More than 1,000 children took part in the Shantifest 2012 festival, held over two days at the Shantiniketan Indian School (SIS) recently.A host of events was held as part of the celebrations.At the valedictory function held on Thursday, the organisers mourned the death of 19 Doha residents, including 13 children in a major fire at the Villaggio mall.While inaugurating the meeting, former Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) president Nilangshu Dey stressed upon the importance of co-curricular activities in the overall personality development of children.Shantiniketan Indian School (SIS) governing council president K C Abdul Lateef presided and school principal Mohamed Ismail also spoke.At the function, the organisers felicitated winners of various competitions held as part of Shantifest 2012.Co-curricular activities co-ordinator Karunakaran proposed a vote of thanks.A play based on Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala was among the items presented by the SIS children at the function. Other attractions were mime, orchestra, light music and Mappilla songs.