 Sanskrit Drama contest
 It was in November 1993, eleven years ago, that the C P Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Chennai, held its first Inter-School Sanskrit Drama Competition to synchronise with the birth anniversary of Sir C P Ramaswami Aiyar, one of the most distinguished and illustrious sons of India. This was a great success and since then the competition has become an annual November feature and is an event very much looked forward to by the city schools.
In this year’s twelfth competition held on Saturday, November 6, 2004, about 200 students from 13 schools, from Adambakkam to West
Mambalam, from Ahobila Mutt School to Vidya Mandir took part in this prestigious event, very competitively.
The Theme for this year’s competition was ‘Education leads to good values’. Each school chose a specific attribute related to this subject; humility, success in life, patriotism, talent–promotion, goodwill, heritage value: ‘Vidya Dadaathi Vinayam’, ‘Vidya Dadaathi Dhanam’, Vidya Vidwan Sarvartha Pujyathe’ and so on. The consensus conclusion was’ ‘What cannot one achieve in life with meaningful all-round education?’ – Kim Kim Na Saadhyati
Vidya?
Powerful episodes from our epics, puranas and even contemporary life and literature were chosen to drive home the powerful influence of proper education. Even hardcore criminals could be reformed to become model
citizens, illustrated one episode.
 The drama is a powerful medium to convey the desired message lastingly. Its visual impact is such that what hundreds of pages cannot achieve, a well-enacted ten minute scene can do, language notwithstanding. In this event, the choreography and adaptation of well-known traditional plays to suit present day requirements delivered the desired message - ‘Education influences promotion of good values’, quite satisfactorily.
Surprisingly, or should one say ‘expectedly’, the level of Sanskrit pronunciation, the standard of presentation and the ‘aaharya’ aspects were praiseworthy. Some of these dramatis personae may even become greats in play-acting on stage, silver screen and the small screen. The main point is negative inhibition was totally absent. Every participant went into the spirit of the play dedicatedly. In his ’Hamlet’,
Shakespeare tells through his hero, the Prince of Denmark, ‘The play is the thing wherein I will catch the conscience of the King.’ He does. And so it was with the purposeful little heroes and heroines.
 Awards were given for Best Play: P.S. Senior Secondary School, Mylapore, Best Adaptation: Sri Sankara Vidyalaya, Pammal, Best Actor: Bhavana Srinivasan, Vidya Mandir, (Amulya Vidya), Best Actress: B. Sandhya, Sitaram Vidyalaya, (Sanatana Dharma), Best Supporting Character: M. Harshini, Padma Seshadri School, T.P. Road, T.Nagar. The criteria were, acting ability, Sanskrit diction, presentation value, thought content and message projection.
The judges were Dr. Padmanabhan, Dept. of Sanskrit, University of Madras, Akilesh Mishra, eminent scholar from Sanskrit College and Mohan, Sanskrit Teacher, DAV Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Choolaimedu. The Judges commended the uniformly high level of competitive spirit of the teams.
R Srinivasan
|
