Marathi Elocution Competition
मराठी भाषा सक्षम ,
करते संस्कृतीचे रक्षण !
ध्यास मराठीचा मनी ठेवा,
मराठीची गोडी मनामनात वाढवा ll
Considering the importance of conserving culture through language, by means of developing interest and providing platforms to enhance vocabulary and oral communication, a Marathi elocution competition was held for the students of classes 5th to 12th on August 23rd, 2024 in the down hall of Don Bosco High School and Junior College, Lonavla.
The institution finds itself situated in the Indian state of Maharashtra which is well known for its language and culture, thanks to its saints like Tukaram, Dnyaneshvar, Eknath and the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who kept the Marathi language alive. Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken predominantly by Maharashtrians. It is the official language and co-official language in Maharashtra. It ranks 19th in the list of most spoken languages in the world. In an effort to keep the language alive, the ‘Marathi Day’ is celebrated on 27th February, the birthday of poet Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar.
Given the opportunity, many students participated in the Marathi elocution competition. These students, having prepared themselves diligently, recited their parts with great confidence, using good expressions and correct pronunciation. With the help of their teachers, they were able to overcome their stage fright. The judges invited for the competition were Mr. Mahadev Khape (Marathi Teacher at D.C High School, Lonavla) and Mrs. Nita Ghorpade (Headmistress, Modern High School, Pune).
The students were divided into four categories for the competition:
Category 1: (Classes 5 & 6 Story telling), Category 2: (Classes 7 & 8 Story telling)
Category 3: (Classes 9 &10 Speech), and Category 4: (Classes 11 & 12 Speech).
A week before the competition, the elimination rounds were held and the finalists were chosen. On the day of the competition, the program began at 10:30 a.m. with the four categories performing in succession. The participants impressed the judges with their oratory skills in Marathi. At the end of the competition, the judges expressed their views and also left some sound advice for the participants. The winners were awarded with certificates by the judges and the principal, Fr Ranson D’Souza SDB. A vote of thanks was proposed by Mast. Nathan D’Mello which brought the competition to a close.
The program was organised by teachers Sushma and Dinesh.
The winners of the competition were as follows:
Category 1: 1st place: Aarush Sable Category 2: 1st place: Shreyash Gaikwad
2nd place: Sai Patil 2nd place: Sarthak Jadhav
3rd place: Shubro Ghosh 3rd place: Samarth Wadekar
Category 3: 1st place: Anosh Martin & Sujit Patil Category 4: 1st place: Durva Golapkar
2nd place: Ishan Tare 2nd place: Kaustubh Shinde
3rd place: Shreyash Bhillare 3rd place: Ishwari Deshmukh
The winners were content with their achievements. In fact, for some winners, the experience was an exceptional one since it was the first time they had won. It was thus a decisive factor for them for their growth in self-confidence.
Report by – Tr. Sushma & Tr. Dinesh
