Caveat : Grammar mistakes... first cut only
Antakshari has been one of the most popular inter house competitions in Tantia High School. We all knew that serious efforts are bestowed by house teachers, students, Principal and other teachers to make the event successful and useful.
Antakshari was played once in a year somewhere between first term and second term of examinations. We enjoyed 6 Hindi Antakshari competition in our school during class V to Class X. We used to get notice of Antakshari a month before the competition date post which the preparations for the competition got kicked off.
Some memoirs --- to the extent I remember ---
Selection Process
- The first step was selection of good candidates. This was not a tough task for house teachers. They know which boy was a good orator and a good learner of Hindi poems. There were a few methods to select best candidates : Top rankers from all the classes from class V to X. Some good examples were Om Prakash Damani, Rabindra Agarwal, Manish Didwania, Dinesh Vyas,Ramakant Holani, Vinod Singh Rathore, Ajay Singhi, Nigmanand Ojha, etc. ... those were bright students hence they were quite obvious choices. Secondly, those candidates who used to be great singer in the class , they were also picked up. Teachers used to listen films songs and Bhajan in the classes provided I D Singh was not expected on school rounds. So they knew exactly which boy could earn more points. Thirdly, the boy who could memorize and orate as many as poems. So it was a fair selection process The group was a great mix of students... class V to X -- boys great in studies and good singers but not good in studies. But one thing was common , everybody used to be determined to play his role at best.
- Eight to Nine boys were selected to prepare for learning of poems. however only 4 boys from each house could make it to final 4 on the stage. Hence we could see 16 students on the dice for reciting the poems.
- For Shivaji House, S K Bhattacharya was very tough in selection. He always invited candidates from class V to VII but always interested to give chance mostly to students from class VIII to X. Every year he used to say non selected students that you will recite poems in the next year but he always had a good back up team if somebody does not come up on the final day. However, S P Pandey of Vidyasagar House , A Pandey of Raman House and R Singh First of Pratap House were quite liberal in the final selection. They always preferred junior candidates of class VI to VIII who can attract judges and entire school.
- R Singh First was always adamant ... whatever be the competition (except sports) Manish Didwania was his obvious choice... and Manish never let him down. S P Pandey preferred to select candidates with good memories and speaking abilities. So his candidates during 1986 to 1982 could not do miracles much. However, story was a bit different for Raman House. A Pandey was not very serious in inter house affairs... he used to rely more on senior boys but luckily he had good orators like Pawan Bhatia and Dheeraj Khattry.
- Dheeraj Khattry was a great choice. The boy was short heighted , very captivative, naughty features but most importantly ... he is a good speaker and reciter of poems. He was a surprise package in the year 1988 and the boy got famous in the first year of his secondary school years. His elder brother Vikash was our batchmate. Dheeraj always participated in the events of Antakshari, Debates and other competitions.
- Pawan Bhatia was the permanent member of the Raman House team. Fate played a vital role in making him famous. The story is very interesting. During 1987, a Hindi Debate competition was held in our school. Extra speakers and mikes were taken on rent from outside vendors. Some 4 to 5 speakers deliberated their speech and suddenly there was a load shedding, mikes were dead, no light no clear sound and eventually everybody in the assembly hall lost interest in the debate due to lack of light and rising temperature. But the competition was not stopped, boys were coming and speaking... suddenly Pawan Bhatia came and started to deliver his speech without mike at the loudest of his voices and everybody in the hall got silenced and started to listen his speech. The boy became hero and got first prize in that competition. There were better speakers but they were not louder. A clear case of blessings in disguise... but Pawan Bhatia was the right choice. Pawan joined me in the daily prayer team at stage.
Antakshari day ...
- The last four periods post tiffin time were reserved for Antakshari. Everybody were supposed to sit on the mattress in the assembly hall. Class V students always got first rows followed by class V... and class X students in the last of the rows. Class VIII and IX students used to give harder times to prefects , captains of the houses. Most of the annoying students were ex-classmates of prefects and captains ... they were of same age but due to their failures they lagged behind to clear class X. Some teachers used to enter in to halls with thin sticks and such boys were beaten up by teachers after that they could be silenced.
I am writing now in present tense ...
- All 16 students come on the stage. They sit on the benches on the stage behind special invitees on the stage.
- The proceedings are always started by S K Mishra... such a thankless job... Always he was the first and last to speak in all the programmes. He was the first and the last choice of our principal to play the role of 'sutradhar'
- First of all he invites our principal , then Mr. K N Singh First ... one of the senior most History teacher of our school on the stage.
- Then two judges were invited to take their seat . The seats of judges were always set up in the hall so that they can see the poem reciters. Those two judges were our great Hindi teachers.. N N Mishra and KP Mishras. They ruled over our school in teaching Hindi for a number of years. They were best...but not very useful for our students. They made Hindi non interesting and fearsome for students. They could make Hindi easier and interesting but perhaps they assumed it to be against their ego.
- Finally, every year... S K Mishra always invited an ex teacher of our School to be an additional judge on the stage. His name was Mr. K Pandey. We were told that he remembered hundreds of poems in his life time. We always listened some great stories about him.... he was a great teacher of Mathematics and Physics. So he was a permanent invitee for the competition. It was his love for his school and employer who attracted him always to play some role during his retirement.
- Rules : Maximum four can participate from each house and one boy cannot recite more than 4 poems... some 3 to 4 minutes time limit was set up for a poem. Film songs were restricted. The boys has to speak his name and house... then he can recite. S K Mishra always requested students not to clap after the poem but who cares. Those who recites well they were rewarded with clappings.
Fun
- Funniest part was .. some boys always forgot their poems due to which they were indivially penalized and their house got lesser marks
- Objections from other houses was also a regular feature.... say for example if a boy finishes his poem at a particular letter Say 'S'.. The next boy has to start the poem from the letter 'S' ... that was an area of manipulations. There was a story.....Raman House got the word 'G' to speak ... Dheeraj Khatri came and started to orate...' Gadhe Hi Gadhe Hain, Udhar Bhi Gadhe hain.....' the poem was funny and everybody aimed to orate the poem.... but actually the poem was supposed to be started by 'Idhar Bhi Gadhe hain.. Udhar Bhi Gadhe hain..' .... Dheeraj was stopped and not allowed to complete the poem... somebody else from Raman House came and orated a poem starting from the letter 'G'. But next year ... Dheeraj came and completed this poem. Our judges were never impressed by junior candidates ...they were pukka Hindi Bhakt... so they used to give marks only on the pronunciation, oratory skills and good poems.
- N N Mishra was always happy with Ajay Singhi...... as the later knew N N Mishra likes modern Hindi Poems... which cannot be sung rather they are spoken like speeches... i.e. Gadyatmak Kavya. He got individual first prize in the year 1991 and Shivaji house won.
- Anshuman Singh was the boy from Pratap House... he orated a poem... Ranbhir Chaukri Bhar Bhar ke Chetak Ban Gaya Nirala Tha... Rana Pratap Ke Ghode Se Pal Gaya Hawa Ka Pala tha .... The boy became famous and we came to know we have one more good singer around us. The boy was taken in the team of daily prayer team within a week by Pawan Bhatia. Good choice.
- Om Prakash Damani ... one of the most brilliant students of our school .... he was great in orating poems and he never forgot what he remembered..
- Rabindra Agarwal, Vinod Singh Rathore , Damani etc were favourites of S K Mishra and N N Mishra..Rabindra and Vinod won many prizes for Shivaji House and Damani for Raman House.
- Vidya Sagar House could not give much impact in Antakshari competition. In the Antakshari of 1990... one of the contestant, Nigmanand Ojha, got fever in between the competition so he was replaced by Krishna Bihari Ojha. That year was bad for Vidya Sagar House.
- Some of the important poems which always used to be listened .... ' Himalay ' of Dinkar ... Kalam aur Talwar by Dinkar.... Din Jaldi Jaldi Dhalta Hai.. by Harivansh Rai Bachhan... etc.
- Now once everybody finishes their part... it was time to listen the score. The scores were announced within half an hour... but we had to listen our principal and Mr. K Pandey on the importance of poems. By that time students used to lose their patience.... and everybody just started to cry for results. ... S K Mishra never got opportunity to speak full length Bhasan during any programme. He just played the role of connector. I am sure he could give lights a lot on every topic. But he always knew that students lost interest to listen anything by anybody except results.
- The score sheets prepared by K P Mishra, N N Mishra and K Pandey were always given to the permanent Auditors... D N Jha and Y Singh. Probably they were honest in counting marks... we never felt any preferential markings to student.
- Results were announced by S K Mishra only .... He used to announce Third, Second and then First.. The house which won the competition... every member of the house felt pride on the same day and on the next day. We used to talk a lot about speakers and prizes..
Antakshari had a clear objective .... students should know what are the good poems and interest of boys should be created..There were a lot of good memories attached to such competitions. will write..
