CRESCENDO at Jaipuria successfully enthralls in its 2nd innings

by Suman Gupta

Bigger, better with avant-garde student performances at fest; Ila Arun mesmerizes audience

Lucknow: Crescendo- Jaipuria Cultural Festival, returned with a big bang. The Grand finale of the Jaipuria Cultural Festival took place at Lucknow on August 9 and 10, 2019 where the theme was WATER. Crescendo provided over 21,000 students from across 26 Seth M. R. Jaipuria Schools pan-India an opportunity to participate, compete and excel in multiple cultural activities. Planned as a two-phase event, the first phase saw competitions and trials within schools, which led to selection of the 650 best at school level, which will be culminating with the Grand Finale at Lucknow.

There was unbelievable display of talent across all groups. The singing, dancing, art and acting astounded the judges, whilst the creative writing and innovative competitions such as ‘Best out of waste’ took everyone by surprise with the deep insight shown by all kids. Segregated into groups – Maestros, Trendsetters, Legends and Elites- the children were all eager to not only take part and showcase the best of their talents, but also learn from each other, in the true spirit of peer-learning at Jaipuria. Performing Arts, including but not limited to Elocution, Debate, Just-a-minute, painting, message based art, creative writing, battle of the bands, school choir and dance competition, among many others were actively contested by students of Jaipuria. The judges for the event were some of the best known experts from the field of art and culture, many of whom turned in special performances. They had a tough time judging the raw and inspirational talents. Ultimately, winners were declared after much deliberation.

Mrs. Ila Arun- celebrated Actor, Singer, Writer & Producer, was the Chief Guest. She congratulated the Jaipuria students, and said that “you are all lucky to be studying in one of the greatest academic institutions of the country. I am so happy to see that the management is focused on growth of India, on culture and up-liftment of socio-economic standards. It is important that students realize the impetus upon them to spearhead the change in the country”. She encouraged the students to be lifelong learners, saying “As you step into the professional world after your studies, you must remember that the potential for learning is never exhausted. Education is a life-long process; I hope that your studies would have inspired you to seek knowledge at every stage in your careers”. On request of students, she belted out classics of hers, ‘ReshamKa kurta’ and ‘Holiya meinudha re gulal’. Students were mesmerized and danced in the aisles!

She added “I would advise everyone to choose your career based on your dream. Follow excellence and perform your duties with total dedication and passionate ownership and everything else will follow. Believe in your dreams, success & success alone and don’t entertain any thought of failure. ‘Life’s biggest battles don’t always go to faster or stronger man,… but the man who thinks he can.’ If you are sure about your success & dreams, it is definitely going to manifest, as per the Universal ‘Law of Attraction and Belief’. The clarity of your vision and your passion would help carve your path to success”

Mrs. Anjali Jaipuria, Vice Chairperson, in her address extended a warm welcome to IlaArunji. She said that India today is the land of opportunities; she egged on children to be the future leaders and said “broaden your perspective and develop an insight to understand the multifarious challenges and myriad opportunities in the emerging scenario and work accordingly to make a mark of success for your country and also yourselves”. She highlighted that Jaipuria has been tirelessly working towards ensuring that the children get better learning opportunities, and for that, no stone remains un-turned. She spoke about the opportunities Jaipuria students get for cultural activities. “We believe that cultural performances foster health and overall well-being of our students, as well as create a sense of positive competition, achievement and team spirit”.She continued “there is a lot of enthusiasm among the students and a great response for the event is expected. Last year, we made a commitment to #BeatPlasticPollution and celebrated our beautiful North East. This year, the central theme of Crescendo was Water. The idea is to provide a learning opportunity to students

alongside a platform to showcase their talents. Crescendo defines the zeal for excellence that is there in Jaipuria, focused on holistic development of children”.

Mrs. MehakJaipuria, Director of the Schools, said ““More importantly, we’re gearing up for even greater challenges of the future. Crescendo is a great window of gearing up our students for challenges of the future. Our focus is to transform our students from what they are to where they can be, fully realizing their own potential. Our academic rigor, focus, and attention to innovation and creativity in taking care of every student and helping them nurture their potential to the fullest. We are happy to host the students from Jaipuria Schools nationwide and hope this would also provide an opportunity for students to bond with each other, learn about cities and cultures. Personally, I am over the moon to have an luminary singer, actor such as IlaArunji amongst us today”.

The students chirped in excitedly. One said“Crescendo has significance in music, and means a progressive increase in intensity”. The others were enthralled by special performances from expert bands/ troupes/ acts such as, The Groovy Guys, Musical Trio with a blend of different arts, who perform BEAT BOXING & Violin. Wow”. Some students also spoke highly of the workshops in Robotics, Creative Writing, Pottery etc. that were organized on the side.

Mrs. IlaArun rounded up the event best with “Live each day to the fullest; follow dreams; don’t fret, don’t stress, and success will come to you” she ended with a wide grin to thunderous applause from students. Crescendo would be back next year on August 7, 8 2020 and students just can’t wait!

About Jaipuria: Jaipuria Group has been in education since 1945. In higher education, the Group has four management institutes at Lucknow, Noida, Jaipur and Indore, and presently, 26 K-12 Schools are running across the country, including 6 at Lucknow, 2 at Varanasi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Ballia, Gonda, Bahraich, Hardoi, Ayodhya, and Patna among others. Currently, 21,000+ students are studying with Jaipuria. The group’s institutional development mission & idea is to continually upgrade and scale up the quality and spread of educational endeavors, serving students, teachers and the society at large