Page 26 - sandesh

P1 English Elocution Contest
Elocution t was with a little apprehension that I entered

the newly refurbished Doris Davis auditorium
Competitions Iwondered whether a kid could perform the art
for the P1 English Elocution Competition. I

of elocution on stage under the glare of spot lights
and the watchful eyes of an adult audience. But
all my apprehension melted away the moment, the
six year olds started coming on the stage one by
one and recited their poems with great élan. The contest presented
a delectable mix of poems—from classic to fusion poems—rendered
beautifully by little students who rarely lost focus on the aesthetics of
word play, intonation and voice reflection. A remarkable achievement
Results: for students at that tender age! It was indeed a great moment of pride
1st Position: for the parents of all children who had been selected to perform at the
Anahita Wadhwa P1 A final level. The whole exercise offered a great opportunity to learn for
Zoya Vickers P1 D all children of P1 for whom the participation was mandatory at the
preliminary stage. The two distinguished judges, who patiently listened
2nd Position: to all the performances, had full praise for the participants. In fact,
Nandika Gupta P1 B they complimented saying that the level improves with each passing
Naisha Gupta P1 C year. What struck the audience most was the transparency with which
the judges elaborated on the scoring criteria for the winners, given that
3rd Position: it was a competition. Despite excitement in the air, judges’ sagacious
Tarinni Bahri P1 C advice on elocution, as an oral art form, was not lost on anyone. For
Vedaanti Gupta P1 G participants, the takeaways from their first stage experience will surely
go a long way in improving their performance over the coming years.
Good Effort: It was a lot of hard work put in by the children. Both the teachers
Aanya Gupta P1 C and children received a big round of applause from the judges and the
Kriday Kapoor P1 E audience. Kudos to all who managed it this far!
Sahana Abbi P1G Abhijeet Rajan, F/o Ananya Rajan, P1 D

Sandesh 2016-17, Volume 1 25