Five minutes late from the scheduled arrival time of 7:45 am, I was shuffling through excuses in my mind, as I alighted from the rickshaw at the gate of the Ark International School at Dhanmondi 28. Peeking inside, I did not notice any bunch of teenagers busy discussing the plans for the day. As I walked inside, it took me some time before I realized that I was the first person at the venue. So much for the “Sharp 7:45, people!”! I made a quick tour and checked the rooms where the events would take place. Gradually, people started coming in. And soon, we were all in action.
With the other members of 1di set on preparing the place and the rooms, I and Sohel bhai went to Surovi with a car to bring the school’s participants safely as we had promised the principal. Since there was only one car and 23 incandescent faces, each trip housed 7 or 8 kids, piled one on top of another. They did not seem to mind though; rather, they seemed thrilled to ride a fancy, shiny car! After some time, we sent off the car to the venue for the 4th time, with the last set of kids, and followed suit.
Once at the venue, I saw that the children from the other two schools had also arrived. A sea of blue and red, the children all lined up to get their presences marked at a table where 3 1di volunteers were furiously scribbling at messily spread pages. Hiya and I were in charge of over-seeing the art competition, and we went inside to make the appropriate preparations. Setting up the chart papers, clipboards, pencils, erasers and crayons in front of each tiny desk, we waited for the lilliputs. One by one they poured in, their curious faces tingling with excitement as they took in the arrangements made just for them. The cheerful and colorful décor of the venue addend to the whole effect – chairs in yellow, tables in blue, and bright posters and writings on the red walls. As the children took their allotted seats, I wondered if they had ever been exposed to such opportunities before – even one as silly and insignificant as a chance to paint a picture to win a small prize!
Without further delay, Hiya and I explained to the kids the topic that they would be painting on – "Dhaka'y thaki" (Living in Dhaka). As soon as I said it, I expected questions like, "What are we supposed to draw?" or "Will a car do?" But to my surprise, all of them simply nodded their heads and duly buried their faces into their apparatus, and started scratching away at the canvasses without a care in the world.
It wasn’t especially interesting work for us, since the allocated time was 2 hours and there were not even any unruly kids whom we had to scold and control. Occasionally, I went above, where the quiz competition was taking place, and checked the developments. It seemed to be going very well. Once I walked in on some ongoing checking when the first round of quiz ended. Looking over the questions, I realized that I myself didn’t know some of the answers. Yet, I learnt that a few teams were scoring 90% marks or higher!
In the art room, meanwhile, sceneries and landscapes were taking shape. A pathetic artist myself, I was thankful that I wasn’t taking part in the same competition, because I knew I’d undoubtedly lose, and probably even get laughed at! Feeling secured that that wasn’t going to happen, yet slightly self-conscious, I looked around at the buildings, cars, ponds, greenery (how imaginative!) and giant fishes that were framed in the canvasses almost as big as the artists themselves. Having nothing else to do, all of us 1di members “invigilating” the room contented ourselves by taking pictures of anything that moved (and many things that didn’t).
The allotted 2 hours were coming to an end, and so were the pieces of art. Many of the artists had already grown restless, after having finished their paintings. So, we allowed them to go outside where a group called “Community Action” had planned recreations for them – various games, interesting things that can be done with simple materials (like paper flowers that bloom when placed on water) added to the slippers and swings of the Ark school to make every child giggle with glee. Seeing the other kids play, the more careful artists sacrificed a few finishing touches and headed outside too. The scene outside soon turned into a frenzy of jumping kids, jumping 1di volunteers, and jumping Community Action members.
Meanwhile, the 2nd round of quizzes were coming to an end. While the results were being compiled, Zubair, Raitul and a few others entertained everyone with some anecdotes and silly (or rather, corny) songs. Soon, the moment of truth arrived, and the names of two finalist teams (one each from Ekmattra and Aalok Shishu Shikkhaloy) were announced. Disappointment immediately clouded the faces of the other 3 teams. One girl was so disheartened that she started to cry. Through the efforts of quite many people, she could be finally convinced after 10 minutes that this wasn’t the end of her life!
Once everyone gathered on the playground, it was time for lunch. Some “doctors” from CA and 1di lectured the kids on the importance of keeping their hands clean “before the toilet” and “after a meal”. A big show was made out of getting everyone to wash their hands thoroughly, and finally – food! Everyone poured over their tehari packets like pouncing tigers and satisfied their unhappy tummies. And then it was time for the finale.
As planned, the three teams who had not made it to the final from the 2nd round were to perform a short skit on “Don’t throw litter here and there” for a place as the 2nd runner up. As they prepared for their performances, the space on the front of the Ark Int’l School was set as the stage with bed-sheets placed some distance away to seat the 50 or so kids that would be cheering for their respective schools. Some chairs were laid at the back for some invited audience as well. As everyone took their seats, the final quiz round started. The two teams 
were seated on two sides on chairs. A table stood at the centre, and on its centre was a buzzer. The concept was that a question would be asked aloud, and if a member from a team knew the answer, he/she would run to the buzzer and “buzz” it. The team that pressed the buzzer first would get to answer the question. As the “Quiz-master” began the show, the audience demonstrated its support with cheers and applause. Within a very short period of time, an Ekmattra student caught everyone’s attention with his prompt response to each and every question. Whether the question was about science, geography or history, he would run frantically to the buzzer and press it first. And he followed with a correct answer every time! The Aalok Shishu team’s members looked either lazy or ignorant in comparison to him. But even then, the audience immensely enjoyed all the action going on on-stage, the verbally asked questions making the show much more interactive for it as well. All too soon, the 25 questions or so that had been prepared were over, with the majority having been answered by the boy-genius!
The 1di members talked among ourselves and decided that the final was just way too clear. So, we decided to increase the number of questions by taking a short break. In the break, the other 3 teams would perform their short dramas. With this plan set, the question-making team went to a room to prepare another 15 questions. And the first of the three teams was called in to perform. It was one Surovi team. A cast dressed in bright red performed a skit clad with humor, continuity and a message that did not go unappreciated by the audience. The next two teams threw in a tough challenge too. Each drama had a scene with someone slipping on a piece of litter and the complete carelessness and spontaneity with which the actors/actresses performed in these scenes was thoroughly enjoyable. As each team ended its performance, the final resumed again.
It was a long shot to expect anything to change. The Ekmattra kid continued to demolish the opponents with his redoubtable GK. The Afzalunnesa team put up a bit of a fight and brought down the margin just a little. But in the end, after the 40 questions or so, Ekmattra was clearly the winner. The runner-up team did not look too disappointed though; in fact, they seemed happy after performing on stage and getting cheers from the crowd.
With that, the day’s events were reaching an end, and the respected guests each were called on stage to give a speech and finish the day handing out prizes and certificates to the participants. A kid from Surovi won the first prize for the art competition and kept the competition between the schools at a balance. A few minutes later, we were all hugging and shaking hands with the kids, who dazzled us with their bright smiles and bade us goodbye. A feeling of satisfaction hung on the back of our minds, that of bringing out a stroke of color on some otherwise grey lives. With a smile of contentment curling across my lips, I left the colorful building behind.
Also See:
One dgeree of Learning Interschool Quiz and art Competition - full story, short story
Pictures in the gallery
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Ghisan
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