A 10-member team from Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Thripunithura, walked away with the first prize at the Kochi edition of The Hindu Academic Pentathlon held at Oberon Mall in the city on Saturday.
The team, comprising Hari Ganesh, Anand K.S., Amal K.R., Megha Madhavan, Jayakrishnan K., Parvathy Anil, Aparna S. Nair, Shreya M.P., Vishnu Chandrasekharan and Saraswathy, scored 90 points.
A team from Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Eroor, was the first runner-up, scoring 74 points. The two teams will vie with eight winning teams from other regions of Kerala, in the State-level final event that will be held in Kochi later this month.
Other participants
The other teams which made it to the final of the Kochi edition were Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Vaduthala; Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ernakulam; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Poochatty; and Bhavan’s Adarsha Vidyalaya, Thrikkakara.
The event, organised by The Hindu Future India Club in association with Vignan’s University, saw brainy young minds battle it out in a scholastic competition covering five disciplines — mathematics, physics, chemistry, English elocution and fine arts (music/dance).
Focus on humanities
The Commanding Officer of INS Venduruthy and Kochi Station Commander of the Navy Commodore G. Prakash was the chief guest. He exhorted the 440 participants from 44 schools to accord due importance to humanities as well, since they cover various disciplines, including governance and politics.
The obsession with medical and engineering courses is not good. A scientific approach to life helps though, he added.
Speaking of his rural background and Malayalam-medium schooling, Cmde Prakash cited how he became a voracious reader of books by famous English authors. He called upon youth to prioritise co-curricular activities and sports, so that failures in life were taken with a sportsman spirit. “The upcoming generation must also be highly adaptable and flexible, so that they can get jobs in a fast-changing and competitive world. Love life and live life,” he signed off.
The judges for various disciplines were K. Pradeep, Rangarajan, C.L. Jacob, N.K. Vijayan, Anu, Sen, Jayasree P.D. and Manju C. Kaimal. Also present were Suresh George and Suresh Pillai, Senior Deputy General Manager and Assistant General Manager respectively of The Hindu, and Jaison, Consultant, Vignan’s University.
Oberon Mall was the venue partner of the event.
