EDUCATION

HAMARA SCHOOL
D.A.V., Sr. Secondary School
A nursery of sports superstars
A.S. Prashar
Tribune News Service

Swami Dayanand, the founder of Arya Samaj and one of the greatest socio-religious reformers of India, led a crusade against superstitions and evil social practices which had become a curse on the Indian society. He firmly believed that they were the outcome of ignorance and lack of knowledge which could be removed only through a system of education based on Vedas.

The D.A.V. movement began in India when the first D.A.V. institution was founded at Lahore on June 1, 1886 in the sacred memory of Swami Dayanand who preached the ideal of Swaraj and Swadeshi, advocated the eradication of untouchability, early child marriage and Sati pratha. This is the same school which was revived here at Chandigarh on April 19, 1955. The Dayanand Anglo-Vedic Senior Secondary School (Lahore), Chandigarh, has a place of pride among the leading institutions of the country.

The school is run and administered by the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College Trust and Management Society, New Delhi. The Society is a leading non-government organisation with nearly about 700 institutions managed and administered by it. This Managing Committee is the only one of its type in India which provides a happy blending of western scientific education together with a sound ground of Indian culture and traditions. The Managing Committee had been led and presided over by many leading educationists and jurists ever since its inception. Mahatma Hans Raj ji, Pt Mehar Chand Mahajan, Master Nand Lal, Dr G.L. Dutta, Principal Suraj Bhan and Mr Darbari Lal are some of the educationists who have occupied the coveted post of the President of the D.A.V. Colleges Managing Committee, New Delhi. Dr Mehar Chand Mahajan, Bakshi Tek Chand, Mr Justice Jeewan Lal Kapoor and Prof Veda Vyasa, leading legal luminaries, have led the movement successfully, At present, Mr G. P. Chopra, a renowned scholar, eminent administrator and great humanitarian, is the president.

D.A.V. School was the first D.A.V. institution to be set up in the whole of India on June 1, 1886, at Lahore, after the death of Swami Dayanand. After the partition of the country, the school established base in Chandigarh which was yet to take shape as the future capital of Punjab and Haryana.

The school now has about 2200 students and a staff strength of about 100 teachers. It is affiliated to CBSE and is a government-aided school under which the government pays 95% of the salary bill of the teaching and non-teaching staff. In addition to the academics, D.A.V. Senior Secondary School, is known as the nurser of sports superstars. It has produced such international cricket stars as Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma, Ashok Malhotra, Dinesh Mongia and Yograj Singh. Yograj's son, Yuvraj regularly practices at the school cricket grounds. As the principal Mr Ravinder Talwar proudly says, have produced not less than 50 international players in different games.

My School

DAV Senior Secondary School is one of the premiere educational institutes of India. It has an illustrious history behind its establishment which makes me proud of it. Founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in the year 1864 at Lahore, his name itself speaks volumes of his acumen.

My school is a golden blend of modern western education and traditional vedic education where we have state-of-art laboratories on the one hand and a have kund on the other to keep us in constant touch with traditions.

My school has a history of excelling in sports and academics. A front-runner in sports, the school has a long list of international sports stars, alumni of the school, to its credit. Complete with a cricket academy, basket-ball court and gymnasium hall, the school has the potential of catering to all tastes.

Apart from focusing on quality education, the school curriculum lays a lot of emphasis on participation of co-curricular activities. The cultural week celebrated in November provides us a platform to exhibit our talent and get recognition in return. Right from debates, declamations to dramatics and poetry, the week is a whole lot of fun. Added to this list is the environmental projects organized by the Environment Society from time to time. I feel proud to be a part of the best institution in the city and country. May my school always shine bright like the sun among all stars.

—Jasman Singh Rikhy, Head Boy DAV Senior Secondary School

We need to evolve an Indian system of education
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Mr Ravinder Talwar, Principal of D.A.V. Senior Secondary School, Sector 8-C, won the National Award 2000, the highest award into he field of education. Mr Talwar started his teaching career in 1970 in D.A.V. Senior Secondary School, Sector 8. He was promoted as headmaster of A. S. High School, Ambala, in 1981, as principal after which he again joined D.A.V. Chandigarh in 1986. He has 30 years of teaching experience to his credit and has been appointed Regional Director of a bout 15 schools in Chandigarh region. Mr Talwar is also the recipient of State Award 1992 for teachers. The Haryana School Education Board has appointed him a s the member of its Finance Committee. He has also been named among the Best Citizens of India in the books published by International Publishing House.

Some excerpts from an interview with him

On educational reforms

* The central educational boards are doing a lot to reform the education system, especially the way students' performance is evaluated. Earlier it used to be based on marks awarded in examinations. This was the gift of the British. Now it has shifted to the grading system in which students are awarded grades. This avoids heartburning among the students and unhealthy competition among the educational institutions. This is an American system. Still, a lot changes are required in the educational system. What we need to evolve is an Indian system of education.

On religious education

* I feel that the aim of the religious education should be to produce a good a good citizen. To that extent, we lay emphasis on religious and moral education. We are also going to have a yajnashala where havans will be performed every day by students of different classes.

On laying stress on all round development of the students

* We believe in all round development of the student. Everybody has some hidden talent or the other. We just help him to develop it in the best possible manner. Just come here in the evenings and you will find 400-500 students playing on sports grounds of the school. We also have a large number of sports coaches. Some of them have been provided by the Chandigarh Administration and others have been hired by the school itself.

On the need for discipline

* Discipline and efficiency is our objective. Without discipline you cannot progress in any department of life. 

Poems by students
Phenomenon of Gene

Even I've dreamt of being a teen

Rejoicing the nectar of life at its every scene

Whether its paramour or its mean

I'm not going to miss the phenomenon of gene

Is this the gene which makes us hue

And also makes us laugh for few.

But wait! Patience is the need of the hour,

To uncover the secret which has been so far.

A mystery that remained so strange

Will never walk with history any long

But look there is someone crying

Maybe he's messing or dying

I ask myself in this our nature

In reply it's just Gene's stature

But one day we'll entrap it and live long

And continue to sing the street life's song.

—Amit Sharma, Class XII DAV Senior Secondary School

Reminiscence

On those Sunday shores

With pebbles did we play

We saw our fairy mermaids

We saw the languid eyes

The dirty city smoke

Like one huge streak

Across the eternal skies.

Our eyes were then crystal clear

No darksome dream or tawdry snow

Had smothered that fair childish brow

And no wrinkles were left there

With childish laughter,

Mirth and gay blithe

We echoed across distant rocks,

And thought not of what perils lay beyond

The beyond was like an ocean,

Mysterious, unexplored,

The steps that led us forward

Were the steps that led to

Youth, ageing, death.

Oh life,

Engaged in unceasing strife

Oh friends,

Luck were the ends.

—Japjit S. Sawhney

Class XII, DAV Senior Secondary School

Inter-school quiz contest
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25
As part of the ongoing bicentenary celebrations, St John’s High School, Sector 26, organised an inter-school quiz contest in the school auditorium here today.

As many as 36 teams from 18 schools of the city participated in the contest. The quiz began with a preliminary round. Eight teams were shortlisted for two semi-finals through a written question-answer round.

The shortlisted teams were separately quizzed on subjects ranging from art and culture to history, geography using audio-visuals. After nail-biting semi-finals, the final was held.

Pitted against one another were two teams from the host school, and one each from St Stephen’s and St Kabir. The team from St Stephen’s lifted the trophy, while the two teams from St John’s were declared first and second runners-up.

The quiz was conducted by an old boy of St John’s, Mr Chitranjan Aggarwal, who has been a mastermind finalist and also won the ESPN quiz. The quiz for Class X and below was a befitting tribute to the Christian Brothers who have been imparting quality education for the last 200 years in over 600 schools all over the world.

Bright students present patriotic songs
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25
A musical programme on the theme of patriotism was jointly organised by Dr Khera’s Chandigarh Coaching Centre and the Payal Musical Club at Tagore Theatre. The programme is presented every year under the title of Vande Mataram.

Those students of the centre who excelled in their CET and PMT examinations this year as well as in Class XI and XII examinations were honoured on the occasion by Mr Yudhvir Singh Malik, Special Secretary, Finance, Haryana.

The programme started with a melodious rendering of the national song Vande Mataram by students of the centre, who later presented the song “Bharat hamara desh hai, hit uska nishchay chahenge”.

The song was composed by Dev Dharma. The audience appreciated the song by music director Tarsem, Mar javange taan ki hoya...”

Amarjit’s song “Mera rang de basanti chola” was followed by a dance sequence on the song “yara dildara mera ji karda...” sung by Ajay Bakshi. Another song by Mr N.S. Vardhan “Ai mere watan ke logon” was also well-received , so were the presentations by Ritu Sharma, Ramesh and R.L. Anand. The programme was compered by Jainendra.

Bonanza of dance items by children
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 25
It was a bonanza of Film-based dance items at Tagore Theatre where about 30 participants exhibited their talent during a competition called “Dance masti” organised by the Arjun Star Group here this evening.

The programme was open for all types of dances from folk to western, filmi to non-filmi, but most of the participants preferred to dance to the tune of popular Bollywood numbers. Palak, who came under group A, presented a scintillating number “Hawa hawai” while Prerna and Supriya performed semi-classical items on yesteryear’s hit songs “Pankh hote to urh jate re” and “Pan kahyo sainyan hamare”. Another contestant, Govind, presented a bhangra item and Supriya danced to the tune of a folk song “Kali rang da paranda”.

The programme was categorised in four groups on the basis of age — Group A for children from four to eight years, group B from nine to 14 years, group C for 14 to 20 years. Under group D various dance groups performed, irrespective to their age.

Among the older participants, Gurvir Singh performed “bhangra”, while Shiv Priya performed a semi-classical item based on Lagaan’s popular song “Radha kaise na jale”. The other contestants, who performed under this category, included Pooja Singh, Sikha, Ropa and Sheen. Max group, an all-girl group, performed the much-hyped “Kambakht ishq”, while a boys group, Rhythm, performed “Tere bin nahi lagta”.

The panel of judges comprised Mr Jain Inder Singh, an All India Radio artist, Mr Yogeshwar Dilawar, a theatre artist, Miss Kulwant K. Bhatia, another theatre artist, and Mohan Wrawal, Punjabi film director. 

Feng Shui — the Chinese Vaastu
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25
Since time immemorial, every culture has had it’s rituals and guidelines passed down from generation to generation, most of these aim at making our lives prosperous. Vaastu and Feng Shui are two such arts.

Vastu Shastra, literally means ‘the science of building’, says Ms Anjleen Uppal, a Feng Shui expert who has got training in Malaysia. “Well, we can say that it is an age-old science of architecture. It is a ‘Vedanga’, part of ‘Yajur Veda’. It is a science that was discovered by great saints and sages of India, to help human beings lead a more happy and prosperous life. In China too, a similar science evolved about 4,000 years ago. It is popularly known as Feng Shui. It involves the art of harnessing natural forces in our houses. Feng Shui has its roots in ‘Tao’, which means the way of nature. ‘Tao’ masters have observed the natural rhythm and flow of energy and contributed secret laws of nature and its relationship with our bio-force. By understanding about energy, how it moves and influences us, we can harness it for healthy and prosperous lives”, she says.

Feng Shui in Chinese means wind and water, two essential elements of nature and our lives. Human existence depends on two sources of energy — first the nourishing energy from the earth (in the form of food), which is circulated by water. Second is the cosmic energy from space (in the form of oxygen and sunrays), which is circulated by wind. Feng Shui is the study of these two elements of nature, wind and water.

In China, people believe that our lives are divided into three equal parts, one-third of it is influenced by heaven luck (destiny), one-third by mankind luck (karmas) and one-third by the earth luck. Feng Shui and Vaastu Shastra deal with the earth luck. Basic principles in both the arts are the same.

These are based on the dynamics of energy. The environment or the inanimate objects around us have an energetic field that influences our bioenergy fields. Our bioenergy field catches these vibes and transfers the information to our unconscious mind, they in turn have an effect on our conscious actions, which ultimately influences every aspect of our lives be it health, wealth or family. Vaastu and Feng Shui help us to balance these environmental energy fields.

“You must have experienced that at times entering someone’s house makes you feel uncomfortable, while at times it makes you feel really comfortable for no practical reason. It is your bioenergy field that gives you signals from the environment. Your bioenergy field receives numerous signals that has an effect on your psyche. Well this is where Feng Shui and Vaastu work to improve the energy field around you thereby bringing peace and happiness into your life” she says.

“The difference in the two is that changes as per Vaastu are difficult to make as it usually requires constructional changes, while changes as per Feng shui are easier, because the flaws can be corrected without any bringing down of walls. But be careful that you have a good Feng Shui consultant as your guide. You can also turn to good books for initial guidance,” says Ms Uppal.