The Academic Function 2002

The First Academic Function was held on the evening of May 2002. The program began with a classical recital of raag Vrindavani, followed by class V children singing an old English classic Una Paloma Blanca. The highlight of the evening was a fine presentation of Bernard Shaw’s “Androcles and the Lion” by the middle school.

It was a roaring success mainly because one witnessed for the first time on stage a major theatre production. George Bernard Shaw’s “Androcles and the Lion” in all its originality enacted by the children of VI, VII and VIII stunned the audience. Each class enacted separately the Prologue, Act I and Act II respectively.. Their rote learning was remarkable, and their performances were spoken of with admiration by adults and pupils alike who were very often moved by the intensity of the work. The play was directed by Mr. H.L.Dutt, assisted by Mrs. S. Sabharwal, B. Gupta & S. Wadhwa.

Never did the play waver in its message delivered by the great Merchant of Ideas. The cast rose to great heights both in speech and restrained gestures thereby putting in a gem of a performance. Dushyant as Caesar, Jaideep and Sukshita as Androcles and Inderraj as Ferrovius were absolutely superb. Meenal Ajmera and Swati as Lavinia and Sneha Bhati as Magaera were equally outstanding in the female leads. All in all the rest of the cast supported them well and carried the play on their shoulders. They were Vinod as the beggar, Naman as Ferrovius, Anudeep as the Captain, Raghvendra (Centurian), Shashank (Lentulus). Swati, Richa, Apoorva, Shilpa, Komal not to forget Subhinder as the lion. Jaideep enjoyed his part and he felt it was a good learning experience whereas it was the other way round for Vinod who was initially hesitant to act as a beggar but the applause and the appreciation from the audience boosted his morale. He was amazed at the fact that he was good at acting.

The parents commented on the superb performance and the level of acting, speech and diction which bordered almost on the level of the professional. More than anything the Children and the Staff associated with the play were thrilled by the lavish praise of the parents and the guests.

The play comprised of three acts. Each act had different children performing from different classes. The 40 participants exhibiting their acting skills in a unique way, was the highlight of the evening. The children donned togas to enact the play. The main objective was to help children explore and practise and use those skills to perform for each other and eventually in front of a large audience. The play was directed by Mr. H.L. Dutt and produced by Mr. Saurabh Modi. The children were taught to develop their acting skills and confidence by disciplining their minds, bodies facial expressions and voices. This was followed by the prize distribution of the junior and senior sections.

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NMS Reading Club

Francis Bacon has rightly said, “Reading Maketh a full man, Conference a full man, and Writing an exact man.”

The NMS reading club is fast catching up and among the most voracious readers are children of class IV and VI. Every morning we have a long queue of children eager to present their book reviews in the assembly.

The foundation of all learning and information is locked up in a wide panorama of reading books of all hues and shapes. It should be nothing short of the vibrant colours of a rainbow. In order to inculcate the reading habits amongst students, the reading club organizes various contests such as book talk, reviews creative writing contests, Book Fairs etc from time to time. The response of the students in this regard deserves all praise and admiration.

Scholastic Book Fair was held at Neerja Modi School from 25th April to 27th April, 2002. The Book Fair was inaugurated by Mr. H.L. Dutt, Director of the School. A wide variety of books and CD’s were displayed. There were books on children’s literature, professional books for teachers, fiction, nonfiction, activity books and the Harry Potter series. According to Mr. Dutt organizing such fairs exposes children to the world of literature. The exhibition was must tastefully organized and there were books to suit all tastes. Parents were also invited.

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The Literature Day

The English Literary Society organized the English Literature Day by introducing the children to the History of literature, its forms and various contemporary and modern Indian and Western authors and an introduction to Drama by Mr. Dutt, the Director of the School and Mrs. Khanna the headmistress. Nothing could have been more wicked than the three witches who frightened not only Macbeth and Banquo but also the audience with their screeches. It was a superb presentation by Shagun, Richa and Sneha of grade seven.

The war song of Dinas Vawr was sung with all its fury and ferocity by the entire seventh class. Mark Anthony’s speech over the dead body of Caesar was a gem of a speech with loaded words penned by Shakespeare which began with “O! Pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,” (Sukshita of class VIII felt “the information was good and informative,” whereas Harshal Jain of class V felt the performance of the three witches was “mind blowing.”

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