The premises of L’ecole Chempaka were bustling with activity on Sunday morning. Young musicians were crooning and strumming away on the stage of the school’s assembly ground while budding artists sat engrossed in their work in shaded spots of the basketball court. Chempaka was hosting their annual interschool competitions, with participants from seven schools in the city competing in about eight competitions.
“But what sets our event apart is the cooking and fashion show competitions,” said Varsha Renjit of Class XI, one of the coordinators of the event. “The students of our school have brought utensils from their homes for the competition. One boy even brought an oven and the first person to qualify for the second round earns the privilege of baking during it.”
While pots and pans waited for participants to cook their way to victory in ‘Les Gourmets’, newspapers were the weapons of choice for those battling it out for ‘Project Runway’ – the fashion show. Students had to design outfits, the theme being ‘Tribals’, and ready their models to walk the ramp in the given time.
A crane made of used plastic bottles and a large metal drum converted into a face were among the sculptures that were placed for ‘Gallery Award’ – where participating schools had to set up ‘art galleries’ using sculptures, paintings and pencil sketches already made by their students.
“This is different from Brush it Up - the painting competition, where the topic is given on the spot,” clarified Reshmy Rajana Johns of Class IX, one of the volunteers.
Among other off-stage events was ‘Future Project’, where students had to design a new port for Vizhinjam harbour. Young architects used all the thermocol, chart paper and other scraps at their disposal to design the roads, buildings, solar panels, wind mills and LED lights to give form to their vision of the future harbour.
“This is in keeping with the spirit of ‘Emerging Kerala’,” said Samyuktha Thankachy, a class IX student, who emceed the competition.
The day-long event was inaugurated by Mumbai-based Malayali artist Bose Krishnamachari who spoke on the many faces of art. The classic rock band Ground Zero performed in the evening.