Basking in the glow of success

Students of municipal schools win several prizes in VUDA contest

Schoolchildren from various municipal schools in celebration mode at Urban Residential Hostel, Arilova in Visakhapatnam. --- photo: C.V.Subrahmanyam

More than a dozen pairs of feet follow the rhythm of ‘dhimsa’ tunes, elbowing one another and swaying in different variations. It was time to rejoice and commemorate for the students from various municipal schools as they secured several prizes in the recent Children’s Day competition organised by VUDA under various heads -- western dance, folk dance, and drawing.

This year, 50 students from four schools – Urban Residential Hostel (Arilova), Andhra University High School, GVMC Primary School (Peda Jalaripeta) and Zilla Parishad High School (Thotagaruvu) teamed up to present their creativity at the annual event.

While for most of them it was first time to perform on the stage, a few of them explored the platform for the second time. “Last year, we could not win in folk dance contest. This year, we were determined to give it our best shot,” says Tulasi, a Class VIII student of AU High School as her team grabbed the first prize in folk dance category.

More than securing prizes, what appears to be the encouraging fact is the cultural exchange that the students look forward to. “The challenging part is that our dancing skills should be on par with the ones from corporate schools. We were able to learn a lot from them while they made us feel comfortable during the contest,” says Chinna Lakshmi, a Class VII student.

Those who belong to the neighbouring villages of Araku Valley had an added advantage. “We were able to choreograph ourselves effortlessly as we have grown up watching ‘dhimsa’ dance all through our childhood. This helped us gain an edge over others,” says Uday Kiran, a team member.

Advantage of camps

Sharing their happy moments, founder member of Andhra University Evergreen Engineers Trinadha Rao Sabbi, who facilitated summer camps for these teams, says: “Our mission to equip these children with creative skills proves to be fruitful. After a couple of summer camps, they are independent enough to train others. Moreover, seeing their expertise, a couple of organisers invited them to participate in their programmes.”