event ‘Laugh-O-Mania’. This event had three rounds. First round was the ‘Prop’ round followed by the ‘Prompt’ round. In the prop round, the contestants were given ten seconds to choose two props using which they had to enact a 45-second spoof. Following which, the participants did something very similar in the prompt round. However, this time they were provided with a scenario. While props included a broomstick, cloak, lunchbox, a Vero Moda carry bag et cetera, the prompts incorporated funny scenarios like ‘runaway bride’, ‘photo-bombing a news report’, ‘the effect of set wet’ and many more. In the next round, the participants were given an unusual question like ‘Why is a boxing ring square’ or ‘Why is the word abbreviation so long’. They were supposed to render an answer on the spot. As the concept suggests, spontaneity and humour were the most prominent aspects of the marking scheme. The final round required the top three teams to compose a song within 20minutes and sing it on phrases like ‘a day without gadgets’, ‘marooned on an island’. St. Fidelis School emerged as conquerors of The Laugh-O-Mania.

The Closing Ceremony was graced by Dr Anjan Bannerjee. A scintillating and melodious performance by the School Orchestra soothed all nerves. The championship trophy was shared by St. Fidelis College, Seth M.R Jaipuria School and La Martiniere Girls College out of which Seth M.R. Jaipuria withdrew as it was the host team.

In conclusion, Elixir 2015 was able to provide its participants an opportunity to polish their lingual dexterities in a spirit both competitive and motivating.