The traditions and rituals set a school’s identity and signal what the school values. At Kāsiga, the best Residential School in Dehradun the traditions highlight its students’ holistic development.
Over the years there have been a number of such traditions which our alumni recall with nostalgic delight and appreciation.
FRESHERS’ NIGHT
Freshers’ Night held in spring, being the first major event of the academic year marks the welcoming of new members into the Kāsiga Family. Newcomers get a convivial platform to showcase their individual talents in any way they please. It’s the time to shake a leg, croon a tune, strum a guitar, beat the drum, crack a joke, and what have you. It’s the time to belong, secure a bond with the other students and establish congeniality. It’s also the time to start a purposeful and happy academic journey at Kāsiga, the best Residential School in Dehradun, India.
P.C. BATTA MEMORIAL CRICKET TOURNAMENT
P.C. Batta Memorial Cricket Tournament hosted by Kāsiga over the past few years has become an attraction for cricket players and enthusiasts alike, spreading the cricket fever for a fortnight. Participants from far off places play with ambitious vigour to claim the coveted trophy. It follows the T20 format with two matches played every day. During the course of the tournament score updates are made available on the internet.
SILVER FIESTA
Come every July, Kāsiga is abuzz with over a 100 participants from schools far and near watching a new film with a keen eye and registering its various technical aspects. It’s doubly exciting for them all because the suspense of what they would be watching is kept intact till it is screened. This eagerly anticipated event hones their skills of critical appreciation and review writing as much as it introduces new friends with whom they share their opinions and thoughts. It also provides them a rare opportunity to interact with experts in the field of film production / direction and gain valuable insights into the art and science of filmmaking. Many participants have gratefully acknowledged the fact that they carry with them additional knowledge, skills and also happy memories of getting in contact with virtuosos.
INVESTITURE CEREMONY
The investiture Ceremony marks the culmination of the election of the Student’s Council at Kāsiga. Prospective candidates file a nomination for the post of their choice in the School Cabinet. Then follows a period of animated campaigning where the nominees unleash their public speaking skills in a bid to convince the voters. Those endowed with a sense of humour evoke greater applause adding to the entertainment value of the process. As voters, the faculty and students exercise their choice in a secret ballot and the elected members are formally inducted into the Cabinet by the Head of School at the investiture ceremony which is marked by solemnity. It is the occasion to mark the commitment of the elected team to serve the school and students with dignity and responsibility, and keep the flag of Kāsiga aloft. It is a prelude to each of them to elevate themselves to being worthy leaders in future. It’s a moment they shall look back with pride and satisfaction. The badge of honour they had won shall remain a precious souvenir and a testimony of their leadership skills.
ANNUAL ALUMNI MEET
Annual Alumni Meet is a celebration of the homecoming of all those who had flown the Kāsiga nest as young adults into a world of higher education. It’s the time for them to relive the happy times they had spent in Kāsiga. It’s when they bond again with all the teachers and staff who fostered their growth and maturing into better individuals. It’s the time to share their success stories, fill the hearts of teachers with pride and energise the younger students. Well, it’s no doubt also a time to rejoice, party and have great fun.
FAREWELL
In the relentless passage of time, even all good things come to an end; so does the happy student life in Kāsiga for those who have completed Std 12. Farewell Meet is the occasion to bid adieu to the senior most set of students embarking on their journey of tertiary education. Students who have spent quality time at Kāsiga carve out a name and place for themselves. This is fondly recalled while escorting them up the ramp to the stage. Students of Std 11, as perfect hosts, make it doubly special for their seniors with their affectionately prepared cards carrying their own best wishes and those of the teachers, carefully including the happy memories they shared with them. Plenty of goodwill pervades the air in the emotionally charged ambience. Needless to say, the evening is lit up by flashes of the cameras zestfully capturing the lovely moments for posterity and uplifted by the sound of lively music and dance. The highlight of the event is the crowning of the most deserving of the outgoing students with the titles Mr Kāsiga and Ms Kāsiga.
ANNUAL CULTURAL GALA
As a matter of convention since inception, the Annual Cultural Gala is held on the eve of the Diwali vacation. It marks the celebration of the achievements of the school community as a whole to an invited audience comprising the happy parents, special guests, distinguished dignitaries and other well-wishers. It’s the time to substantiate and reaffirm to the parents their well-placed faith in the best residential school in Dehradun India, Kāsiga. It provides an opportunity to present a compendium of the year’s highlights in the form of the Year Book. All major awards are presented on this occasion with the House Cup being the most prestigious, for the best House of the year. A grand multidisciplinary exposition of the collective talent of the students as nurtured by inhouse teachers and embellished by experts from outside follows. It’s the time to take stock of the attainments in academic and other spheres and also set newer and greater targets for the ensuing year.
ANNUAL SPORTS DAY
The intoxicating effect of sports is self-evident. The Annual Sports Day is the grand finale of a month-long progression of a variety of competitive sports events and practice sessions. The most exhilarating events such as the finals of sprints and relays are reserved for this special day when the proud parents witness in person the blossoming of their wards into robust sportspersons. There are also the flamboyant drills, displays and the magnificent march past. The disciplined effort, the demanding physical workouts, the unsparing focus on excellence, the tireless stretch towards fulfilment – all these are literally worth the sweat. (The eagerly awaited trophies of the day are the Athletics Cup, Mass PT Display Cup and the March Past Cup.) What is on display throughout is not just the physical prowess of students but all that goes into the making of champions in real life.
GRADUATION CEREMONY
Graduation Ceremony symbolises the rite of passage of the senior most student cohort at Kāsiga to step into university courses. The promising young gentlemen and ladies, graduating from high school, bedecked in cap and gown and a glow on their faces look happily into the times to come. It’s also the moment to share heart-warming and boisterous experiences of school life reminiscing all that it took to reach here. Motivational speeches by special guests and the Senior Management Team accentuate the atmosphere of optimism and buoyancy. It’s the occasion to rejoice the education received thus far and reinforce it while paving one’s way for a bright future.
