The sixth edition of Jaipur History Festival got off to a great start at City Palace in Jaipur on the theme of ‘Financial Literacy and Folk Art’. The first day of the festival started with a mesmerising Bhajan and devotional music performance by a group of 2300 students.
The performance of Bhajans like “Hey Ram!”, “Ram Ratan Dhan Payo”, “Achutam Ke Shivam”, “Shri Krishna Govind Hare Murari” etc. by SR International School touched the hearts of the audience and gave everyone a wonderful spiritual experience.
This was followed by a performance from The Palace School, who presented a song based on financial literacy “Keval Aaj Nahi Hai Jeevan, Kal Bhi Jeevan Hoga..” which made the audience think deeply. This was followed by a street play “Digital Dhamaal – Ji Ka Janjaal” in which students showcased various aspects of cyber fraud and how people fall prey to fraud due to their carelessness and hesitate to talk about the subject. This presentation not only gave a message of awareness but also made the audience think about how important security is in the digital world.
The multi-talented students of Vidyashram School left a deep impression in the hearts of the audience with their live tabla performance. Their brilliant tabla playing on ‘Shiv Taandav’ mesmerised the audience, followed by a Kathak dance performance by them which touched everyone emotionally and rendered a serene experience. SRN School performed a dance drama presenting a mix of stories of Munshi Premchand. This musical performance presented all the aspects of financial literacy impressively. The dance performance of ‘Kalki: Avtaar Dharam Ki Sansthapna, Kalyug Ka Vinaash’ by the students won the hearts of the audience when more than 50 students captivated the audience with their dance together on the stage.
Later, Delhi Public School presented a song based on financial literacy “Swavalamban Ki Raah Par Kadam Badhte Jaye, Sapna Udaan Ko Ek Naya Pankh Laaye..”. Along with this, they also performed a thought-provoking street play and dance performance, which raised awareness about the importance of financial literacy at a deeper level. The students of Maheshwari Public School impressed the audience by presenting a Sanskrit poem on financial literacy and a play on the stories of Munshi Premchand.
St. Anselm’s School presented a dance drama on women’s empowerment, which showed how financial literacy plays an important role in aiding the empowerment of women. A star performer from 4th grade of Springdales School swept the audience off their feet with an 8-minute poem on Veer Ras. In the end, students of Subodh Public School presented a street play based on financial literacy with the song “Paisa hai toh duniya bhi, aage peeche ghumti hai”.
Many interesting and creative exhibits were organised in the exhibition area. These included Physics Experiments and Painting Exhibition by Malviya Convent School Jaipur; “Chained Freedom” installation and paintings and pedagogy on financial literacy by Springdales School; “Kalpvriksh – Tree of Growth” installation depicting financial schemes like SIP, LIC, ULIP, RD, FD, PPF, and NPS in beautiful Kalamkari style; Making of a Jantar Mantar and Sundial; Financial Literacy Puzzles, Bioscope showcasing the history of Tie & Dye by S.V. Public School; Finance installation by Dharav High School from sticks, jute strings, Bandhani fabric, and puppets; Installation of an artistic depiction of balance and shades of wisdom by The Palace School with a display of clay coins and bioscope; Financial Literacy stories in folk art paintings by Tagore Public School, Shastri Nagar; Financial Literacy Philately Exhibition by B.V.B. Vidyashram, Pratap Nagar; Live painting and financial literacy stories by S.R.N. International School; Stories & Painting Exhibition exhibit by Tagore International School, Mansarovar; Installation of a 3D, 4 feet heighted Bull installation which is crafted from wood which features phad painting and Kalamkari folk art by Subodh Public School, Rambagh. Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School presented a Gond art wheel installation to understand different types of investors. Along with this, they also did an installation of kites based on financial investment schemes for different age groups (children, middle-aged and senior citizens).
Along with this, workshops were also organised on traditional crafts of the city like gemstone carving, tie and dye, mandala art, and mirror work, which was a unique experience for the children. Notably, the festival will continue on December 4, 5 and 6, with dance, ‘qawwali’ and plays based on the stories of Munshi Premchand. Students from schools from cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Vadodara, Varanasi, Noida, Kanpur, Ghaziabad and Jammu will also participate in the event.
The Special Guests on the occasion were the Principal of The Palace School, Ms Urvashi Warman; Director of Tagore Public School, Shastri Nagar, Ms Ruchira Solanki; Principal of SRN International School, Ms Pallavi Tandon; Director & Principal, Dr. Anju Chazot and Mr Pascal Chazot from MGIS, Ahmedabad; Resource Person, Mr Satyadeo Bareth, Dr. Uma Joshi and Ms Pooja Malik from Scholastic.