Expresses a student from Lancers, one of the top international schools in Gurgaon, about her experience at the brilliant Poetry Slam, held at Bangalore International School, “The only poetry I had ever gotten my hands on was written by Philip Larkin, and it was the most depressing bunch of poems I had ever come across!
Suffice to say, I hated poems. So when I was first informed about this poetry slam that would be held in Bangalore International School, I was apprehensive.
I was participating in a poetry competition that I didn’t know anything about! Yet, I decided to just dive in, head first, along with my classmates, Vivian and Ayesha from Lancers, one of the best schools in Gurgaon.
Anyway, despite underestimating ourselves and thinking about topics to write on, I was shocked to see that we had written some great poems. After constant practice, binging on Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye’s videos, improving our poems, reciting them a million times and appraisals from Ms. Anvita and Ms. Bandana, we were ready to go!
Arriving in the hot city of Bangalore, my first thoughts were something like this: “It’s too hot.”
“I will burn to the ground.”
“Do I have enough sunscreen in my bag?”
But all that changed the moment I saw myself standing in the room filled with other participants. The feelings of competing with them were building up in my mind, and my friends seemed to be on the same page as me. Initially, we greeted others politely and talked in hushed whispers, but everything changed when we saw Phil Kaye signing away big posters.
Now we were giggling fangirls. We couldn’t believe our luck! Being in the same room as two great poets had to be a dream come true. When the competition started we were introduced to the term, “spoken word poetry”, which still didn’t make that much sense. But once the participants came up back to back with amazing performances, everyone hooted and cheered. I finally understood the hype about poetry! You could share your deepest, darkest feelings and stories with strangers without any qualms. You are the master on stage and everyone listening to you is waiting for the whip of entertainment to hit them, hard.
The first round had come to an end and everyone was squirming in their seats while waiting for the results. Students from Lancers, one of the top schools in Gurgaon didn’t qualify and I wasn’t surprised.
The other schools had already been to a few slams and us being newbies, it was expected. However, Ayesha and Vivian didn’t seem to share the same feelings, with Ayesha sulking for a while and Vivian in deep thoughts.
I was busy ogling at the ever elegant Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye while indulging in small talks with other participants aka our supposed opponents. They were all so encouraging and so polite to talk to that I was left dumbstruck.
Surely, I had misjudged them. Between eating, sulking, buying books, talking to Sarah & Phil, clicking pictures and making stupid jokes, the whole experience taught me many things and opened my eyes in so many ways. Even my two companions were surprised by how different everything was. To say that our whole judgment on things had changed and a new schema had evolved would be an understatement. Soon enough, we were returning to Delhi on a plane but everything seemed to have ended way too quickly.
23rd February 2017 is the day I fell in love with poetry. To be more precise, I fell for ‘spoken word poetry’ and I learned two ‘important’ things:
- First, If you like a poet’s work, Please tell them because everyone loves appraisals.
- Second, if you hear a great poem that you just connect to, please, snap your fingers. It has a wonderful logic behind it: Clapping will disturb the poet so the most discreet way to do is snap your fingers! That way the poet won’t be disturbed and she/he will know that you are loving it. It motivates poets and gives confidence to the person on stage.
I would like to thank Ms. Anvita for helping us and smoothing down our rough edges and Ms. Bandana for the constant criticism and showing us the effects of drama. Also, an imaginary hug to Vivian and Ayesha for being great poets and encouraging friends,” beautifully articulates a student from Lancers, one of the best schools in Gurgaon.
Psychology Symposium for Students at Lancers, One of the Best Schools in Gurgaon
Shares a student from Lancers, one of the best schools in Gurgaon, “‘The internet and the adolescent psyche’
Although I was cast a participant for the psychology symposium, I saw it not as a competition, but, as a platform to raise awareness on this common, yet overlooked, topic.
It will come as no real surprise when we question how the internet works or what it is used for. It’s simple – it provides us with entertainment, it helps us stay connected and, of course, it is useful for homework purposes, once in a blue moon. Let us not ignore the fact that only social media sites can be attributed to updating you on what your friend, who lives thousands of miles away, had for breakfast, or where he checked in to update his status!
However, have you ever wondered the impact it has had on you? Have you wondered, how the prolonged use of internet has morphed us into creatures that are chained for eternity to our devices? Of course, you haven’t! No one ever does!
That is where I stepped in, as the role of a participant to not only inform but to question our ways. The overall experience proved to be a learning curve, as the participants opened their eyes and minds to the effects the internet has had on our psyche. It was with great amounts of finesse and sincerity that different participants from Faith, Virtue, Peace and Truth house stood up and produced such mesmerizing presentations! Sure, we all were aware that it was a competition, but what was more important was that it was a healthy competition.
Not only that, but the Psychology Symposium also gave us insights into the critical thinking and mindsets different individuals have, and how differently they may perceive things. For some, the internet was a boon, but for others, it was a bane.
In the end, we as participants learned so much more, and every single one of us left the stage as winners, regardless of the final decision of the judges,” expresses a student from Lancers, one of the top schools in Gurgaon.
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