AVEDear Readers,

That AVS is a school that gives to allthose who reside within it many opportunitiesis a fact well-known, but what is perhaps alesser known fact is that the pupils may havestarted to take these opportunities for grantedand the degree of appreciation for them hasbegun to wane. Charity, they say begins athome, and before AVE seeks to comment onthe actions or thought processes of the Aviatorit would also like to recognize that perhaps itis too guilty of the same. We accept thatcertain sections of the Issue No 23, datedTuesday 27th of September, misrepresents theSchool, its management and undermines theeffort of many who seek to move the Schoolto a higher level. Inadvertent, as it may havebeen, the poll on the calendar and the questionon the fiscals of the AeromodellingWorkshop was a juvenile attempt at journalismand were not founded on any researched facts.

It was short-sighted on the part of AVEto have not recognized the wide array ofactivities, games, career counselling sessionsand various workshops that our pupils enjoy,

within a reasonable fee-structure, and whichprovides them with not a few career optionsand teaches many life skills.

On hindsight we also humbly accept thatthe review of Chichi Beau Monde was at its bestpatronizing, and at its worst depreciative. Thefact that an event of that magnitude, managedwith that level of professionalism would notbe ordinarily seen at a school level seems tohave passed us by.

In both cases what occurred was nothingless than a lapse in fact finding. AVE thriveson the input and feedback of its readers andappreciates the dialogue that comes away witha better understanding.

Nothing remains but to express ourapologies and to ask that this misdemeanourto be put down to a lack of foresight andmisguided youthful exuberance. We wish toperpetuate the culture of sound journalism thathas been practised in the past. We also takethis as a learning experience and understandthat the print media of the School provides uswith several avenues for our individual andinstitutional growth.

Yours truly,The AVE Team

AN APOLOGY

‘Debating Matters, India’ organised by the British Council was held on the 30th of September.Six debaters from AVS made their way to the Sarla Birla Gyan Jyoti School in Guwahati toparticipate in it against twelve other teams from across the East zone.

The Assam Valley School hosted The North-East Invitational Soccer Tournament which had itsinauguration on the 1st of October,2011, and concluded on the 5th of October,2011

On the 2nd of October, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the school community witnessed abrilliant presentation of the Assamese Folk Songs in the School auditorium.

The Inter-House Squash matches were played on the 24th and the 25th of September. Jinari-Manas placed first with 37 points, followed by Bhoroli-Lohit, with 31 points.

CAMPUS NEWS

Issue 24, 2011 Established: 1995 Tuesday, 4th October, 2011

1 Weekly Newsletter of The Assam Valley School

FOR THE LOVE OF THEATREA

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The Inter-House Original One-Act Play Competition: A Review

To catch a respite in the

rush…To willfully suspendreality for a moment ortwo…To slip into a cocoon ofsurrealism…If only…Lest these words die uponthe lips ere they be scarceuttered, let me offer thenext best thing…the worldof make-believe; of sightand sound; of heightenedemotions and subtleaction, of dauntlessheroism and irredeemablevillainy.Let me offer you the worldof theatre.Over a weekend afortnight ago (the 1st ofOctober to be precise) theInter-House Original One-Act Play Competition didmanage, albeit in smallmeasures, to take us to such a world. And – asthe script writers tried to translate creativemeanderings into story lines and the actors: plots

into histrionics – it wouldhave been a mean mindthat would not haveapplauded that effort.The judges for the eveningwere Mr. Bhupen Sharma,Dr. Jahanara Begum andMr. Mohan Sewa.

The evening commencedwith Subansiri-Namdang’sWhen Petals Fall. Thoughthe plot was somewhathackneyed the play didpossess the potential forthe exhibition of somefine theatrics. But let thetruth be told: somehowwhen the actors wentabout their business theyseemed to lacking inconviction as far as theauthenticity of thecharacters they portrayedwere concerned. Stage-management and dialoguedelivery could have beendealt with, with greater

seriousness. The above, notwithstanding, todismiss the efforts as being shallow andineffective would be not totally fair. The saving

2 AVE Tuesday, 4th October, 2011.

grace of this play will have to be the fact that thebringing on stage, however amateurishly, theturmoil of a strife-ridden region was in fact amanifestation of the script writer’s appraisementand recognition of the troubled times we live in.

Bhoroli-Lohit’s The Feather was aninsightful portrayal of how the free spirit of mancannot be held back by either the fear of calamityor the shackles of tradition. The penmanshipbears commendation. The studied nonchalanceof the light-hearted moments shifted seamlesslyto those of gravity, all of which were couchedexpertly in some well-constructed lines. That,along with the well-machinated stage craft, isperhaps what can be put down as the real USPof the play. As far as the story line is concernedthe idea of the surviving few that escaped theholocaust to live in a structured facility, here TheCommune, is not a very original thought.

Thus the first half of the evening drew to aclose.

If the word farce could be ever used withthe most positive connotations then perhapsDhansiri-Kopili’s Death Track could be christenedas such. A gloomy theme like death got a freshand light-hearted treatment and though this maynot a very novel approach, the energy among theplayers, that never for a moment flagged, helpedretain some amount of ingenuity. Perhaps, whatsaved the play from being a mere slapstick affairwere some cleverly written dialogues, not tomention some very dexterous and confidentacting. But if one were to be looking forprofound messages to carry home or even afeeling of sweet satisfaction that lingers on longafter a stage performance is over, this was notthe right place to find it.

The last offering in this repertoire was ItsBest Kept Simple – a Musical from ‘Manas-Jinari’.First: kudos to them for coming up withsomething as ambitious and novel as a musical. Itspoke well of the musical talent that is to befound amongst the pupils. It was also a testimonyto the spirit of music that pervades the Schooland the encouragement it receives. However thecasting lacked balance which did nothing to helpin the progress of the narrative. Also the choircould have been a more integral part of the playand, at times, one almost willed for them to singa little more! Yet credit must be given where due,and the original scores did much to enhance thequality of the play.

Devraj Barooah, from The Feather wasadjudged the Best Actor for his ingeniousportrayal of the man who defied age-old normsand dared to move out of the Commune. PritikaAngelika Harris, who came forward as a verypleasant surprise, was adjudged the Best Actressfor her portrayal of The Elder in the same play.Hekaito Chowdhury who jested as Death inDeath Track was awarded the Most PromisingActor and Onia Subu walked away with the MostPromising Actress for her portrayal of Angoori,in the same play.

Siddhant Chowdhury bagged the Best-Director Award for Death Track while RadhikaMoral clinched the Best Scriptwriter for TheFeather. The evening drew to a close with, Bhoroli-Lohit being declared the Runner-up and Kopili-Dhansiri, very deservedly, as the winners of theInter-House Original One-Act Play Competition.

Finally, it must be said that qualitatively theplays had much more substance than it did in theyear past. The effort to produce something of

3 AVE Tuesday, 4th October, 2011.

BEYOND WORDS

On the occasion of The Individual SpeechTrophy Competition, which was held onthe 3rd of October this month, the

promising orators of The Assam Valley Schoolhad once again proved their wit and style of publicspeaking. There were seven participants in all,who spoke on topics of their own choice.

The evening started off with SuyaashSharma speaking on the topic ‘My Words SpoilMy Thoughts.’ He carried his subject on with

his usual style of humour and expressed his ideasclearly and constructively pointing at ourhelplessness when words become too feeble tocarry our thoughts. His jovial fashion of drawingexamples from his own life had rightly set themood in that evening.

Next speaker, Joyeeta Dutta, absorbedthe audience with her fabulous commentary on‘Numbers.’ With her, we were once againreminded the significance of those ubiquitous‘Numbers’ which, in fact, are our guardianspirits. She indeed had left no stone unturnedto research on the various facets of our liveswhich are governed and controlled by somemere numbers.

For the third speaker Shakti Yambem, itwas her debut performance in this category. Sheimpressed us when she set forth her opinion on‘Embarrassment,’ a term not alien to us. Her ideaswere manifested in her unique style of deliveryand gesture that went well with her subject.

Then came Puspak Chamariya, smilingaway to glory while talking of ‘Smile.’ His livelyapproach towards the topic did not fail to bringthose little curves between our lips.

The fifth speaker, Yashodhara Sharma,spoke about ‘Now’. Her beautifully chosensubject, strewn in fittest words and expressions,emphasized the pressing need of ‘now’ thananything else.

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worth was almost palpable, though the way eachHouse went about it was interestingly different.And, if one moves a little below the intensity ofan Inter-House Competition or the joie de vivreof youthful creativity, one can glean and

comprehend the AVS Way of Life: one that givesroom to make something new and then moreroom to make that thing anew if the first effortbe imperfect.

And then, it’s curtain-call until next year!Pratima Chettri

4 AVE Tuesday, 4th October, 2011.

Devraj Barooah

It was time for Rahul Rajkhowa toenlighten us about what he knows the best – ‘TheArt of Debating.’ Almost as an expert, Rahulspoke quite confidently and with ease. Hiseasygoing and interactive style, commemoratinga series of debating experiences had definitelymade a powerful impact on everyone presentthere.

The last speaker, though a new face onstage, was no less competitive than any otherparticipant. Ananya Hazarika delighted us withher topic ‘A World Without Words’. Sheopened our eyes to how actually it is emotionsthat set us apart as human beings. Her deliveryof speech was truly remarkable as it suited the

theme in an accurate note.While the tabulators were busy

preparing the results, the audience were presentedwith a spellbinding recital of Robert Burns’ ‘ARed, Red Rose’ by Mr. Kevin O’Brien, wellorchestrated with a brilliant dance-presentationby Hemanta and Dwipandita. The battle ofnerves ended in a close call. The Runner-uptrophy went jointly to Joyeeta Dutta and AnanyaHazarika. The Winner’s trophy, muchdeservedly, went to Rahul Rajkhowa. Ourcongratulations to all the participants andespecially the Winners who have truly set aparadigm of high-class public speaking with theirsymphony of eloquence.

AEROMODELLING WORKSHOP

The Aeromodelling Workshop: ‘Vector-2011,’ which started on the 8th of September, 2011, engagedthe young Aviators in a new-age trend of passion and interest. The Workshop provided a hands-ontraining on different areas of aeromodelling; from designing gliders from Balsa wood to fly RCairplanes. The workshop ended with an air-show on the 30th of September, 2011.

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Ms. Lucia Okumura, a distinguishedJapanese Equestrian Coach associatedwith Equestrian Federation of

Australia had visited our school to conduct aHorse-riding Camp from the 26th to the 29thof September, 2011. Ms. Okumura is aninternational rider and a renowned coach. She

INTERACTION WITH Ms. OKUMURAhas been riding since the tender age of 11. Atthe age of 13, she took to grooming the horses,and working in the stables in order tounderstand them better and connect with them.We had the honour of interviewing her andthe following is a selection from thatinteraction.

5 AVE Tuesday, 4th October, 2011.

Omkar Singh Sethi

~DRAWING CARE-LINESVishakha Sharma*

Ms. Okumura believes that the AVSstudents are keen and confident. She alsomentioned that although we have the talent, weare still lacking in technique. She suggested thatwe need to start working on the fundamentals ofriding as; how to transition a horse in differentphases of riding; she also advised that we shouldwork more in the stables with the horses. Whenquestioned about the reason behind riding beingmore popular among women, she remarked thatit’s simply because girls like animals more, andtend to care more for them. But she did mentionthat Show jumping is more common among theboys. Apart from Sailing, Riding is the only sportin which both boys and girls can competetogether. In order to sharpen our skills forcompetitions, she advised that we should take onestep at a time. If we rush into it, then we mightget to the Nationals faster but eventually we willend up having fewer accomplishments. We mustwork longer to learn how to tack and groom the

horses well, improve our skills in trotting andcantering styles, master the various techniques ofbalance, posture and movements, then take partin the regional level competitions, and slowlyclimb our way to the top. If this can be achieved,we would certainly find a niche when we get tothe Nationals. She said that her passion lies inthe challenge of working with horses. To quoteher, "The journey is a lot more fun than theresult, and journey is what matters most to me."She particularly mentioned that we can only makea strong bond with the horses, if we go to thestables regularly, groom them, brush them, andwork with them, instead of making them workfor us. This helps us become a better riderbecause then we can understand theirtemperaments. Our interaction ended with anunforgettable note for the promising riders ofour school when she said, "You never force thehorse to do anything. You just make it hard forthem to do anything wrong."

Pardon me if you find my writing toogauche. I don’t really write too oftenthese days. In fact the last time I had

written was for the 14th Founders’ Issue ofAVE, the School Weekly, and I would notblame it on lack of time or the usual I-was-too-busy-trying-to-get-into a-college, and

then, once there, acclimatizing-to-it excuse. Iam totally out of excuses. All I can say in mydefence is that although I had the time, theinspiration, the gathered thoughts and all therequired paraphernalia, all that was lackingwas the noble intention and a certain someonebehind me to coerce me or even to use the rod

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FREEDOM FRONTIERS

6 AVE Tuesday, 4th October, 2011.

into doing something I love to do. I had noincentive to pursue my own avocation. Andmost notably, I had no one to applaud a workdone well. That has been one of the moststriking differences between my life pre andpost-AVS. Even now so, I have only managedto drag my slothful self away from the collegecorridors to the library out of a moralobligation of keeping a promise made to myformer Mistress-in-Charge which, I daresay,I had made not so recently (being an Aviator,procrastinating still runs in my blood). Imust admit that even if I am somewhatambiguous about what I intend to writefurther; I am sure that this will not be anothereulogy titled An Ode to My School which oneis expected to write once out of School. I liketo believe what will have to say will have moreheart in it than what one is obligated orexpected to write. This much ought to be said:going back a decade I had chosen to be a partof The Assam Valley School because I hadno other alternative and today, at the end ofevery day when I reflect upon my words andactions, I cannot think of having made a betterchoice for myself in life, thus far.

Two months of the scorching heat ofRaipur at the Hidayatullah National LawUniversity have left me utterly disillusioned.My readers and I share many things incommon – the craving for freedom, theovercoming desire to do what we feel likewithout people badgering and harassing us,the agitation at being tracked and traced everysingle minute of the day and the irritationresulting from having all your actionsconfined and restricted, scanned andscrutinized – only difference being, that wasmy past and it is your present. But, quitestrangely, all of that doesn’t seem sosignificant anymore. Using a cell phone inthe classroom under the desk, being at thecanteen during class, or the late night walksaround the campus fascinate me no more.

There are times when I feel like I’msuspended midair (literally!), not knowingwhere to go and whom to trust. Maybe I’ll getused to it in the years to come but what I trulylong for sometimes is the voice telling mewhat’s the right thing to do, what my next stepshould be or, to put it simply, someone’sconcern. I miss all the happiness that I derivedout of little things like winning the Inter-House Debate Competition and the timeswhen the greatest tragedy in life was aminuscule peccadillo in the latest issue ofAVE. Here I am, shunning away from dirtycollege politics and trying to decipher hiddenpersonalities concealed in endearing smiles. Imiss the innocence, the transparency and thehonesty.

My fellow Aviators, the message issimply to treasure what you have: it is unique,and will never greet you in life again. You’reliving your life in a bubble and while you arein it bask in its sanctuary, do not yearn tobreak free, for, a time is bound to come whenyou will long for it, when you will wantsomeone to hold your hand and tug youalong the right path, or when a time will comewhen you will look back to see a familiar facewhile walking down a dark, lonely alley and,more than anything else, when you willfinally realize that freedom does not comefrom breaking away but from being held close.

*Vishakha Sharma is an alumnus of The AssamValley School.(Batch of 2010) She was the Editorin-Chief of the School Weekly, AVE. She ispresently studying Law at the HidayatullahNational Law University, Raipur.

Jabberwocky is a nonsense verse poem writtenby Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel ‘Throughthe Looking-Glass,’ and ‘What Alice Found

There,’ a sequel to Alice's Adventures inWonderland. This poem is an unofficial sequel:

“None shall fear the Jabberwock,The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!The Jubjub bird, the JabberwockyThe frumious Bandersnatch,No more, no more.”

He looked down,At his vorpal sword,“Hurra!” Cheered the little town,Glad in festivity, “Hurra!”

“To my arms my beamish boy,Who hast slain the Jabberwock!Dance and be merry, boy!”

“The sword shatters, oh why! He weeps!Red, red and red he weeps! Oh! He weeps!”

“The Jaberwock hath victory, alast! Alast!”

HE WHO SLAIDTHE

JABBERWOCK

Ambiso Tawsik7 AVE Tuesday, 4th October, 2011.

Chief Student Editor: Ambiso Tawsik. Deputy Editors: Vedant Jain, Sneha Khaund, Sukrita Baruah, YashodharaSharma. Associate Editors: Radhika Moral, Yashash Agarwal, Rohan Tandon, Devraj Barooah, Suhavi Arya. SeniorCorrespondents: Nandini Singha, Jai Phookan, Puspak Chamariya. Junior Correspondents: Advaiy Chettri. Graphics:Hlingdeikim Changsan, Mrinal Koijam, Jita Moji Jini. Production Manager: Deepanjan Das. Photographers: RishabhGoenka, Daksha Salam, Moinam Chatterjee.Chief Staff Editor: Supratim Basu. E-mail: ave@assamvalleyschool.com. Telephone: 03714-292470. Publisher: AVSCommunication Center, The Assam Valley School, P.O. Balipara, Dist. Sonitpur, Asom-784101, India. Printed at: SwastikaPrinters, Rangapara, Asom. Website: www.assamvalleyschool.com.

Recap: It turns out that Carla and Ben are actuallymovie stars, working together in the set of their nextthriller. Rosie (the actress playing the character roleof Carla) finds it extremely unsettling to be using aloaded gun in a movie set. When James takes the gunfrom her, in an attempt to comfort her, and he ejectsthe magazine, he finds a bullet missing...(Previous Episode was written by HemantaMahanta)"What's wrong?" She asked.

I managed to pry my eyes away from themagazine. "There's a round missing. Someone hasfired from this!" I exclaimed. I stared into herdeep blue eyes, trying to find out something thatshe wanted to hide. Her face grew pale, her eyesneither twitched nor blinked. She simply staredat me, as if trying to console her owndesperation. But then it hit me. I'd known Rosiefor the past four years, I knew her better thananyone else and I knew it very well that she wouldnever be involved with something like that.Somehow I managed to feign my suspicion andsaid, "I'll be right back," before swiftly turningaround and walking away. I could still feel herlooking askance at me menacingly.

At last I knocked at the door of the onlyman I could confide in. The door opened almostinstantly. A thin man stood in front of me, withspectacles over his nose and wrinkles all over hisface. He looked much older than he actually was."Hey Larry! I need some help." I said as I walkedpast him and sat in his arm chair.

"What's the matter?" He asked with a streakof curiosity in his usual smile. I threw theMakarov on the table and said, "Someone hasfired from this gun. There's a bullet missing fromthe magazine. Can you please help me find whoit was?" Larry was a backstage coordinator inthe movie, but for me, he was an expert when itcame to guns. He picked up the gun and examinedthe magazine. Then opened the chamber andimmediately, a large smile spread itself across hisface, "Ah!" He jibed, "there is a bullet missing,but no one has fired with it."

This had me seriously confused. Larrytook no time to explain. "My naive friend," he

COLLABORATION STORYJohn Remedios

NOTE: The next episode must see an end to thisCollaboration Story. Please drop in with your entriesand submit it to the correspondents of AVE. The bestsubmission will be published in the upcoming issue ofAVE.

TRUSTED TRAITOR

8 AVE Tuesday, 4th October, 2011.

Sketch by: Daksha Salam

.

continued, "there is a bullet missing becausesomeone has put it into the barrel."When youdraw the chamber, a round moves inside andmakes the gun ready!"

I let out a sigh of relief. "So I was panickingfor nothing!" I said sheepishly. I began to get upwhen Larry forced me to sit down. “You haveevery reason to be scared James. The only reasonbehind that round being in the barrel is thatsomeone wanted you to be dead. Where did youget this?" Larry asked with a grin in his face.

"It is the gun that Rosie is supposed to shootme with in the film." I said, feeling nervous.Larry burst out into laughter which wasfrightening. He assembled the gun like an expert,and suddenly pointing it at me said, "I knew thatshe would be too weak to pull the trigger. But Iwon't."…