The three-day Inter-Institutional Cultural and Games Extravaganza, ‘Alfresco-2017’, hosted by Boys’ High School (BHS) and College, commenced amidst great enthusiasm on a happy note on Monday. The Chief Guest on this occasion was Rt. Rev. Collin C. Theodore, Moderator’s Episcopal Commissary, Diocese of Lucknow (CNI). The Secretary, Allahabad High School Society, Rev. G. Daud was the Guest of Honour.
The three-day mega fest aims to facilitate personality development, confidence building and inter-personal relationships among the students fraternity. The glittering ceremony began with a prayer by Rev. G. Daud followed by the lighting of the lamp.
The BHS Principal, Mr. D. A. Luke extended a very warm welcome to the Chief Guest, dignitaries, principals of the participating schools, participants of the educational institutions taking part in this three-day mega fest. The College Captain, Pratyaksh Kapoor threw light on the history of Alfresco and how it is evolved into a mega event during the past few years.
Nearly 350 enthusiastic boys and girls of 11 participating schools took part in this mega event. The participating schools were Barnes School and Junior College (BSJC), Deolali, Nashik, Girls’ High School (GHS) and College, St. Joseph’s College (SJC), Mary Lucas School (MLS) and College, Benhur High School and College, YMCA Centenary School and College, Tagore Public School (TPS), Dwarika Prasad Public School (DPPS), Jagat Taran Golden Jubilee School (JTGJS), the host, Boys’ High School (BHS) and College and BHS Annexe Holy Trinity School (HTS).
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Guest, Rt. Rev. Collin C. Theodore, reminisced his school days and struck the nostalgic chord and added that participation in such events go a long way in instilling a sense of discipline and fellowship among the students. He stressed on the need of participation in games and cultural events for the overall development of the personality of students. He wished the participants best of luck and declared the mega fest open.
The first on stage event of the day was Debate. Mr. V. S. Datta, Resident Editor, Northern India Patrika and a great debater of his times was the guest of honour. The topic of this debate “Media Upholds the Constitution”, witnessed a lively discussion and arguments for and against the motion. This was followed by JAM. Varied bone-tickling topics were invented by the chairperson, Mr. Shyamal Narain, an alumnus of the school and an advocate of the Allahabad High Court and given to the contestants to speak on for Just-A-Minute without stopping, stuttering, stammering and pausing. The audience was in split as the competitors put their random thoughts into words.
In Fancy Dress competition, the theme “An Anti-War/Battle Poem” depicted that war is as much a punishment to the punisher as to the sufferer. The participants were judged for their costume, creativity, music, dialogue, props and presentation. Each team received a deafening applause by the audience.
In Sur Sangam and Band Performance, the participants exhibited their musical talents which were highly appreciated by the audience. Other events which took place on the opening day were 3-D Effect and Game Storming. The function was conducted by Mr. L. A. M. French, In-charge, College Section.
The results of the on stage events held on Monday are as follows: Debate: SJC-I, BHS-II; Best Speaker for the Motion: Yashaswi Raj (SJC) and Best Speaker Against the Motion: Avtej Singh (SJC); Best Interjector: Tanishq Goyal (BHS); JAM: Avtej Singh (SJC)-I; Akshat Rai (BHS)-I; Kritika Saraswat (GHS)-III; Sur Sangam: BHS-I, GHS-II, SJC-III; Fancy Dress: BHS-I, SJC-II, GHS-III; 3D Effect: JTGJS-I, SJC-II, BHS-III; Game Storming: BHS-I; SJC-II, YMCA-III; Band Performance: BHS-I, SJC-II, GHS-III.
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