The integration topic for Std VI this
year was Maharashtra. We thought it
would be fun to explore Maharashtra
through our curriculum and give our
interpretation to its history, geographical
features, traditions, culture and
also the many problems that have cropped
up over the centuries.
The programme was divided into two
segments - the performances and the
displays .The performances spanned
over 40 minutes where all the children
presented the Portuguese discovery
of Maharashtra, the rise of Shivaji,
the Indian freedom struggle in Maharashtra,
the Ganesh and Shivaji festivals and
also contemporary Mumbai.
The performances depicted the Portuguese
sailor, Vasco Da Gama's discovery
of a trade route to India, his acquisition
of Indian riches and how Catherine,
the Portuguese princess handed over
the seven islands of Bombay to the
British through a play .The rise of
the mighty Maratha power to meet the
challenge of the Mughals was portrayed
through a skit on the life of the
brave Maratha warrior - Shivaji. Lokmanya
Bal Gangadhar Tilak's contribution
to the Indian freedom struggle and
his revival of Ganesh and Shivaji
festivals was presented through a
vigorous lezium and a vibrant Nandi
dance. Needless to say the dances
held the audience captive with their
fancy footwork and sheer spontaneity
.The stress of Mumbaikars was captured
through a rap song and dance and the
solutions presented through yoga asanas.
The displays and power point presentations
were the culmination of a month long
period of learning. The power point
presentations in Science were on wild
life sanctuaries, night sky over Mahrashtra
. Group work encompassed bird sanctuaries,
pollution and eminent scientists of
the state.
It was a lot of fun working in teams
and making projects and models on
the food preferences through pie charts
and graphs. We also calculated the
area in square meters, and enlarged
Warli figures, for Art. The sports
stall presented the games popular
in Maharashtra, the prominent players
and stadiums .The history of the rise
of Marathas, Shivaji's childhood,
the diverse culture of Maharashtra
was presented in Hindi through a scrap
book and interesting trivia on the
very state we were living in .The
English stall provided us with an
excellent forum for venting poetic
expressions on the problems of Maharashtra
, its heritage and the progress made
in recent years .Of course the most
interesting activity was the learning
of a new form of Art - The Warli paintings.
The effect was stupendous and elicited
very appreciative responses from all
parents. Maharashtra has an interesting
history, most of it created by the
brave warrior Shivaji and his great
wars with the Mughals. To our great
surprise the History research revealed
the existence of pre-historic man
in Maharashtra.
We gained a lot of knowledge on Maharashtra
and we enjoyed working on this integration
topic.
Mahathi Ramesh
Std VI
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