EDUCATION

DU official, two others convicted for forging marks
Tribune News Service

The CBI alleged that Usha’s husband had stayed in the Computer Centre of Delhi University in the intervening night of June 26-27, 1984, for the purpose. The prosecution had examined 20 witnesses, including the then Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Mr Gurbux Singh, who had made a complaint to the CBI Director in this regard.

SCHOOL BUZZ
Tiny-tots trot to the beat of patriotic songs
Smriti Kak

STUDENTS celebrated Independence Day with much fanfare. The ceremonial hoisting of the Tricolour, singing the National Anthem and pledging to serve the country were dutifully followed.

Heritage School

Delhi Minister for Transport, Tourism and Power Ajay Maken hoisting the national flag at Heritage School.

The Heritage School celebrated Independence Day with gaiety and patriotism. The Delhi Minister for Transport, Tourism and Power, Mr Ajay Maken, was the guest of honour.

The two-hour cultural programme was full of thematic skits, songs and dances depicting the love for the country. The highlight of the programme was a play, directed by theater personality, Barry John. The play scrutinised the current scenario in the country.

Children’s Valley

Children’s Valley, Preet Vihar, also celebrated Independence Day with much mirth and spirit. They celebrated ‘Independence Week’, where the children took part in activities like Chuski Party, Independence Day quiz, Snack party and kite flying.

Dreamland School

Dreamland School, Sarita Vihar, was in celebration mode this past fortnight. The school organised a Goa beach party for the children on July 29. It was a sight to behold little angels dressed up in jazzy beachwear, swimsuits, bandanas, floral scarves et al, complemented with garlands to add to the overall festive look, natty glares to keep out the scorching sun and tattoos galore to add to the colour. Children had a great time playing out in the sun amid sandpits, swings and canopies.

Independence Day saw the tiny-tots engaged in trying to sing Jana Gana Mana to the best of their ability. Tiny paper Tricolours were distributed among the kids with girls getting something more to carry home as a keepsake - dupattas beautifully dyed in saffron, white and green.

Birla Vidya Niketan

Students of BVN participated in a special assembly on the eve of the Independence Day, which comprised of a talk and singing of patriotic songs. A special kite flying session followed the assembly.

And on August 15, the students participated in a ‘solidarity run’, while their parents participated in a ‘solidarity walk’. The Principal, Ms Madhu Chandra flagged off the run and led the walk.

GHPS, India Gate

The school celebrated I-Day on August 16. Amidst the fluttering of the Tricolour held by smiling faces the Principal, Mr Inderjit Singh Narang, hoisted the National flag. Students also participated in patriotic songs and the general atmosphere was one of gaiety with patriotism running high.

Bal Bhavan

A student dressed as Subhash Chandra Bose at Bal Bhavan.

Students of Bal Bhavan Sr. Sec. School, Laxmi Nagar, took part in a fancy dress competition and also organised a Bal Kavi Sammelan. Students upto Class V took part in the fancy dress competition and came dressed as national heroes they idolise. One could see Chacha Nehru, Gandhiji and Subhas Chandra Bose all at one go.

The patriotic fervour reached a high with the students singing songs like Vande Matram and Sare Jahan Se Acha. Poet Dr Kedar Nath Singh and writer Dr Nitya Nand Tiwari graced the Bal Kavi Sammelan.

DPS, Shiksha Kendra

DPS, Dwarka, will formally launch the Shiksha Kendra on August 21. The Shiksha Kendra is the dream project of the Chairman of the DPS society, Mr Narendra Kumar as a means of bringing about a meaningful change in the lives of the underprivileged.

The Principal of DPS, Dwarka, Ms Anita Malhotra along with a team of teachers visited the J J colony slum clusters and Matiala village to speak to and urge the residents to educate their children. The response has been encouraging and the Shiksha Kendra now boasts of 300 children.

Run between 1.30 pm and 4.30 pm the Shiksha Kendra is presently educating children in classes pre-nursery to II, who have been deprived of a formal education and have also been deprived of inputs on health, nutrition and pyscho-social processes.

DPS, R K Puram

Nine students from DPS, R K Puram, along with their Principal, Dr Chona and Vice–Principal, Dr Saini were invited to witness the swearing in ceremony of the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Azad.

The students recall with pride their interaction with the First Citizen. Said a student, Arvind Bhaskar, “We were escorted to the Parliament House where we witnessed the formal exchange of gifts between the outgoing President and the New President. In his address Dr Kalam spoke about the great strides taken since Independence. He stressed repeatedly that the greatest problem that India faced was poverty and that solutions to other problems would come only when poverty is eradicated.”

Students were ecstatic at having the privilege to share a special lunch with the President. “Dr Kalma’s words remind us of the tasks that lie ahead as we strive to make India a developed nation.

They have rekindled the hope in each one of us that no matter where we stand, we have the strength, potential and ability to reach greater heights than ever before”, adds Arvind.

Is acid rain anything to gloat about? THOUGH the prayers of the people have been answered and rains have arrived, this is not worth celebrating as the rainwater is acidic. Under the guidance of our teacher, Mr Attar Singh Arya, Vikas, Mukul and myself did an experiment to prove the same. Gases like Sulphur dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide and Carbon dioxide are accompanying the rain, which is late. What we are ultimately getting are acids. During our experiment we found that rainwater gave a yellowish red colour, which shows the pH lies between five and six and the neutral water gave green colour to litmus paper. (pH is a scale to measure acidity of liquids. If the pH value lies between one and seven then the water is acidic). This acidic nature of rain is all because of pollution, which needs our immediate concern. Hemant Chugh, Class -XII, Pathania Public School, Rohtak

PRINCIPALSPEAK
‘Give life your best shot’

YESTERDAY, while strolling down the market, I overheard two gentlemen conversing about their lives. The first one said, “I believe that I am a born loser. Whatever I try, I seem to yield no luck”. The other man, who looked more confident said, “Not that I am always successful, but my endeavour is always to deliver the best shot”. This attitude shows commitment.

Disraeli put it well when he said, “Nothing can resist the human will that will stake even its own existence to fullfil his commitments”. The moment you declare, “I will do it; I shall do it, no matter what,” you start drawing upon that magic, that power, that boldness, which is hidden inside each one of you.

A committed person has well-defined goals. And to achieve goals, one has to overcome limitations. The lives of great men speak volumes about their commitment, which made them, succeed in life. Demosthenes, the outstanding Greek orator, stammered. He practised talking with his mouth full of pebbles, till he learnt to speak effectively and fluently in public. Alan Bond came to Australia as a penniless immigrant. Twenty-five years later he was a tycoon, who wrenched out of America some of the most prestigious business deals.

Back home, Sudha Chandran is an example we can all emulate. In a tragic car accident, she lost half her leg. Yet, so committed was she to dancing that even with an artificial limb, she established herself as an accomplished dancer and an actress. Our lives are beset with problems. Nothing in the universe moves in a straight line. So, you can never get to your goal unless you’ve taken a ‘U’ turn over four setbacks. Before you learnt to walk, did you not stumble and fall?

W.H. Murray had written

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,

The chance to draw back;

The moment one definitely commits oneself,

There is nothing that you lack

Providence moves, things happen

Destiny quits on her bitter weapon,

Slowly and surely you move to your goal,

There you are on your success stroll.”

I should like to wind up by presenting situation to the readers: One friend said to the other, “In my desire to be committed, I’ve made a thousand mistakes”. The other replied, “I’ve not made a single mistake in my entire life, but then I’ve never attempted anything either”.

Needless to say, which attitude is more desirable.

Madhu Chandra, Principal, Birla Vida Niketan

CULTURE

Mehandi look-alike is a dholak and tabla maestro
Nalini Ranjan

New Delhi, August 18
The resemblance is uncanny. Those not familiar with the faces on the horizon of Punjabi Pop could well mistake Shamsher for his better known younger brother Daler Mehandi. But the similarity does not end there. He too is no mean singer and has carved a niche in the music world with his expertise on dholak and tabla. Dholak has been his first love. Ever since the age of seven, when Shamsher began escorting his grandfather Swaran Singh, a well-known dholak player of his time, music in all its forms has been a passion with him.

In an exclusive chat with the NCR Tribune, the eldest of the Daler trio, ( the yougest brother Mikka is also a singer) narrated how he was influenced by his parents. Shamsher’s father, Ajmer Singh Chandan, was a hazoori raagi in the Patna Sahib Gurdwara while his mother, Balbir Kaur, was known for her lyrics. In fact, few people know that the lyrics of the two famous numbers of his younger brother, Daler, ‘Bolo Tara, Tara’ and ‘Sada Naal Rahoge te’, came from the pen of their mother.

Shamsher, who has just released his second album ‘Merje,’ a fusion of Indian music and Jazz, recalled his earlier days with considerable nostalgia. Originally from Mukandpur village in Jalandhar district, the family settled in Patna , Bihar, after partition. His parents could sense his inclination and packed him off to learn tabla from Pandit Lachoo Maharaj of Benares Gharana. Seven years of hard work paid off and he became an adept tabla player and has since accompanied many well-known vocalists like Bade Ghulam Ali, Nirmala Devi and Dr. Sunanda Patnaik on their concerts.

The burly Sikh confesses that he is obsessed with music and is proud of the fact that he was given the tabla takes of two popular Bollywood hits, ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ and ‘Saath Saath.’

In 1984, after he had settled down in the music world, Shamsher formed his own musical society, ‘Swar Sangam.’ He is also running a music school of the same name in Vikaspuri. He has been also associated with an American band called ‘Grateful Dad’.

Shamsher recalled how the brothers adopted the surname Mehandi. It happened in 1981 when one of their brothers, Amarjit Singh, went to Pakistan where he met the famous Parvez Mehandi. So impressed was the brother that on return he took on Mehandi as his second name. The other brothers followed suit as a tribute to the famous Pakistani exponent of Sufi music.

Shamsher is a deeply devout person who respects all religions. The thick Rudraksha mala he wears around his neck is a ‘Guru Dakshina’ from one of the disciples, none other than the pujari of the famous Badrinath temple. Shamsher recalls how the pujari was so impressed with his music that he became his ‘shishya’ and the Rudraksha mala was his gift to him. He never parts with it.