EDUCATION

SCHOOL BUZZ
Teachers sing and dance to entertain students
Smriti Kak

A special assembly was organised by Birla Vidya Niketan last week. It began with a poem composed and sung by Mrs Sonal Sachdev, a teacher of English in the school. The school choir then coaxed the whole school to join them in singing carols.

Renuka Iyer of DPS, Dwarka, receives the first prize in Bharatanatyam solo competition. Children take a break from school at India Gate. The Interact Club of Vishwa Bharti Public School, Noida, organised a youth carnival recently.

A friendly basketball match between two teams, each comprising teachers as well as students, was also organised. This was followed by a hilarious performance by teachers. While the junior teachers sang an old popular number, ‘Humko Malum Nahi’, the seniors had everyone in splits with their satirical number on students. Mrs Nalini Sharma and Mrs Suman Ganguly were the nightingales of the day as they sang to an awestruck audience.

After exercising the vocals, it was time to exercise the limbs. The junior teachers, sticking to the traditional, danced to popular Bollywood number ‘Bole Chudiyan’, but the seniors chose the unorthodox “Koi Kahe’, a song from this years’ runaway success, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’.

The students and the teachers also played games like Dancing Dogs and chain. This was followed by a dance competition where five students and five teachers were asked to dance. The winners from both the groups then competed between themselves to emerge winners.

It was a day full of fun, which both the students and the teachers will cherish forever.

Carnival time

The interact club of Vishwa Bharti Public School, Noida, organised a two-day carnival, ‘Reverberations', on the school premises.

The event comprised various theme- based competitions like ad-zap, graffiti, cartoon-making, poetry writing and face painting. Students from various schools in Delhi participated in these events.

The highlight of the carnival was the food and game stalls put up by the students themselves. The song on request and tattoo stalls also proved to be a crowd-puller.

Ethnic war-based fashion show added to the carnival’s glory. The students walked the ramp with confidence and poise. Corporate houses sponsored the carnival.

Bal Mela

The 39th annual Bal Mela prize distribution festival was held in the Capital’s Russian Centre of Science and Culture last week. The Mayor of Delhi, Mr Shanti Desai, was the chief guest while Mrs Arti Mehra, Member, MCD Standing Committee, presided over the function.

A friendship trophy was presented to the Director and the students of the Russian School. Svetlana, a Russian student, wowed the audience with her rendition of a Kabir bhajan. A number of programmes, including kathak and sarod recitals, were also organised.

The Mayor applauded the efforts made by organisations like the Nehru Bal Samiti for fulfilling needs other than education and catering to those who come from the economically weaker sections of society. He added that despite the best efforts made by the government those schools, which are being run by it, are not able to provide overall growth. He said due to lack of resources to cater to such large numbers only the bare minimum could be provided and thanked such organisations for filling that lacuna.

The function ended with a prize distribution ceremony where children from various schools were awarded for achieving excellence in various fields.

Holiday spirit

Holidays! They not only preoccupy our mind, but also our school calendar.

Between the summer breaks and the winter breaks when exams and tensions surface, the very thought that it will be holidays soon is the only source of relief.

And when it is holiday time finally, out come the Enid Blytons and the video games that drive all moms crazy. “I love holidays, no school, no tests and no getting up early. What else can one ask for? I get to do what I feel like. The best part is that I don’t have to do a thing I don’t feel like doing. Since there is very little homework assigned I don’t really have to worry about studies, though I do manage to flip through the books for a while”, says 14-year-old Sudha. Sudha has no special plans for the hols, as they are popularly called. She just wants to ‘chill out’. But 13-year-old Medha is not so lucky. “I have truckloads of homework to do. Besides I have to go for maths tuition and my tutor is fond of taking tests, which keep me on my toes”. How then does she unwind? “I read books, that is my favourite pastime and I watch television when everyone is away”.

Holidays are a stress-buster for some, but for the parents it adds to their worries. For the working parents it is a time to think of ingenious ways to keep the kids occupied and out of trouble. And for the moms who stay at home, it is double trouble. “After every hour they feel hungry and get bored in minutes. What am I supposed to do to keep them entertained as well as their tummies stuffed?” asks the mother of two teenaged boys.

Apart from the usual study and play, many kids have been kept busy in completing various project works assigned by the school. Ranging from science to subjects of topical relevance, the kids are required to make projects, which are displayed once the school reopens.

“We should live in the present and the present is to enjoy hols. Studies, exams and all ugly things will follow, but hols are limited and should be enjoyed to the fullest.” Wise words from Anapurna, a class 11 student.

We don’t need to kill terrorists

RECENT attacks on the Indian Parliament have exposed a hard reality. When top leaders faced a threat to their lives as a group they saw the sovereignty of the nation in danger. Everyone lined up in unanimity to back the government in fighting an aar-par ka war.

Onkar Singh Shekhawat
Principal, Vidya Niketan School
Faridabad

CULTURE

Three-day Punjabi mela from January 4
R. Suryamurthy
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 30
Is Punjabi culture confined to Bhangra and agriculture? Of course, not. But, very little is known about other aspects of Punjab’s rich cultural heritage, handicrafts and cusines.

In a move to highlight the cultural vibrancy of Punjabis, the Delhi government is organising a three-day Punjabi mela in the Capital to give a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage of the people from the land of five rivers.

“The mela would provide an opportunity to the people to understand the rich cultural heritage of the people of Punjab. The mela will showcase the rare musical instruments, which are confined to very few persons and several musical traditions, which are now dying because of lack of patronage,” Dr Rawail Singh, the Punjabi Academy Secretary, told the NCR Tribune.

The Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who is also the Chairman of the Punjabi Academy, would inaugurate the mela. Four different committees have been formed by the academy for the smooth functioning of mela. Dr Prem Singh heads the reception committee, and Mr Pushpinder Singh heads the media and hospitality committee, Mr S Balwant heads the discipline committee and Ms Anita Singh heads the ambiance committee.

The three-day mela to be held in the Talkatora stadium premises would have food plaza, bookstalls, artifacts and handicrafts.

“Phulkari and garments made phulkari designs would be on display. The traditional practices of this form of handicraft would be in the Capital to showcase their products,” he said, adding, “books on cultural and artistic heritage of Punjab would be display.”