PSBB wins Sanskrit-only inter-school competition

CHENNAI : Aboy in red- and black -striped kurta stands beside his teacher asking him how to vocalise his lines properly. His teacher reads the lines, explaining the correct emphasis. The boy nods and repeats the lines.At the Padma Sehsadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School, T Nagar, students from nine schools took part in ‘Samsktra Nataka Utsav’ recently. The Sanskrit-only inter-school competition was organised by the Dharmakesari Solar K S Subramaniya Iyer Trust (DSKSSI Trust). 

Students took part in five events — dance, antakshari using shlokas, kathakalakshepam, amarakosham, and drama. PSBB T Nagar won the overall trophy.“We conduct this competition in various schools across the city.

This is the 20th year that we are organising this. Most children here study Sanskrit as their second language, and this is a chance for them to use the language outside the classroom. We want to popularise the language,” said Chandra Ramani, secretary of the DSKSSI Trust.

“We learn how to pronounce the words as the usage is different when compared to English or Tamil. It’s an older language that we don’t use much, but our teachers helped us. Since we practiced a lot, we had peace of mind when we went on the stage,” said Sanjit M, a class seven student from DAV Public School, Velachery.

Aside from PSBB T Nagar and DAV Public School Velachery, students from PSBB Nungambakkam, Siruseru and KK Nagar, DAV Gopalapuram, PS Senior Secondary School, Wagvilasimi Parishad, and Bhavans Rajaji Vidyashram took part in the event.