On 18 November 2017, Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram hosted the annual Dr.PremKirpal Memorial Inter-School Art and Poetry Competitions – ‘Art Poetica’ in fond memory of the former Chairman of DPS Society, Dr. P.N. Kirpal. This prestigious event celebrates his love for art, culture and poetry.
The Chief Guest at the Prize Distribution Ceremony was Mr. V.K. Shunglu, Chairman of DPS Society and DPS R.K.Puram Managing Committee. Member of the DPS Society and former Chief Justice of India, Honorable Justice B.N.Kirpal was the the Guest of Honour. He was accompanied by his wife Ms. Aruna Kirpal. Other prominent dignitaries who graced the occasion included the Vice Chairman of the DPS Society and Member of the DPS R.K. Puram Managing Committee, Rear Admiral M.M. Chopra;Members of the DPS Society, Mr. Ashok Chandra, Dr. (Mrs). Usha Luthra; Member of DPS R.K. Puram Managing Committee, Ms.Sudeepta Ghosh; Member of DPS Society and DPS RK Puram Managing Committee, Dr.Kiran Datar. The guests were felicitated by the Principal, Ms. Vanita Sehgal. Vice Principals, Ms.Padma Srinivasan, Dr. Renu Nayar and Ms. Anita Singh were also present.
Students from25 schools took part in the competitive events, ‘Blend Art’, ‘Artistic Poesy’, ‘Lyrical Canvas’, ‘Lime-in-Rhyme’, ‘Inverse Rhapsody’, and ‘Stage-a-Verse’. The events were held at various venues simultaneously. Blend Art involved recitation, dramatization, and painting the essence of a poem selected by the participants. In Artistic Poesy, participants were required to compose a ballad based on six paintings. Lyrical Canvas had participants expressing the dominant emotion from a line of a poem through a charcoal painting. Inverse Rhapsody involved the recitation of lines from various poems, while expressing them in different tones with elements of drama. In Stage-a-Verse, participants wrote and enacted a skit in verse based on a given prompt. Lime-in-Rhyme encouraged budding poets to create limericks within a time limit.
All of the events were assessed by a team of eminent judges. Ms Mita Bose, Ms Nandini Guha, Dr. Sangameshwar Rao, Mr. Vikram Varma, Mr. Vijay Rao, Mr. Dushyant, Ms. Manisha Gupta, Ms. Vaijyanti Ghose, Dr. Carreen Pakrasi, Prof. Ramola Kumar, Ms. NeeraVerma, Mr. Shubhagata Kumar, Ms. Garima Sehgal, Dr. Ranjana Kaul, Mr. Kumar Sandeep, Dr. Sangya Gupta, Dr. Pramod Gupta, Mr. Mahendra Rai, Ms. Arti Paliwal and Mr. Uma Shankar Pathak graced us with their presence.
The Valedictory function commenced with the lighting of the lamp and a melodious performance by the Western Music Choir. The Principal, Ms. Vanita Sehgal expressed her gratitude to the Kirpal family. Quoting Pablo Picasso, she said that art washes away the dust of everyday life from the soul and quoting Robert Frost, she said that poetry is the emotion that has found a thought and the thought has found words. She lauded the creativity of the participants and congratulated them.
The cultural programme consisted of a beautiful musical and theatrical performance by the students of DPS R.K. Puram. Addressing the gathering, Mr.V.K. Shunglu appreciated the function stating that it was outstanding and professionally presented. He unveiled the book –‘The Bubbling Cauldron’ by the English Squadron.
Blend Art was won by Delhi Public School, Gurgaon; Delhi Public School, Noida held the second position; Ahlcon International School came third. The first position in Artistic Poesy was bagged by Delhi Public School Greater Noida; Ahlcon International School and Tagore International School came second and third respectively. Ahlcon International School won Lyrical Canvas; Birla Vidya Niketan held the second position and Apeejay Noida came third. In Inverse Rhapsody Delhi Public School, Noida, Birla Vidya Niketan and Delhi Public School, International came first, second, and third respectively. Mother’s International School bagged the first position in Stage-a-Verse, and were followed by Delhi Public School Greater Noida; the third position was won by Birla Vidya Niketan. The first, second, and third positions in Lime-in-Rhyme were secured by Vasant Valley, Delhi Public School Bulandshahr and Delhi Public School Mathura Road respectively. The overall winner was Delhi Public School, Greater Noida.
Dr. Ms. Atika Dayal, Head of the English Department, delivered the vote of thanks and praised the students and teachers for their contribution towards making the event a success. The programme culminated with the National Anthem.
