The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

SCHOOL BUZZ
Splendour of Rani Jhansi casts a spell
Smriti Kak

Splendour, a cultural extravaganza of Convent of Rani Jhansi was organised at the Manav Sthali School Auditorium. The programme showcased the energetic and well-rehearsed performance of the students who drew applause for their feat.

Noted Kathak dancer, Padmashree Shovana Narayan was the guest of honour and inaugurated the event. The programme included ‘Mango, the royal fruit’, a performance of nursery students about the fruit, which was little known till the king of monkeys perceived it.

This was followed by ‘Euphoria, the Melody Hue’, a foot-tapping dance sequence. ‘Jhalak’, a compendium of the dances of India, was an insight into the cultural heritage of the country.

Music, which helps bring about transformation of a family that believes in conservative thoughts was the theme of ‘A Transgression Through Music’, this was followed by ‘A Musical Sonata’, where music was used as an instrument of peace and contentment.

‘A gallant Panorama’ was based on the life of India’s Queen and a valiant fighter, Rani Jhansi. Felicitation of students for their academic and over all excellence was also part of the event.

Painting competition

Children participating in an on-the-spot painting competition, organised by Restoring Force.

The Restoring Force held an on-the-spot painting competition for rural children of Gurgaon district on November 15 at Govt High School Kadipur. A total of 400 children participated in the contest, which was divided into two groups; class six to eight and class nine to 10.

The aim of the painting competition was to encourage the children’s natural enthusiasm, creativity and self-esteem. Prizes were awarded to the winners and sweets were given to all the participants.

The painting competition was followed by a magic show and the programme ended with a volleyball match between the girl students of the school and the boys.

Cultural show

Kids performing at the cultural programme, organised by Gurukul International School.

Gurukul International School, Rajouri Garden, organised a cultural show, which included not just the current students, but also the former students.

The programme commenced with the performing of the National Song, ‘Vande Matarm’. This was followed by a medley of Hindi film songs, students exhibited their dancing skills by performing on the various numbers.

The former students also presented a song and dance event, ‘United we stand, divided we fall’. Ms Rachna Malhotra gave away the prizes on the occasion.

Bal Divas

Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan in its Golden Jubilee Year celebrated Bal Divas. Chief of the Army Staff, General N. C. Vij, presided over the function, which began with the lighting of the lamp.

Students put up a cultural show against the backdrop of the struggle for Independence. Speaking on the occasion, Gen. Vij complemented the students for their efforts in putting together the show and also for their academic excellence.

He reminded them to abide by the words, duty, honour and country in whichever field they opt for. General Vij also gave away the prize on this occasion. Among the recipients of the awards were Neeraj Pradhan, Abhishek Dwivedi, Iashan Sharma, Sumit Arora, Avanti Ttake and Jyoti Dash.

Among those present on the occasion were GOC-IN-C Western Command, Lt-Gen. S. S. Mehta, GOC Delhi, Maj-Gen Mathew Thomas and parents of the students.

Founder’s Day

Air Force Bal Bharti School, Lodhi Road celebrated its 48th Founder’s Day. Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal, S. Krishnaswamy, PVSM, AVSM, VM and Bar presided over the function while Ms Harveen Krishnaswamy gave away the prizes for excellence in academic and curricular activities.

Over 1000 art exhibits and science projects made by students were put on display and the students also put up a cultural programme, which included song, dance and drama. Ms M. Titus, Principal, highlighted the achievements of the school. Air Chief Marshal, S. Krishnaswamy, exhorted the students to strive hard for further development in the field of hi-tech education and nation building.

Grant for comp lab

On the occasion of Children’s Day, Agilent Technologies, provider of test and measurement solutions organised a programme at the Jacobpura Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Gurgaon for about 200 girls. It has also announced a grant of US $24,000 for the upgradation of the school’s computer lab. The grant money will provide for additional computer room, 15 computer sets and computer training for the students.

Pie education

To help students get a feel of the Boards exams, Pie Education is organising mock boards. The rehearsal test fir class X students will test them in Science and Mathematics. There will be no fee charged and students will be provided their answer scripts. The tests will be conducted on December 7.

German Day

DPS, Noida celebrated German Day in the school, with students taking part in various activities. Mr Sohweppe, Head of Language Department, Max Mueller Bhawan, was the chief guest on the occasion.

The programme included a German Play, ‘Ein Freund Kommt’ songs, ‘Ioh... bin Auslander’ and rendering of poems written by students. The students greeted the chief guest dressed as fruits and vegetables.

principalspeak
A tribute to children…

14th November, celebrated as ‘Children’s Day’, once again brought into focus that amazing quality that only children possess – sparkling joy, laughter and vibrancy that reverberated in the school classrooms, corridors and grounds. Along with the celebrations, the children, on their own initiative, arranged a farewell for their commerce teacher. It was a touching moment to see their sensitivity, spontaneous emotions and gratitude towards their teacher, who had, they said taught them not only how to ‘balance’ sheets but more importantly how to ‘balance’ their lines. His strictness had never clouded their perception that he was their true teacher. Such discernment at such a young age holds promise of a beautiful future.

Children are the ‘present’ as well as the ‘future’ and have motivated many a teachers to invest their love, affection, wisdom and knowledge into the receptive bank of your minds. They have found this to be the most profitable partnership, where both, work together not only for careers, but also for seeking the true goals in life – a self-realisation and spiritual elevation.

Today, the young have shown this inclination to look beyond the material and seek life’s meaning in the realm beyond. Their ability to take in an eyeful of the dazzling market, indulge in it and yet, as readily respond to social causes and concerns reflect that they are a fountainhead of idealism, which alone can guide the world along the right path. They touch Goddess Saraswati’s feet every morning and then, take in what the world offers with equal enthusiasm.

Dr Karan Singh says the youth today in the nuclear age need to be intellectually far more alert and competent and develop academic ability of the highest order, not only for the progress of the country but to firmly counter the threat to secularism and democracy founded in the humane principles of justice and vision and it is encouraging to see them focused, sure and dedicated. With a ‘pride’ in their performance and unwavering focus on their goals, they will surely gain the cutting edge; just like our bodies need good food everyday, our minds need good thought everyday.

The young need to build the unwavering concentration of Arjuna, who saw only the eye of the bird he had to aim at, and learn from Eklavya glorious dedication and reverence that took the student teacher relationship to an elevated plane.

And most of all it is important to be good human beings. Children certainly score over adults in this sphere, because their mind is not yet corrupted and can remain so, if we can teach them to walk ahead in life and live with honour. I quote a beautiful story I read:

There was a young executive who came home one day with a bag full of work. His five-year-old son wanted to play with him, but the father said, “Son, I have got a lot of work to do, I am behind in my office.” The father tried to explain but the child didn’t understand. He still wanted to play. So, to keep him occupied for a while, he pulled out the cover of a magazine with a picture of world on it, tore it into a number of small pieces and said, “Son, first go put this picture together, then we will play.” He knew it would take several hours. But within five minutes his son said, “Dad, I am done.” The man could not believe it. He asked him how he had done it. “I need to learn from you.” The son replied, “Dad, it was easy. On the other side of the picture of the world, was the picture of a man. All I did was to put the man together and turn it the other way round and the world came together.”

You too can put the man together and the world will come together. So, the greatest lessons we can learn from children are those of honesty, integrity and that hard to hold quality ‘innocence’. On these revolves a beautiful world.

Madhu Chandra, Principal, Birla Vidya Niketan

COURTS

Call to settle petty cases through Lok Adalat
Our Correspondent

Rohtak, November 16
Punjab and Haryana High Court judge and Chairman, Haryana State Legal Services Authority, Justice V K Bali, has called upon lawyers and judicial officers to encourage litigants to settle petty cases through the institution of Lok Adalat.

Addressing a distinguished gathering comprising of judges of the district court, lawyers, litigants and people from various sections of society here on Saturday, Justice Bali lauded the role played by the lawyers and judiciary in popularising the concept of Lok Adalat, which had become a movement with more and more litigants coming forward to settle their disputes through Lok Adalats held from time to time.

Expressing concern over piling of cases in various courts, Justice Bali observed that about 65 to 70 per cent of the cases in various courts were trash or frivolous in nature and only 30 to 35 per cent cases were important and serious cases which required full attention and in-depth studies for proper adjudication by the court.

Settlement of petty cases through Lok Adalats would not only save the money and precious time of the litigants, it would reduce the burden on the courts and judicial officers would be able to concentrate on important cases, he said.

Justice K C Gupta of Punjab and Haryana High Court, District judge Nawab Singh and the CJM were among those present on the occasion.

The Lok Adalats held by the District Legal Services

Faridabad: Tribunal today settled as many as 450 cases. According to District and Sessions Judge, Ms Nirmal Yadav, about 426 cases were settled at Faridabad while the rest were disposed of at Palwal today.

The cases settled at Faridabad included 46 cases of Motor Vehicle Accident claims in which the victims were provided a compensation of Rs. 48.82 lakh. About 127 civil cases, 67 criminal and two pending cases of Hindu Marriage Act were settled at the Lok Adalat.

The adalat also settled 193 cases of traffic challans at the spot. At Palwal, 70 criminal, two civil and 11 cases of traffic challans were among the total 24 cases disposed of today.

Tis Hazari courts goes digital on November 23
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16
Starting November 23, the Tiz Hazari court complex with be fully computerized, making the legal process simple and easily accessible to the general public. The computerization process will be made possible by Linux and will be inaugurated by the Chief Justice of India on November 23.

Over 138 proper court rooms and 89 converted court rooms will have the facility; subsequently, the public information will be available on internet.

Mr Rahul Chopra, Editor, Linux For You, said, “Computerization of Supreme Court had resulted in reduction of pending cases by more than 83 per cent. By adopting this system we can expect a radical change in the efficiency of Tis Hazari courts as well.”

The computerization is being done by using RedHat Linux 8.0 by National Informatics Center. Mr Shashi Bhusan, PSA, National Informatics Center, said, “Digital courts will make the orders, judgements more accessible. The reason for choosing Linux is performance, cost and security.”