“Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes 

Language Fest 2021-22 was hosted by Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram on 28 January 2022 via the virtual Google Meet platform with the objective of celebrating linguistic flair and talent. The competitions witnessed the participation of schools across India. A total of 44 schools participated in a vast array of activities. The event was jointly coordinated by teachers of the Hindi, Sanskrit and Foreign Language Departments.

German

“Just a Minute: Monologue Competition” : This was an online event held for Classes IX-X.  Participants had to deliver minute-long speeches on a range of pre-decided topics. The esteemed jury members  Ms. Reema Chauhan and Ms. Kavita Gandhi, judged the students on their performances on the basis of their pronunciation, creativity, elocution, fluency, and usage of props and costumes. Fifteen schools participated in this event and impressed the audience with their innovative, unique performances.

Poster making competition : This was  an offline submission event for classes VI-VIII. The participants made a poster on any one of the topics that were already shared with them. The entries were made on  A-3 sheets and the artist chose his/her medium of expression. Each participant submitted 1 poster. The esteemed jury members Ms. Manisha Buttan and Ms Reema Chauhan , judged the posters on the basis of  creativity, originality, aesthetic, visual appeal , clarity and relevance to the theme. Eighteen schools participated in this event and sent their posters. 

Spanish

“Just a Minute” was an event held for Classes IX-X. The participants from 15 schools were asked to formulate and deliver a speech on one of six pre-released topics within a minute. The jury consisted of Spanish aficionados Dr Mayuresh Kumar and Ms Shruti Agnihotri. The students, who were judged on the basis of their originality, fluency, pronunciation and adherence to the time limit, delivered mesmerizing performances and left all in awe of their linguistic prowess. 

Poster making competition: This was an offline submission event for classes VI-VIII. The participants made a poster on one of the pre-released topics. Students displayed their artistic skills through an array of posters. The jury consisted of Spanish aficionados Dr Mayuresh Kumar and Ms Shruti Agnihotri. 16 schools participated in this event and sent their beautiful posters and amazed us with their extraordinary artwork.

French

“Just a Minute” was the French competition for Classes IX-X. Participants from 25 schools delivered eloquent minute-long speeches on a variety of given topics. The jury comprising Dr Shubhra Gupta and Mr Manmeet Singh, both renowned names in the field of learning and teaching French, assessed the participants on their innovativeness and imagination, fluency and pronunciation, voice modulation and content delivery. 

The Foreign Language Department also organised an offline Poster Making Competition for Classes VI-VII on various topics of French. 25 schools participated in the competition. 

हिंदी

एक पल कहकहों भरा

एक पल कहकहों भरा कार्यक्रम में विद्यार्थियों को किसी प्रचलित विज्ञापन को हास्य का पुट देकर उसे एक नए मौलिक रूप में प्रस्तुत करना था अथवा अपना स्वयं का एक मौलिक हास्य विज्ञापन बनाकर उसे प्रस्तुत करना था। यह प्रतियोगिता कक्षा नवीं तथा दसवीं के विद्यार्थियों के लिए थी। इस प्रतियोगिता में दिल्ली तथा दिल्ली के बाहर के 23 स्कूलों ने भाग लिया। 

दिल्ली पब्लिक स्कूल, रामकृष्ण की भूतपूर्व हिंदी शिक्षिका तथा सीबीएसई की रिसोर्स पर्सन श्रीमती कौमुदी शर्मा तथा दिल्ली पब्लिक स्कूल, रामकृष्ण पुरम की भूगोल  विभाग की पूर्व विभागाध्यक्षा श्रीमती रूपा दास निर्णायकों के रूप में उपस्थित थे।  कार्यक्रम के संयोजक डॉ. अनंग सक्सेना व श्रीमती मीनू सिंगल थे।

बचपन की कहानी कठपुतली की जुबानी

कक्षा छठी से आठवीं तक के छात्रों के लिए “बचपन की कहानी कठपुतली की जुबानी” नामक प्रतिस्पर्धा आयोजित की गई थी। इस प्रतियोगिता में देशभर से 27 प्रतिभागियों ने भाग लिया व प्रतियोगिता के निर्णायक के रूप में हिंदी भाषा में विख्यात विशेषज्ञ, श्रीमती करुणा शर्मा व श्रीमती संतोष कुमारी उपस्थित थे। हिन्दी विभागाध्यक्ष श्रीमती सीमा मेहता एवं कार्यक्रम समन्वयिका श्रीमती डॉ पी चिन्ना ने निर्णायकों व सभी प्रतिभागियों का अभिनंदन किया। प्रतिभागियों को उपप्रधानाचार्य डॉ अनिल कुमार कथूरिया, प्रधानाध्यापिका श्रीमती रश्मी मल्होत्रा ​​और कंप्यूटर विज्ञान विभाग के प्रमुख श्री मुकेश कुमार की उपस्थिति और प्रेरक शब्दों ने प्रोत्साहित किया।

संस्कृतम्

पात्रपरिचय:

कक्षा नवमी एवं दशमी के लिए आयोजित ‘पात्रपरिचय:’ प्रतियोगिता में प्रतिभागियों द्वारा श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता के किसी भी पात्र को आधार मानकर उसका अभिनय किया गया। माननीया अमला ठुकराल, दिल्ली पब्लिक स्कूल रामकृष्ण पुरम की भूतपूर्व संस्कृत विभागाध्यक्षा प्रतियोगिता की निर्णायिका थीं। उनके साथ माननीय डॉo राजेश कुमार, पी.जी.डी.ए.वी महाविद्यालय में  सहायक-प्राध्यापक ने भी प्रतियोगिता का निर्णय किया। आयोजन में संपूर्ण भारत से 23 विद्यालयों के छात्रों ने भाग लिया। मुख्याध्यापिका माननीया रश्मि मल्होत्रा महोदया ने निर्णायकों का स्वागत करते हुए अपना आभार व्यक्त किया, और प्रतिभागियों  का उत्साहवर्धन  किया। विभागाध्यक्षा माननीया सीमा मेहता ने भी निर्णायक मंडल की ओर कृतज्ञता प्रकट करते हुए प्रतिभागियों को शुभकामनाएँ दीं। सभी प्रतिभागियों ने पात्र के अनुरूप वेशभूषाओं में विविध पात्रों का उत्कृष्ट अभिनय किया। अन्त में संस्कृत विभाग की अध्यापिका माननीया रूपाली महिन्द्रु ने धन्यवाद ज्ञापन किया।

गीता-श्लोक-गायनम् 

छठी से आठवीं कक्षा के लिए गीता श्लोक गायन प्रतियोगिता आयोजित की गई। इस शास्वत ग्रंथ के गहन श्लोकों ने सुनने वालों को मार्गदर्शन दिया और संस्कृत के सौंदर्य का प्रदर्शन किया। प्रतिभागियों ने  द्वितीय एवं तृतीय अध्याय के श्लोकों को पहचानकर गीता में प्रवीणता दिखाई और उन्हें  सुरों में पिरोया। भाषोत्सव की इस प्रतियोगिता के निर्णायक श्री दीपांशु कौशिक,संस्कृत अध्यापक तथा वेदज्ञाता, एपीजे स्कूल फरीदाबाद  एवं श्री पुनीत त्रिपाठी,वरिष्ठ कार्यकारी अधिकारी, भारतीय-ज्ञान परंपरा विभाग, NIOS द्वारा किया गया | इस प्रतियोगिता में देशभर से 19 प्रतिभागियों ने भाग लिया | 

Valedictory

The Valedictory Ceremony of the Language Fest 2021-22 took place on the virtual platform on 4 February 2022, and began with the lamp lighting ceremony.

The Principal, Ms Padma Srinivasan extended a warm welcome to Ms Gitanjali Shastri, an advisor in the German Embassy at Delhi in the capacity of an economic development and cooperation advisor, and also a parent alumna, as the Guest of Honour. She also welcomed Mr Prateek Trivedi, (bhaiyaji kahenge?) as the Chief Guest for the day. She conveyed her heartfelt gratitude to the guests for gracing the occasion with their presence. Ms Padma Srinivasan concluded her address by encouraging the students and appreciating their tireless efforts, and wished them all the best in all their future endeavours. 

This was followed by a performance by the proficient singers of the  Western Music Society  D.P.S. R.K. Puram, who left the audience spellbound with their sensational song ‘Yes We Can.’ The talented artists of the school’s Indian Dance Society exhibited an exquisite performance and they set the stage on fire with their compassion and love for Indian dances.

The Chief Guest, Mr Prateek Trivedi congratulated the principal and teachers and appreciated the efforts put in for the success of the Language Fest 2021-22. He commented on the important role played by languages in Indian culture and marvelled at the students’ fluency in various languages. He emphasised that events like the Language Fest successfully showed that language is not just a medium of communication, it is a cultural and social entity which reflects the people’s thoughts and ideas. Mr Trivedi also applauded the students and encouraged them to continue to celebrate the beauty of languages and cultures by planting the tree of language and spreading its fruits in society.

The Guest of Honour, Ms Geetanjali Subhedar-Shastri began her address by congratulating the school for organising the Language Fest despite the trying circumstances. She said that her primary message to the students was to never let language take a backseat as one’s choice of words and how one presents them solves many problems of day to day life. She shared her personal experience with engaging with the German language and said that there was no end to learning. Ms Subhedar-Shastri emphasised that language thrives in usage, and also encouraged the students to always learn from their mistakes. She also said that while foreign languages were important, it should never come at the expense of neglecting our own languages, an inherent part of our identity and being. She concluded by quoting Flora Lewis and Bharatendu Harishchandra to emphasise how languages act as an eternal embellishment to our persona. She wished all the participants a bright future ahead.

Glimpses of  submissions by the students were then presented to the audience. This was followed by the announcement of winners for the various events along with glimpses of the winning performances. 

The Vice Principal, Mr Anil Kathuria, addressed the gathering. He thanked the Principal for giving the opportunity to conduct the event and for her constant motivation and guidance. He welcomed the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour and thanked them for their valuable presence. Mr Kathuria commented on how the Language Fest gave an opportunity to the students to learn something new and that made them all winners. He concluded by congratulating the heads of departments and the teachers for putting their full efforts and making the event successful.

The Headmistress, Ms Rashmi Malhotra began her address by mentioning that the purpose of the Language Fest was to share the wealth and knowledge regarding various languages and cultures amongst all the people. She thanked the Principal for providing the platform to organise the event. Ms Malhotra also extended her gratitude towards the esteemed guests for gracing the occasion with their presence and sharing their words of wisdom. She also thanked the entire team of teachers and students who had worked extremely hard in putting together the show.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Ms Seema Mehta, Head of the Hindi and Sanskrit Departments. She thanked the Principal, Ms Padma Srinivasan, for providing a golden opportunity to the students for showcasing their talents. She mentioned that the programme was made successful by the participation of 44 schools. She thanked the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour for taking out time from their hectic schedules to encourage the students. Ms Mehta also thanked the Vice Principal, Mr Anil Kathuria, the Headmistress, Ms Rashmi Malhotra, the Supervisor, Ms Vinita Gupta, Activity Incharges Ms Abha Chona and Ms Kaveri Dhar, the art and music departments as well as Mr Mukesh Kumar and the technical support team. Finally, she thanked the teachers of the Hindi, Sanskrit, French, German and Spanish departments for their hard work without which the event would not have been possible.

The valedictory concluded with the National Anthem.