Taking the census to children

THE CENSUS directorate wears new hats. And quite comfortably too. In an effort to popularise Census 2001, the department is veering away from the beaten path to tell citizens of the importance of the task, in a manner that would appeal to them.

The inter-school quiz competition was the beginning. Around 21 schools in the city participated, of which, six teams were chosen for the finals. The St.John's Senior Secondary School,Mandaveli, Smt.Kasturba Nimchand Shah, P.Muthyalu Chetty Vivekananda Vidyalaya, Perambur, DAV Girls Senior Secondary School, Royapettah, Devi Academy Senior Secondary School, Valasaravakkam, Maharishi Vidya Mandir and Junior College, Chetpet and the SBOA Model Higher Secondary School, Anna Nagar West were the schools which got through the preliminary rounds.

Two representatives from each of these schools participated in the finals which were held on January 11 at Rajaji Bhavan. Students were drawn from standards 9 to 12. After four rounds of heated competition, the students from Maharishi Vidya Mandir came up trumps. C. Felici Pavithra and C.Raghavendar took home a cash prize of Rs. 2500, while B.Sneha Chithra and Prathusha Gosh of Devi Academy lined up for the second place (Rs.1500). R.Anand Kumar and Aditya Suresh, from St.John's brought up the rear with a prize of Rs. 1000.

But quizzing is only one of the facets of the departments new avatar. Even as the children trooped out with their trophies, certificates and cash awards, another motley group walked in with their musical instruments. Subbu Arumugam's troupe of Villupaatu exponents set the stage for a folk rendition of the census message. The performance was being recorded to be telecast later as part of the departments efforts to spread awareness about the subject.

An essay competition was also conducted for school children, on various issues relating to the census. The results will be out in a week.

By Ramya Kannan

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Next     : A fair blend of business and pleasure