By Vaishali (20S03I), Chairperson
To summarise ICS in short, it’s a CCA with a varied combination of, well… Indians. You name them, we have them! Tech/film geeks? Check. Singers? Of course. Dancers? Duh. Actors? Absolutely. From Indians who love to debate, to Indians who just like to sit back, eat some murukku and banter with everyone, we welcome all!
What is ICS?
Indian Cultural Society provides a platform for fellow Indians to gather and bond with one another, and to grow and develop our Indian culture in our school. We aim to maintain a strong shared identity and to foster a sense of belonging amongst our members.
What exactly do we do?
The ICS journey will begin with an orientation day camp where members may get well acquainted with one another through fun and exciting bonding activities and games.
Sangamam
The highlight of our ICS journey is when the whole CCA comes together to stage a whole 1.5h drama production complete with drama, dance, and singing. In 2019, we staged our very own production called Sangamam: Paramapadham. It is something that all of us are immensely proud of—we hold this production very close to our hearts because of the arduous but fulfilling and fun journey. From coming up with tentative scripts which went through changes every other day, to changing clothes and props for scenes, it was definitely quite a journey. We take care of our own costumes, props, and makeup, teaching us to be very resourceful and creative with our ideas. We tap into everyone’s diverse expertise, skills, and ideas to create as much of a successful production as we can.
Every year, preparations start in February, and last till May. Practice sessions, though very flexible, definitely get more intense and frequent as the production date nears, with occasional ICS meetings on Thursdays to consolidate and account for everyone’s progress. Our teachers, Mrs Nair and Mdm Meera are very supportive—they help us with admin matters and stay back late to check up on us. Even our seniors, who have long graduated years ago and are busy with NS or their jobs, come back multiple times to check up on us! During this whole season, apart from practice sessions, we have many spontaneous bonding/chill get togethers where we go eat and banter as one whole bunch.
Sorsilambam 2019
This year, six ICS members were selected to represent RI at the biennial Sorsilambam, a national Tamil debate competition, and we emerged as 2nd runners up. It was truly a journey worth looking back on.
Sinda Youth Leaders Seminar
Furthermore, we encourage our members to go for activities arranged by the Indian communities or organisation in Singapore—this not only facilitates the interconnectedness of the Indian community, but also exposes us to many current social issues.
This year, 12 of our members went for the Sinda Youth Leaders Seminar (SYLS), where we got the chance to engage in many fun activities that taught us to be more mindful and compassionate towards the society around us as well as challenge ourselves to be more outspoken. Check our their Instagram page for more details!
So what are you waiting for? Come join our family, and your experience will be nothing short of fun!
