Jhankar 2025: Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park hosts grand inter-school cultural fest

The air was charged with excitement and the auditorium buzzed with music and applause at Jhankar 2025, the first-ever inter-school cultural fest hosted by Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park. Held as part of the school’s 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations, the event brought together young artists from 18 schools in a showcase of music, dance, and drama.

The day began with a green welcome of the esteemed judges by Officiating Principal Ms Vandana Bansal, followed by the lighting of the ceremonial lamp amidst a soulful shloka. A classical dance performance on ‘Shubh Swagatam’ set the tone for the celebration.

While introducing Jhankar 2025, Ms Bansal addressed the gathering with warmth and enthusiasm. “Winning or losing doesn’t matter, what matters is the joy of participation and learning from one another.”

The Stage Comes Alive:

The event featured four competitions, each curated to encourage thematic performance, teamwork, and creativity.

Soul of Symphony – Orchestra Competition: Students of Classes VI to X brought alive the “Symphony of Unity”, blending Indian classical and Western orchestral music. With no
pre-recorded tracks allowed, every note was played live.

Students from Apeejay School, Pitampura expressed, their excitement, “Everything went as planned. We took around 2-3 weeks to prepare and enjoyed every bit of it.”

Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park also shared about their musical journey, “We performed a blend of Western and Indian music in Raag Durga, symbolising the unity of two cultures. It took about 2-3 weeks to prepare.”

Meanwhile, the team from Apeejay School, Saket, who performed a Bandish in Raag Malhar, mentioned, “We found out about the competition on the 22nd, and we practiced every day till the performance. It went extremely well with the alaap and everything in place.”

Swaranjali – Group Singing Competition: Celebrating the beauty of the monsoon season, participants from Classes V to VIII presented melodies based on Malhar ragas, including Megh Malhar and Miyan ki Malhar. The strict no-Bollywood rule encouraged a focus on classical and folk forms.

The host team Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, who bagged the first prize, shared, “We performed the song Badarwa Barasanko Aaye. Preparing for it took a few weeks, maybe even a month. It was a long process, and we even missed school days, but it was worth it.”

As Mr. Rishi Shankar Upadhyay, Music Teacher at Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, rightly shared, “It is important for students to understand the basics of music. Events like this are a great motivation, they inspire students to participate, to move forward. When such cultural activities are held, our music and our culture also move forward.”

Rangmanch – One Act Play: Theatre teams from Classes VI to VIII took to the stage with compelling interpretations of the theme “The Untold Story of a Woman.” Inspired by literary works and infused with dialogues, each act highlighted pressing issues, gender stereotypes, empowerment through education, and social justice.

One of the moving performances came from Apeejay School, Faridabad, who presented a Nukkad Natak. “The play addressed the issue of girls being married off young and denied education. We enacted multiple scenes, prepared everything in 3 – 4 days, and felt truly connected to the emotions on stage. It felt like we were actually living the story,” shared a participant.

Sadhna – Group Dance: This segment was divided into two categories:

Category 1 (Classes IV to VI): Folk dance

Category 2 (Classes VII to IX): Spirituality/Nature

Winners from Apeejay School, Pitampura reflected, “Our theme revolved around Lord Ganesha. The performance had three parts, in teen taal, with strong symbolic formations. We prepared in 2–3 days.”

The second prize winners from Apeejay School, Noida said, “We showcased spirituality in our dance. Even though we prepared in a single day, our earlier planning helped.”

From Apeejay School, Faridabad, a team member shared, “Our dance recreated the story of Krishna and the Kaliya Naag in Vrindavan. We practiced for about a week and gave our all.”.

Reflecting on the school’s legacy, Ms. Rekha Srivastava, also a Music Teacher at the school, mentioned, “ Through this cultural celebration, we can truly see the values that Dr Stya Paul ji envisioned being brought to life. Our school has a deeply musical atmosphere, and it’s heartening to see the high respect given to the arts.”

Special Performances and Celebratory Moments

After the competitions, students from the host school performed a short patriotic classical dance. As the event drew to a close, a felicitation ceremony was held to honour the judges, who were presented with tokens of gratitude. Later, the prize distribution ceremony was met with loud cheers as the winning teams took to the stage. The day concluded with the National Anthem.