Expressions 2008
Participants in the dancing event and (left) one of the entries by students in the "Flameless Cooking" event at ‘Expressions 2008’ an inter-school cultural meet organised by National Model Schools in the city on Saturday. There was at least one contest for every student at Expressions, a cultural competition conducted by National Model Schools recently.
Over 1,700 students (L.K.G to Plus Two) from over 60 schools in Coimbatore took part in various events of the competition. Dazzling Art, the painting competition for kindergarten children had the maximum number of entries. Children flocked to the venue with colour-pencils and paint brushes. Flame Free Dish was a new event that tested the culinary skills of the students. They had to prepare dishes without cooking. Most of the participants made fruit and vegetable salads, fresh juices, milk shakes and even sandwiches. They even took care in decorating the dishes with cherries and other materials generally used for garnishing.
Some of the participants gave a description of their dishes – the ingredients used, the calorific content and the nutritious value of the dish. The names of the dishes were quite fanciful too - Italian stuffed cakes, beg pan cheese burger, and veg thattoos, all made using a variety of vegetables, bread, sugar, cocoa, wheat flour, coconut and spices. Conducted every year, the exhibition gives a platform for students to explore their creativity, said P.Mohan Chandar, Secretary of the schools. “Children would also learn to get over their stage fear, he added.
The tiny tots had a fancy dress competition too, where they dressed up as Kannagi, lord Krishna, Geisha doll, Mother Teresa and even as an astronaut with a space suit made out of silver foil. One of the participants spoke about child labour and the need to abolish it. Among the other competitions were Twist and Turn, a fusion dance competition, which was a blend of classical and western dance, clay modelling, greeting card-making, and ad zap, where the students had to enact an advertisement.