MY SCHOOL PICNIC TO IMAGICA

In 2022, when I was in 9th standard, my school organized our class picnic to Imagica Theme Park in Lonavala on 30th September.

We were asked to report to school at 7:45 a.m. Our Principal conducted the morning assembly and then we boarded our picnic buses. After taking our attendance, the bus set out for Imagica at 8:15 a.m. For about an hour, I chatted with my friends Heeya and Manjira while eating the veg frankie and drinking Amul's flavoured milk and frooti. Then, we connected the loudspeaker in the bus with our teacher's phone and played party songs on it for everyone to dance. We were also clicking photos and recording videos.

Finally, we reached our destination. We deboarded the bus and stood in a line to enter the theme park. By the time we entered Imagica, it was 11:00 a.m. Our class teacher told us to come for lunch between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Heeya, Manjira and I decided to go for shopping. Heeya bought a mug for her younger brother while Manjira purchased a keychain. Then we went to enjoy the rides. We went for Nitro ride first. Standing at a staggering 132-feet high with over 2800 feet of track length, Nitro provides an adrenaline rush during the 150 seconds of pure excitement! It goes through 5 exciting inversions and loops. I closed my eyes initially and opened them when we were plunging downwards. I shouted loudly along with the others. After Nitro, we went to the Dare 2 Drop ride. This wild ride shoots you like a rocket in the sky in a matter of seconds at an incredible speed of 73 km/hr. Before you can even soak in the view or try and compose yourself, you experience a total free fall from the height of 132 feet. I shouted whenever we were being dropped.

Post the Dare 2 Drop ride, we decided to go for some indoor rides. We went for Alibaba aur Chalis Chorr ride. Once you board your vehicle, you will feel like you are a part of a video game. You will travel through the city of Gulabad looking for forty thieves in this exciting interactive ride. When they pop up from behind a souk or from under a cave, you must take a shot at them with your laser guns. The more thieves you shoot, the more points you collect. I managed to score 750 points. Then we went to Salimgarh. Salimgarh’s corridors are gloomy and filled with horrid tales. The ride involves dungeons, torture rooms and a princess trapped for eternity. I felt a bit scared but also enjoyed the ride.

By the time we completed these rides, it was lunch time. The lunch menu was Pav Bhaji, Schezwan Fried Rice and Manchurian Gravy. We ate to our heart's content and relished the food. After lunch, we were offered Havmor's chocolate ice-cream.

After lunch, we decided to go for I for India ride. We soar like a bird above India's gorgeous landscapes. The ride elevates us to amazing heights as we journey across India, from the southern tip to the mountains in the north. This spectacular film, shot from a helicopter, is displayed on a 90 feet wide screen. Then we went to Deep Space which is an indoor version of Nitro. This high adrenaline rollercoaster takes you into outer space at a high speed in a matter of mere seconds. You get launched into deep space among galaxies and black holes zipping through various planets and meteors. I found it to be super exciting. Next, we went for Mr. India and Friends ride. Mogambo attempts to recover the magic bracelet from Mr. India, Seema, Calendar and the kids in this amazing simulator ride. While a brand new high-paced Mr. India experience plays on-screen, you feel every bump and dip, push and shove of this adventurous journey right in your car. Lastly, we decided to go for the Rajasaurus River Adventure. You are transported to the world of ferocious dinosaurs by riding this unnerving water boat adventure packed with sudden twists and ambush turns. The Rajasaurus, a dinosaur, doesn’t see you as tourists, but as lunch! 

When we came out from the adventure, our teacher asked us to board the bus. Before boarding the bus, we were given a burger, Budhani wafers, a choco pie and a cold drink bottle. After everyone boarded the bus, our teacher took the attendance and the bus set off for school.

The moment our bus approached the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, we saw that it was raining recklessly with thundering and lightning due to which there was a traffic jam on the expressway. Our teacher informed our parents that we will reach the school late. When the bus entered Pune, the rain did not cease but its intensity was mitigated. Owing to waterlogging, we had to overcome long queues at signals before we reached school at 9:30 p.m.

Many parents were waiting for their children. My father had come to pick me up. I took my class teacher's permission and waved goodbye to my friends before leaving. I reached home and immediately sat for dinner. Later, I went to sleep by 11:00 p.m. after recounting the day's fun to my family. The day was definitely tiresome but it was a memorable one and I will carry this memory in my heart for lifetime.

 COMPETITION HAMPERS THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS

Nowadays, our lives are filled with competition. Office employees compete to get promotions and thus better salaries which would increase their standard of living. Businessmen compete to get the best deals for themselves to lead a luxurious life. Students have to compete to prove their metal to their schools by performing exceptionally well in academics or sports or both. While competition may motivate students to work harder to perform better, it can also demotivate them to a great extent.

The focus has switched to rote learning and scoring well in exams rather than understanding the concepts and their practical application in reality. Such knowledge is superficial and useless as the students will be unable to apply the concepts that they have learnt in real life if they have simply mugged them up without understanding them. The thirst for knowledge is rapidly diminishing. Students are forgetting that the real aim of education is not to make them literate but to educate them in the true sense.

Competition is the main culprit behind increasing anxiety and depression among students. Toppers are anxious to score well in their exams and thus, meet the expectations of their friends, teachers and parents. If they fail to do so, they are easily overcome by depression. The students who are poor in academics are anxious to pass their exams to escape their mocking from their friends and the scolding from their parents and teachers. If they fail in their exams, they also tend to get depressed.

Sometimes, to top or to achieve the cut-off marks in the exam, students tend to get involved into malpractices like buying or stealing the exam question paper or cheating during the exam. In the process, their life is ruined completely.

To overcome the disadvantages of competition, it requires a collective effort by the students, teachers and parents. Students should cease comparing themselves with others and concentrate on improving their own performances. Parents should also not compare their children with others. Students should watch motivational videos and read good books which will keep them away from negative thoughts. Schools should conduct counselling sessions on a regular basis to boost students' confidence. Teachers should cease pressurizing students for good scores for the sake of the school's reputation. Together, we can definitely curb the disadvantages of competition and turn unhealthy competition into a healthy one.