Two two-member teams comprising Nudhara Yusuf (class XI) and Meha Gandhi (class X), and Oviya Vendan and Pranav Sakthivel (class XII) — of the CIE (UK)-affiliated Vaels International School, Chennai —were recently crowned champions in the marine sciences and creative animation categories respectively of the Advance to Australia (A2Oz) Schools Video Competition 2015. The jury announced its verdict on March 10.

As a result, the four excited teens are all set to travel Down Under on an all-expenses paid sojourn. While Nudhara and Meha will be hosted by James Cook University, Queensland, Oviya and Pranav will visit Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory.

Jointly organised by Cambridge English Language Assessment and the Australian Trade Commission in four categories — social entrepreneurship, creative animation, robotics and marine sciences — the annual competition attracted over 1,000 teams from 380 schools countrywide.

The prize-winning video titled The Clearly Misunderstood Chennai Floods produced by Nudhara and Meha, explored the other side of the devastating floods which inundated Chennai last November-December. “During flood relief efforts in the city, we noticed that the river water was cleaner and clearer as sewage and debris from the rivers were washed ashore into the city. We researched this phenomenon and concluded that the floods had left the rivers cleaner and richer with nutrients and minerals, enabling fish and other marine species to thrive, leading to greater biodiversity which benefits the fishing community. Therefore, floods are not entirely disastrous,” says Nudhara.

In the short film On the Run, which won in the creative animation category, the graphic animation skills of Oviya and editing and technical acumen of Pranav combined to produce a video depicting a smooth-running athlete. “To bring our character to life on screen, we drew multiple frames of a runner in action and strung them together to convey the runner’s smooth style and speed. A musical score underscored his grace and power. It took us two weeks to complete filming and editing,” explains Oviya.
Looking to the future, all four winners are keen to explore undergrad study offered in their host universities after completing Plus Two.

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)

Jaysheel Buddhadeo

Gurgaon-based Jaysheel Buddhadeo (7) is the youngest-ever recipient of a diploma in Hindustani classical music (vocal) of the renowned Allahabad-based Prayag Sangit Samiti (PSS, estb. 1926). The samiti’s alumni include the late ghazal legend Jagjit Singh and classical singer Shubha Mudgal, among others. A student of PSS’ Gurgaon centre, this young maestro was conferred the samiti’s junior diploma last October. Three years ago, this music prodigy earned an entry into the India Book of Records 2014 for being the youngest green crusader to spread the message of environment preservation through his 150-plus staged music performances.

The younger of two children of Prafullakumar, an executive engineer with the Bechtel Corporation, and Bhavish Buddhadeo, an environmental activist and trained musician, Jaysheel is a class II student of the CBSE-affiliated Amity International School, Gurgaon (aka Gurugram). “I believe it’s his passion for music that drives him. I highly recommend music to be included as a subject in school curriculums for healthy and integrated development of children,” says Bhavish.

Raised in a music loving household — elder brother Taksheel (9), a talented vocalist with over 200 public performances to his credit, and mother Bhavish, are Hindustani music (classical and harmonium) alumni of PSS — Jaysheel became familiar with the melodious sound of musical instruments from age one and started to learn classical music under his mother’s tutelage at age three. “I believe Jaysheel’s preschool (Amiown) with its unique activities-based multiple intelligences curriculum, discovered and nurtured his talent,” adds Bhavish.

“I like to sing to create awareness of the need to care for planet Earth. But I also dream of becoming an engineer like my father and a master chef like my mother,” says this precocious wunder kid, who spends his free time volunteering for HAREDA, the Haryana government’s department of renewable energy.

You better believe it! Music stimulates confidence and creativity.

Swati Roy (Delhi)