By Our Staff Reporter
Mussoorie, 13 May: The Opening Ceremony of the Annual Inter-House Cultural Extravaganza, Manor Fest was held at St George’s College, here, today. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Dr Kalyan Singh Rawat, Environmentalist and Padma Shri awardee for outstanding contribution to environmental conservation. He was accompanied by his wife, Manju Rawat.
The programme began on an auspicious note with a prayer, the lighting of the ceremonial lamp and the pledge taken by the four house captains to participate in the true spirit of sportsmanship. Deepali Ballabh, School Cultural Coordinator, delivered the welcome address.
Dr Kalyan Singh Rawat unveiled the logo for Manor Fest-2024, and declared the cultural fest open. In his address to the gathering, he urged the students to combine academic study with caring for the environment. According to Dr
Rawat, forests the area of eight football fields, are being cut down every hour in the name of development, glaciers are melting and rivers are drying. He added that, in a lifetime, an individual requires twenty-two trees to provide enough oxygen to breathe and, hence, it is of vital importance to plant more trees.
Lauding the school as one of the oldest in the state, Dr Kalyan Singh Rawat appreciated the school management for providing the students a platform to develop talent in every sphere.
The events scheduled for the first day of the two day fest were Indian Group, Western Group and Western Solo singing, Orchestra, Photography, Spell Bee, Quiz, Indian Solo Singing, Mime and Dumb Charades.
The judges for the events on Day 1 were faculty from neighbouring schools – Moli Bhattacharya, Shubhojit Sarkar, Irfan Sheikh, Nidhi Kothiyal, Amos Devassy and Vimarsh Pandita.
The programme came to an end with an update on the House Positions.
Certificates were given away in various categories for various events.
