To Teach and Learn

The Inter-House Speech Declamation Competition was the third literary program conducted in my school this year. We had some larger-than-life personalities and like every year we had Adolf Hitler. As far as I can remember we have always had students declaiming Hitler in speech declamation competitions. Even as a student I remember many Hitlers winning the competition. Hitler would commence and end his speech with thunderous applause from the audience. As a student, I didn't understand his speech but I liked seeing Hitler in these competitions because he was the loudest (most of the time) and the most amusingly dressed character with his most queer mustache. My teachers never told me more about what he did and why he is remembered. The class twelve boy who took up the role this year presented an impressive performance. He did well but he did not win. A part of me found the joy that Hitler didn't win the competition but another part of me felt sorry for the boy who lost. It was...

My annual school concert kickstarted yesterday and the hi-light of the show, for me, was the tapori dance. It was absolutely entertaining and the crowd loved it.  This morning I wondered about it and looked it up on Wiki. And this is what I found;  Tapori  literally translates into  vagabond  or rowdy in  Hindi . Street thugs in  Mumbai  were perhaps the most notable taporis. Their unique style of speaking Hindi was called tapori language. They also had a unique style of dressing, which they called as tapori style. Tapori culture though resented by many is widely imitated by many as humorous or comical. It has found acceptance in Bollywood  films including " Rangeela ", "Gol Mal", and " Chasme Buddoor ". [1]  They are the equivalent of  gangstas  in  Hollywood  films. The tapori dance is very fast and it has a Tollywood (South Indian) flair to it.  The taporis spice up the annual conce...