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Vol. V ol. IV Issue 27
Established: 1995
Tuesday, 21st September , 2010
OF CHARPOYS AND WRITER’S BLOCK:
PHOTOGRAPH BY MOINAM CHATTERJEE, IX
The Inter-House One Act Play Competition 2010 to see what was happening. The evening of theatre was ably punctuated by periods of song and dance, including a scintillating performance of Tagore’s I Float my Paperboats and Priyamvada Borua’s well-performed Almost Lover. In particular, the rendering of I Float my Paperboats had the staff and students alike enthralled. What made Glimpses of the Action the excellence of this rendition even more amazing was the fact that it was ably choreographed at extremely short Glimpses of the Action notice by Mrs. Alpana Talukdar, hile 2010’s Inter-House One Act Play who also provided the innovatively designed Competition, taking place on the costumes for the dance sequence. 16th of September, provided the The theme of Manas-Jinari’s play was pupils and staff with an enjoyable evening, it also corruption, as it permeates every stage of life presented us with stark contrasts. While the first within India. There was effective use of the stage, two plays chose somewhat tired and hackneyed with only a minimal use of props. The play was themes (Manas-Jinari dealing with corruption and ably supported by a clever choice of music. Dhansiri-Kopili with Indo-Pakistani relations), However, apart from the politician, Keshav Jalan, the latter two plays provided fresh, self-critical who dazzled us with his earthy accent, the rest and wonderfully inventive themes. Bhoroli-Lohit of the cast was underwhelming. There was little undertook a wryly ironic look at the manner in to distinguish between them; neither did they which plays come to fruition, while Namdang- seem to possess individual characteristics of their Subansiri chose, as the focus of its commentary, own, nor did their kinds of corruption seem a student who feels he is overburdened. While particularly different. The play under-utilized the female characters were subdued and Manas-Jinari’s female acting talent, with only one marginalized in the first two plays, they held their girl on stage. own in the latter two plays, providing Dhansiri-Kopili’s play made a powerful, if powerhouse performances. A problem common somewhat cliched bid, towards a realization of to all the plays, however, was that their use of the essential similarity between Indians and the area beneath the stage, although novel, meant Pakistanis. There were dazzling performances that those at the back of the theater were unable by Ishan as Ram, Apurva as the Hindu mob leader
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Weekly Newsletter of The Assam Valley School
and Gurmehar as Abbas. The play made brilliant use of its main prop, a charpoy, using it at various times as a cave, a prison and a marker of the border. Several visual motifs impressed the audience, including the ending in which the Hindu and Muslim characters lose their various divisive identities behind the grids of the charpoy. However, the Muslim mobsters in the play were unimpressive, having little or no stage presence. Bhoroli-Lohit took us on a metacritical journey into the world in which the play is fashioned. The actors were all uniformly brilliant: the bumbling, uncertain writer, the abrasive prefects, the reluctant actress and the girl suffering from stage fright. Meghna Siddhanth definitely gave the Best Supporting Actress, Tanvi Bist, a run for her money. The play’s closing point about the difference between those with the power of ideas, and those with grandiose ideas of power, and the uncertainty about who will come out on top was a brilliant one. Subansiri-Namdang, delineating the life of a student beleaguered by the various demands thrown upon him by academics, cultural activities and sports (ably depicted by the tormented looking Zaid), looked at what would happen if he could change his places with that of a teacher and Brad Pitt. While showing that the life of a teacher was equally difficult was a creative and astute move, the depiction of the life of Brad Pitt was frankly redundant. It would have been better
if the play would have delved into greater detail on the aspects of a teacher’s life that make it as onerous as a student’s. This segment of the play did, however, allow this season’s dramatic session’s great new find, Priyamvada Baruah to shine. Withina Choutan was perkily enchanting as the impudent student who questioned the Mathematics teacher’s every statement. As he announced the results, Mr. Parnab Mukherjee reminded the audience and actors that the purpose of dramatics is not to become an actor, but to prepare one for many aspects of life that require confident and articulate speech. Bhoroli-Lohit’s innovative theme won them the first prize, while Dhansiri-Kopili’s raw and emotional depiction of emotions running high on both sides of the border won them the second prize. Devraj Barroah, of Bhoroli-Lohit’s play, was the best actor, while Withina was the best actress. The best supporting actor was Keshav Jalan (whose earthy humour had the audience in splits) and the best supporting actress was Tanvi Bist. The best scriptwriter was Rahul Rajkhowa, for his searing depiction of corruption and the Best Director award was shared by Zaid Ahmed and Tanvi Bist. In conclusion, the bitter bit must be said: in spite of the fact that the evening provided much entertainment, there seemed to be some absence of intellectual engagement in all the plays. A little food for thought would not have done any harm... Adreyo Sen
POPPYSMIC: Geyum S. : A cartoon character. Santam J. : A lollipop? It reminds me of my days spent in diapers. Albright S. : Is it a name of a constellation? Shristy D. : Poppy? Isn’t that a flower? Manjari : An exotic bird with multicoloured feathers. Poppysmic refers to lip-smacking. BEELZEBUB: Archiya H. : A Spanish word? Karishma N. : Shakira’s new hit! Pushpak C. : A delicious dish. Swati B. : Sounds like a bug. Ralte R. : Some kind of a rock band!?! Beelzebub is the name of one of the seven princes of Hell. A LAME DUCK: Prajwalita B. : Title given to benchwarmers. Priya E. : Dish made from duck. Arun L. : A duck shot while flying. Devneel G. : A duck attacked while laying eggs. Rubyanka S. : A duck without feathers. A lame duck is an elected official who 2
is approaching the end of his or her tenure, and especially an official whose successor has already been elected. HENPECKED HUSBAND: Aman S. : Husband constantly on the verge of being beaten up by his wife. Vishal J. : A husband whose wife feeds him a lot of chicken. Vishal M. : Why are you asking me? Do I look like I’m s o m e o n e ’ s husband? Aloy B. : A man who is frustrated with his wife. Priyamvada B. : A pecking hen’s husband, of course! A man continually harassed or tormented by the persistent nagging of his wife. Rohan Tandon, X AVE Tuesday, 21 st Sept , 2010.
ART BY AMBISO TAWSIK, XI
WORD DIS-ASSOCIATION
ART BY:HLINGDEIKIM CHANGSAN,IX
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The Best Birthday Gift
t was one of those perfect days when everyone was in a really good mood. There were clouds in the sky which were scurrying about making different kinds of patterns that would appear different to each person watching them. The sun was shinning shyly and a soft wind was caressing the green grass, giving it a dreamlike touch. Everyone had a smile on their faces or a kind word to say. It was also a perfect day for Mandy. She was really excited as it was her birthday which she shared with her twin brother Robert. She had woken up excitedly at sunrise and had seen, to her surprise, that even Robert was wide awake, all charged up and giddy about their big day. They both smiled at each other and then at the same time wished one another “Happy Birthday”. They planned out their whole day and then had a hot bath and changed into their new clothes. At around 7 o’clock, their parents woke up. They kissed both the twins “Happy Birthday.” Both the twins got their birthday gifts. Robert got a remote-controlled aeroplane that he had been craving for months, while Mandy got only a birthday card. The truth was that Mandy was not much of a favourite with her parents because they thought that she was useless. Around lunchtime, their grandmother arrived. Both of them rushed over and hugged her. Their grandmother gave them each a very huge box containing their gifts. They thanked their grandmother and went inside their room to play with them. While Mother went to fetch water, their grandmother saw that Robert had carelessly left the aeroplaneon the floor and the card that Mandy had received was carefully put on the mantlepiece above the fire place. She then decided to teach her daughter and son-in-law a lesson because she herself knew that Mandy was a gifted artist. She was, after all, their daughter and parents had no reason to have favorites amongst their own children. So when the children came back with their drawings, she asked their mother to point out the better drawing without saying which was made by whom. The mother picked out Mandy’s. The grandmother then went on to say how Mandy had taken after her mother. She took out a few paintings that had been made by Mandy’s mother. Mandy’s mother was now at a loss 3
for words. Tears rolled down her cheek as she looked at Mandy with pure love and admiration in her eyes. “Mandy is such a talented little girl. I am going to frame this beautiful painting of yours and keep it safely forever.” Mandy’s mother spoke as she hugged her daughter tightly. Mandy was overwhelmed by this sudden gesture of love and gleefully hugged her mother back. This had truly been the best birthday of her life! From that day on, when ever Mandy did anything good she was praised and adored and when Robert became naughty he was accordingly reprimanded. After a few years, Mandy turned into a confident girl with all the love and support of her parents while Robert too learnt to obey and be honest. Prarthana Baruva, VIII
We All Wonder, At the end we all will wonder, If life was worth the shot. The shot we fired at the world, Hoping happiness it brought. As we fade away to nothingness, Hoping there is something more; With our hopes we kept on bluffing, Till we’re thrown through death’s door. Whether or not it’s worth it, This life we all endure. We all will keep on smiling, As not to show too much more. Nonetheless we hope, That something does still wait. That something waits for us in endings, Though we may find nothing in our fate. No matter what the cause, We all think the same thing at the end. As we fade we all shall take our pause, Wondering about what had been at the bend. Life does end so frequently, when we must least expect it. Time wasted on prayer for others, When prayer for yourself seems more fit. In the dying moments, To wonder, yes you ought. We always ask our self one question: Was it worth the shot? Yaniam Chuku, X AVE Tuesday, 21 st Sept , 2010.
CULTURAL PURSUITS PHOTOGRAPH BY MOINAM CHATTERJEE, IX
Shri Subhankar Hazarika performs on the evening of the 18th. Although the evening had taken a while to gather tempo, the young maestro soon succeeded in captivating the audience’s attention with his scintillating recital of melodious ragas and euphonious dhuns on the sitar. The evening consisted of some popular classical ragas like Raag Yaman Kalyan and Raag Khamaj, and also some splendid self-composed symphonies. He was accompanied by Shri Dibyojyoti Changmai on the tabla. Ambiso Tawsik, XI PHOTOGRAPH BY DEBOJIT NEOG, XII
The Sattriya dance workshop culminates with an engaging performance at the WMH on the 21st. The workshop was conducted by Mrs. Mintumoni Bordoloi from the 17th to the 20th of September, for students of the Senior and Middle School. The performance showcased all the work that has been done in the past four days. A short presentation on Sattriya was followed by an invocation to Srimanta Sankardev. Gracefully executed solo, duet and group performances by the students formed a part of the repertoire.
CARTOONIST: MRINAL KOIJAM, XI
Sneha Khaund, XI
BEFUDDLED BRETHREN Editor-in-Chief: Vishakha Sharma. Deputy Editors: Karken Bado, Pooja Gill Associate Editors Editors: Sukrita Baruah, Publisher: DHM (Educational AdministraPrapti Borah, Antareep Boraz. Production Manager: Tanzeem Ahmed.Publisher: tion), The Assam Valley School, P.O. Balipara, Dist. Sonitpur, Asom-784101, India. Telephone: 03714-292470. E-mail: E-mail:ave@assamvalleyschool.com. Printed at: Swastika Printers, Rangapara, Asom. Website: www.assamvalleyschool.com.
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AVE Tuesday, 21 st Sept , 2010.