JOIN USA carnival like none other, ‘Magnifeier’, hosted by Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, was a grand three-day event that saw students and parents throng to the popular Residency Road campus for some fun and laughter recently. Students between the ages of five and 18 were seen enjoying themselves on all three days.
The carnival of this magnitude hasn’t set eyes on the campus for many years now and it was a memorable event for the school, which is attempting to raise funds for its sesquicentennial building. The junior level Kannada teacher, Agnes Mary, who also had a stall at the carnival, said, “We are also raising for the betterment of the teaching staff.”
The usually serene grounds were chaotic as a hundred of stalls lined the whole area.
While some stalls were operated by the teachers of the schools, there were others that were rented by popular eateries and start-ups. Familiar names like ‘Kaati Zone’, ‘The Only Place’ and ‘Kabab Ghar’ were seen. There were other stalls like ‘Dosa Angadi Non-Veg’, which had set ‘dosas’ with a helping of chicken and mutton ‘kheema’. It was the creation of Agnes and another teacher, and the two were a hit with the people.
Some of the other stalls were ‘Bis Bisi Thindi Mane’, ‘Wheel of Fortune’, ‘Healthy Delights’, ‘Thai Food’, ‘Cotton Multigame’ and a Karnataka Tourism stall. There were booths around every corner where people could buy tickets to trade with the stalls.
Along with a variety of food items, people were getting their faces painted, carrying helium balloons and their hair coloured. It was a carnival that brought back memories of childhood for many.
There wasn’t a moment of silence in it all as popular songs blared from the music console.
Paavana, a student of Cluny Convent High School, didn’t appreciate the music but said she liked the carnival. “It’s my second day here. It’s a nice break for us as we have our 10th standard board exams coming up. I love the balloons!” she said. Her friend Deepthi added, “We came here because we had nothing else to do, we just needed to relax.” But both the girls agree that this was an occasion to dress-up. Priyam, a boarder at Bishop Cotton Girls’ School, said, “We had to come here, of course. Although we have just two hours, we wanted to come. The food was amazing!”
As evening approached, visitors were greeted with musicals surprises. On the first day, DJ Sid and Bhoomi made the crowd go crazy. On the second day, Rajesh Ramnathan, Peepul Tree and DJ Ivan enthraled the audience, while on the last day, One Night Stand, Dr A, Lourd Vijay Dance Studio and Nathaniel School of Music ended the show.