The Statewide carnival for school students — Vignanotsav 2013 — began on a colourful note on the premises of Vignan Globalzen School at Palakaluru here on Thursday.
Former test cricketer M.S.K. Prasad, cine playback singers — Geeta Madhuri and Srikrishna — and District Sports Development Officer, Guntur, G. Venkateswara Rao, were present at the inaugural event.
Madhuri and Srkrishna had the students shrieking and dancing, as they belted songs from recent movies. The enthusiasm was infectious and had chairman of Vignan Group of Educational Institutions Lavu Rathaiah himself dancing to the tune of “Sa...rostarostara…,” from Mahesh Babu starrer Businessman . As Dr. Rathiah matched singer Srikrishna in steps, the stage was on fire.
Earlier, the event was inaugurated with an impressive cultural display by the students.
The zonal events got off to a start, as competitions were held in literary, cultural, and sports sections. Students from 250 schools took part in the competitions.
Dr. Rathiah later explained the importance of taking part in sports and cultural events, as they helped in moulding an all-round personality.
Students taking part in the four-day events would learn to accept victory and defeat equally. In a recent survey, a large per cent of students of engineering colleges had been found to be anaemic stressing the importance of playing games.
Mr. Prasad suggested that the State government seriously think of including sports in curriculum at the school level.
Mr. Venkateswara Rao reminded the support given to Pendyala Harikrishna, who went on to become a chess champion.
Convener of Vignanotsav Gudimella Kurmanath, Vignan schools’ principals — Ch. Srinivas, K. Dhanalakshmi, and Ch. Nirmala, and academic coordinator E. Damayanthi were present.
