Anandam: Discovering Talent and Skills
The school witness a vibrant display of paintings, sculptures and artworks prepared by students of Grades 3 and above, along with presentations of theatre, music and dance on 9th January.
From beautiful pots in different techniques and shapes to Water Color glass frames, to portrait drawings in pencil and pastels to canvases in acrylic color, were exhibited with full fervor in the merry gallery spaces of North Block with a curatorial anchor of keeping one kind of forms together for display purpose.
Aha Painting and Pottery
These classes were spaces for Grade 3 to 5 children to experience and learn drawing, painting and pottery making on a rotation basis. Students of all three baskets namely Painting 1, Painting 2 and Pottery baskets came up with a brilliant collection of paintings and terracotta pots executed in their Aha classes. Students of all three baskets of Aha 3-5 played a key role in the process of Display, assembling installations with a purpose, giving inputs for curation. Students of Aha 6-8 Painting baskets came up with a series of paintings on canvas and paper illustrating their inner thoughts, meaningful and purposeful ideas and skill based study works. Students even assembled together a ‘Live Painting’ which was their first ever Video Installation as part of the exhibition.
The ceremonial lamp of knowledge and creativity was lit by honorable Principal Ms. Anju Wal, and the Parent Representative body of the school which was followed by the invocation rendered by the students of Hindustani classical music.
The Hindustandi Classical Music
The Hindustandi Classical music basket for Grades 3 to 5, began their journey with exploring the concepts of Thaat, Shudh, komal and teevra swaras. They attempted to identify notes with only the tanpura. They were familiarised with the grammar of Raag bhopali. They went on to create patterns in the same Raag and practiced singing various alankaars. They beautifully presented madhya laya bandish in Raag bhopali. This bandish began with a guru mantra followed by a composition in Jhap Taal, a cycle of 10 beats. During the performance the students attempted to improvise on stage, which is a very important aspect of Indian classical music. They concluded the performance with the bandish “Maheshwra Mahadev” set in teen taal.
Through the year, the students of Grades 6 to 8 have explored Raag Jog and Raag Ahir Bhairav and they presented a composition titled 'Saajan' followed by “bandish” in the two ragas, set in teen taal, a cycle of 16 beats. The compositions celebrated the home coming of the beloved, emphasizing on the significance of spirituality in literature used in music. The parents were thrilled to learn that they were improvising on stage keeping the complicated rhythm in mind. They concluded with a Tarana in Raga Ahir Bhairav set in ek taal, a cycle of12 beats.
Tabla
During the Aha classes, the students of the Tabla basket learnt various aspects of Rhythm. They were taught about Indian and western percussion instruments. Through the year, they were given various activities to enhance their rhythmic skills. The students of Grades 3 to 8 presented ‘Taal Tarang’ set in Teen Taal. They beautifully presented the technical aspects like TIPALLI, kayada, Palta and Tihai, Tukda and they concluded in drut laya teen taal and tihai.
Odissi dance
The Odissi dance students explored on preparing their bodies for dance through various exercises and movements and were introduced to the traditional repertoire of Odissi.
They beautifully presented an invocation called Mangalacharana, which includes Jagannaathashtakam - A shloka (hymn) in praise of Lord Jagannath an avatar of Lord Vishnu, and Guru vandana which was followed by Pushpanjali which means offering of flowers and Bhumi Pranam which means salutation to mother earth.
The invocation for Grades 6 to 8 also included Sabha Pranam (trikhandi Pranam), the three-fold salutation – to the Devas (gods), to the Gurus (teachers) and to the Lokas or Rasikas (fellow dancers and audience).
Theatre
Grade 3 to 5 students of the theatre basket presented the Wizard of Oz!
While working on this fantastical story, the students got the opportunity to explore various possibilities in acting, through body movement and exaggeration of action and still images. This allowed them to expand their body language and enhance their speech and voice.
When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are whisked away in their house to the magical Land of Oz. They follow the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City to meet the Wizard, and en route they meet a Scarecrow that needs a brain, a Tin Man missing a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. The wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West to earn his help.
Grade 6 to 8 students presented The Comedy of Errors was written by Shakespeare is known to the world. After both being separated from their twins in a shipwreck, Antipholus and his slave Dromio go to Ephesus to find them. The other set of twins’ lives in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of incidents of mistaken identity. The main focus of the production was deeply driven to the language of Shakespeare, understanding the beauty and the sub-text of the script. The play is done in a conventional structure where actors trying to explore the design aspects of composition, and movement of the actor.
Kathak Dance
The Kathak dance basket were told the story of the origin of dance, and then were introduced to different classical and folk dance forms in India. They studied rhythm and the ‘taal’ concept, and learnt how to express through numbers. Tatkaar, hastak, spins, neck movement and various tukras, and tihais were taught in the Aha class.
The students 3 to 5 beautifully presented a composition of the great poet Surdas set in teentaal, depicting different leela’s of Lord Krishna, focusing on the rainy season. This bandish - “Barkha Ritu”- set in raag Sur Malhar, Teentaal.
The students of 6 to 8 beautifully presented the ‘Nritta’ aspect, or pure dance form of Kathak, taking you through complex rhythmic footwork, spins, and mathematical compositions set in teentaal - Madhya laya and for the first time ever was accompanied in live music, Ahmad Hussain on sarangi, Naveen sir on Tabla, Aishwarya Ma’am on Nagma. They concluded with a choreography on a Tarana set in ektaal, a rhythmic cycle of 12 beats.
Western Music Basket
The students of the western music basket have been exploring sounds identified as ‘notes’. These are arranged in countless different patterns to produce melodious tunes. The students learnt to create rhythmic melody patterns, such as: Pyramid of Notes, importance of Time Signature in rhythm, role of Dynamics etc.
The student Choir presented before you a bouquet of songs. They worked religiously on training their voices for singing, learning to play chords and executing a regular repeated pattern of movement on Djembe.
The mini-orchestra (students of 6 to 8) presented a blend of unique tones and styles of playing. They have undergone an invigorating process and have worked religiously from learning the chords to executing a regular repeated pattern of movement on a Djembe or a Snare Drum. From an Egg shaker to follow the Rhythm moves on a Tambourine; they have learned the art of blending in rhythms and melodies systematically, leading to the production of this Symphony.
The program ended with Principal addressing the parental community and appreciating the students and teachers for their endless effort in making Anandam a huge success.
The vote of thanks was presented by the Head Boy Sahaj Gard and Head Girl Mannat Kaur of the school. The Exhibition and Program got a very heartwarming response from the Parent Community and other viewers as it encouraged and inspired the students.
