The vast playfield of GIIS Whitefield, Bangalore came to life with the tiny tots of Pre-primary, fluttering their colourful scarves in sheer joy and excitement. Parents waited eagerly for the Annual Sports Meet to kick-start.

The occasion was graced by Mr. Raghu Prasad- an international Hockey Umpire, Olympics player and a member of the Karnataka Hockey Association, in the capacity of Chief Guest and Mr. Ram Prakash-Infrastructure Partner of GIIS Bangalore as the Guest of Honour. Mr. Ganesh Sharma, Principal GIIS Whitefield, Bangalore greeted the guests with a sapling as a token of appreciation for their presence.

The Welcome March by Pre-primary school students was indeed a treat to the eyes. The ceremonial torch was a lovely piece of artwork that was handed over to the Chief Guest by the pre-primary kids as he declared the Sports Meet open and released the mascot.

The much awaited programme began with races and drills. The theme for Pre-primary classes was ‘Indian Indigenous Games’ which delved upon the various age-old games. Nursery A & B were the first to start the races and were the ‘Water-bearers’ They stopped to place a shoulder support and carried water pots to the finishing line. Parents clapped in delight. KG-2 entertained the audience with an amazing ‘Dandiya’ drill influenced by the Garba dance of Gujarat. Dressed in the colours of the Indian flag they swayed together from side to side in rhythmic actions to the medley of patriotic songs. KG-1 followed with a ‘Matka’ drill influenced by the Rajasthani dance that uses a technique of balancing pots on the head. Next in line was the ‘Lagori’ race by KG-2 A students as they hopped on one foot and reached the finishing line. ‘Pacha Kudira’ or green horse was another innovative race by KG-2 B students as one row of children ducked to the ground as horses and the other row of students jumped over them to resume their place on the ground and the others jumped over them. KG-2 C raced on an interesting concept of ‘Field Hockey’ when each one tried to push to ball first to the finishing line. ‘Gilli Danda’ dates back to over 2500 years and the little ones of KG-2 D enjoyed hitting the small stick with a bigger one and ended up at the finishing line. KG-2 E was all set for ‘Bharatolan’ or weight lifting. They flexed their biceps, added paper-cut out weights to the stick and every weight lifter walked proudly to the finishing line. ‘Poshampo’ for KG-2 F was a lovely game where two players held hands making a passage for the contestants to pass through. The added twist was that they were not to be caught by the two bearers and had to place rings on a stand and quickly run to the finishing line. The relay took place in perfect sequence. The theme for KG-1 A was ‘Kho kho’ one of the oldest games of India. ‘Vallamkali’ or the boat race was beautifully replicated by KG-1 B as small groups of children were encircled by a paper boat and with oars in their hands they moved together as a unit to complete the race. It was a great teamwork for all the young students and they completed their task beautifully. ‘Kith Kith’ or hopscotch with an equally interesting twist was the relay race for KG-1 C. ‘Uttarayan’ or the kite festival is celebrated in India and the little ones of KG-1 D picked their kites from the circles and ran flying them in air. The last one was ‘Rassakasi’ or Tug-of-war by KG-1 E and it brought a smile on everyone’s face. The final game was the Parents’ round when they played the ‘Game of Four Rivers’. They ran forming a big circle and stopped at the pause of music and chose the river they wanted to belong to. The rivers were Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati and Kaveri. Randomly the name of a river was called out and the parents belonging to that river station were disqualified. Finally three parents won the Parents’ Round. It was wonderful to see how they let their inner-child out.

The event ended with a vote of thanks from Ms. Preetha D’Mello- National Resource Centre Head and Pre-primary Coordinator. She thanked the guests, Prinicipal, academic and non-acadenic staff and housekeeping staff for their support. She specially thanked the Rainbow Children’s Hospital for providing with a Doctor and ambulance for the event. The event was well appreciated by parents who not only enjoyed the sunny winter morning on the sports ground but also feasted on the yummy food at the stalls.

Every student was presented a gold medal and a certificate of participation. “Every child is a winner”. Said Mr. Ganesh Sharma- Principal GIIS Whitefield, Bangalore as he witnessed the proud bunch of students wearing their medals with a bright smile on their faces.