B. L. Modi Memorial Inter-School English Elocution Competition 2022
Eight local schools from Shimla came together for joyous performances on stage over a two-day event at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla (15 and 16 July 2022). This is the 24th year the event has been running at BCS in memory of Mr B L Modi – a young Maths teacher who suddenly passed away. The Chief guests were: Mrs. Poonam Chauhan (an Ex-BCS teacher) and Miss Neelam Bali (Psychology Lecturer) with the guest of honour Mrs Minu Sud (Ex-BCS Teacher).
The event saw some of the brightest young talents in Shimla performing. There were high and lows, drama and emotion, laughter and tears as the children performed their poetry and dramatic extracts to a packed audience in the Irwin Hall. There was also singing and dance performances as the judges had the difficult job of rounding up the scores and picking the Best Speaker and Most Promising Speaker of each division.
The first day saw the junior school children (Classes 3-8) reciting expressive poetry and prose including the famous speech by freedom fighter Martin Luther King and Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Great Dictator’ speech.
The second day saw the senior children (Class 9) performing moving dramas including some difficult Shakespeare monologues. The Open Division saw the oldest children in Classes 11 and 12 giving moving speeches on a subject they had just been given in the morning. Subjects ranged from the Safety of Women in Society, Democracy in a Modern World, Movies v Books to the pursuit of Health, Wealth and Happiness.
All the children were awarded prizes and all were champions on the day for taking part in a nerve racking event after such a long break due to lockdown, well done participants.
Background, information and results
Participating Schools: Auckland House School for Boys, Auckland House School for Girls, Chapslee School, Convent of Jesus and Mary, DAV School, Saint Thomas School, Shimla Public School and Bishop Cotton School, Shimla
Five Divisions:
Day 1: Junior Division : Poetry (Class 3,4 and 5), Intermediate Division (A) : Poetry (Class 6 and7), Intermediate Division (B) : Prose (Class 8)
Day 2: Senior Division : Drama (Classes 9 and 10) and Open Division : Turn-Coat (Classes 11 and 12)
Competition Results
Junior Division
Best Speaker- Vibhavri Dhaulta , Convent of Jesus and Mary
Most Promising Speaker 1 – Kushagra Agrawal, Bishop Cotton School
Most Promising Speaker 2 – Yayin Papta, Auckland House School
Intermediate Division A ( Poetry)
Best Speaker – Suhani Rana, Convent of Jesus and Mary
Most Promising Speaker 1 – Vaishnavi Sharma, Convent of Jesus and Mary
Most Promising Speaker 2 – Nivedita Modka , DAV School, New Shimla
Intermediate Division B ( Poetry) Joint:
Best Speaker – Radhika Sharma, Shimla Public School
Best Speaker – Aaron Kennedy Bishop Cotton School Shimla
Most Promising Speaker 1 – Rushan Dokania, Bishop Cotton School, Shimla
Most Promising Speaker 2 – Aaradhya Gautam, Shimla Public School
Senior Division ( Drama)
Best Speaker : Venya Dutta – Convent of Jesus and Mary
Khushi Dewan – Convent of Jesus and Mary
Aarkin Sharma – DAV Public School, New Shimla
Most Promising Speaker 1: Neha Naaz – Shimla Public School
Most Promising Speaker 2 : Tanishka Singh – Auckland House School
Kabir Sharma – Bishop Cotton School
Hemansh Mehta – Auckland House School for Boys
Open Division ( Declamation)
Best Speaker: Devika Kainthla – DAV Public School, New Shimla
Naunidha Singh Sawhney – Bishop Cotton School
Most Promising Speaker 1: Akarshita – DAV Public School
Most Promising speaker 2: Ananya Sood – Auckland House School
Background of the B L Modi Competition
Objective: The aim of this competition is to encourage good English-speaking as an
essential skill and an area of interest, at least two prizes will be awarded for each Division,
Best Speaker and Most Promising Speaker. It also aims to provide a platform for the school
students of Shimla to meet, interact and learn from each other.
Mr. B. L. Modi served as a teacher in Bishop Cotton School from October 1966 to July 1982.
He was the Head of Department for Mathematics. He was also Housemaster of Ibbetson
House. Mr. Modi was known for his punctuality and good turnout. He was very popular among
Old Cottonians and the Board of Governors of the school. His lessons in Geometry were
very well known and students had great regard for him. Mr. Modi, unfortunately, left us very
suddenly in 1982, but his great legacy of knowledge and dedication lives on in the school
and among his students. This competition has been initiated by the school in his memory
and will continue to remind us and inspire us of his service to the school and to the students
