The Apeejay School, Noida, one of the prestigious educational edifices of India, recently inaugurated its indoor auditorium, which is the third biggest with state-of-art facilities in India and organised a charity programme in the aid of Gujarat Earthquake victims. The ceremony was a historic moment for the institution with the inaugural performance of 'Aur Chakravyuh Toot Gaya', an epic foretold with new dimensions.

The purpose of the play 'Aur Chakravyuh Toot Gaya' was to broaden the interpretation of 'chakravyuh ' incident analysing the past's relevance in today's perspective. The play is focussed on the character of Abhimanyu. It emphasises the roles played by parents, teachers in imparting values, traditional wisdom and education beyond school books, thereby enhancing the overall personality to create balance in the various aspects of today's hectic living.

The play did not come forward as a reiteration of another epic episode but as a trial of, what is life? In the play 'Chakravyuh' was seen from the contemporary point of view wherein 'Chakarvyuh' symbolizes deceit, conspiracy, unscrupulous fighting in the modern world. The play successfully highlighted the hidden negative aspects of the epic and the characters involved whose negativity may always elude eyes of a common man. Such as the ignorance and the indifference of the sleepy Subhadra, the empirical Arjuna whose personal ambition overtook his concern for his son. Drona who is revered as an idol guru was not flawless. He taught excellent warfare but no values. Or for that matter of fact Bhishma Pitamah an epitome of righteousness could not forego his ego to break a hollow vow when valued ethics were in danger.

The concept of 'Chakravyuh' was beautifully merged with the seven stages of life - birth, infancy, school, learning at school, making career options, excelling and succeeding on social and professional front and getting trapped in the emotional and spiritual paradoxes of life.

There was massive participation from the children of the school. Each played his/her role to perfection. One of the exquisite qualities of the play was that it held the viewers' interest till the end.

Various forms of art and craft had been mingled to give the desired effect: like the qawwali was used as an medium to show activities children trying to cope up with stress. The remarkable ensemble of colour, art, music made concept of the play conspicuous to the audience.

According to the principal of the school , "The auditorium provides us a platform to further develop the talents of our students without being affected by the extreme climate we have here."

The grand finale took place with a song, "Marching forward to victory, in the 21st century, we are marching on to change history."

- Avni Sood