The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

STUDENTS’ PAGE
FACE TO FACE WITH DIRECTOR
“Be positive and the world is yours”

You have recently begun with the higher secondary education classes. How does it feel to have accomplished this task? This task was not done by one person or in a short time. The whole family of AKSIPS conceived, planned and executed the project. It was the burning desire of the students and their parents. It is a very gratifying feeling to see it happen.

What all challenges are you facing in this new venture?

All of us are working towards the challenge to excel and give the best to the students.

How would you describe an ideal student?

The ideal student is the one who says, "It may be difficult but it's possible", who sees a green, near every sand trap. He is a keen learner and a disciplined human being.

What are your future plans about the school's development?

The expansion programme is on. Two more branches are being added i.e. one in Sector 45, Chandigarh and the other in Sector 65, Mohali.

- Consolidation of infrastructure and teaching.

- Teacher training and developmental activities is next on the priority list.

What are your comments about this trend of tuitions becoming indispensable for students?

Tuitions have become a necessary evil. It should be avoided as far as possible but maybe considered for senior classes where students may take help from subject experts.

What is the most influencing factor in your life?

Change' is perhaps the most influencing factor in my life. Change is the essence of life and the 21st century will see a major change even in the system of education. Multi-grading system, familiarizing with the computer even at the pre-primary level, change in the syllabus are all positive signs and will make the students competent in the world of tomorrow.

Flexibility, open mindedness and acceptability to change is what is going to give us success and happiness.

Mind your spellings

MAMMA I do not know how I should improve my spellings. I just lose marks because of them only" inquired Ridhima, a seventh grade child. I'm sure there are many more like her. For them here are a few tips to correct the words that are often misspelt. Learn hints given here and apply them to almost any word :

1. Dairy - Remember dairy is always in an airy place. (Cattle are reared here).

2. Diary - has to be the other way sound ‘i’ before ‘a’.

3. Course - Something ‘You’(u) do so it has a U in it.

4. Coarse - not plain, ‘a’ -> is common.

5. Accommodate - means to make room for, since it means to make room for, it can make place for 2 c's, 2 m's.

6. Accept - means to give consent so c comes twice.

7. Except - means excluding so it has 'ex' in it.

8. Lose - means to part away with something so one 'o' goes away.

9. Loose - too big for you i.e. does not fit you, so spelling is also big.

10. Throne - is only one i.e. of king alone so it has 'one' at the end.

11. Thrown - come in a row, let's play throw and catch, has 'row' in it.

12. Weight - is measured in numbers so it has 'eight' in it.

13. Wait - We all hate 'it' so 'a' then 'it' after it.

14. Stationary - Deals with a thing, that doesn't leave its pl'a'ce so has an 'a'.

15. Stationery - deals with pen.

16. Yolk - We eat it f 'olk's.

17. York - has an 'oak' in the end, pulling it is not a joke.

Guest Editor SHIVANI GUPTA (Class XI)

Woman and dignity go hand in hand

IN ancient times women were confined within the four walls of her home. She was dependent upon her father before marriage, later on her husband and finally on her son. In medieval period under the influence of Muslim culture parents gave their daughters in their marriage at very early stage. This system resulted in child marriage, which led to lowering the status of women, and gave rise to many social and mental stigmas that got permanently attached to the personality of a woman. Add to this the evil of dowry, which has been responsible for claiming hundreds of innocent lives in its greed and hunger for wealth. It took one Nisha Sharma to shake the women of India out of their sleep of ignorance and sacrificing syndrome. This one incident fired the imagination of women folk of India who have suddenly found their voice and are building courage and self-confidence to put a full stop to this nuisance of dowry system. As the times are changing, so are the urban Indian women. She is career oriented, assertive and knows her mind. She juggles her domestic and career responsibilities with equal aplomb; Feminism is a thing of the past. Now a day even the husbands pitch in their bit to make the life of their wives much easier. It has been noticed that the children of working mothers grow up as responsible individuals. The essential support of their husband and children enable them to balance both the worlds.

By being assertive and bold, women have gained respect and position in Indian social structure. The sacrificing mothers have given way to determined working mothers.

It is a very healthy and positive sign and if this trend continues, the time is not far when India will be far ahead not only in its economic structure but also in its social structure. India will emerge a place where women will not only be put on a pedestal to be admired but would get equal respect and be held in dignity for her diverse roles.

Guest Editor Sharmistha Bannerjee (Class XI)

Guidance with love is key to success

“Idon't wish to live anymore?" said my friend, with his head bent forward. "What happened?" I asked, although, I knew what his trouble was. "Is this life?" he shouted, "Your career depends on a few figures printed on a piece of paper. My parents are going to kill me when they know, I flunked! They'll drive me out of the house."

"Don't' be scared." I replied, "You are their son. At the most they are going to slap you a couple of times and then after a day or two, they will have to accept it, the way it is." And I bid him good-bye, never to meet him again. I was dumbstruck the other day, that a boy, whom I had seen the day before had killed himself ! Gone ! forever. I never knew he had literally meant to kill himself. I thought those words were just an expression of his anger and grief. I could not help cursing this society, that is leading us children to take such drastic steps. These are not suicides, these are homicides, crimes committed by our unworthy social structure.

My friend didn't even reveal his failure to his parents. He had taken his life before they even arrived from their workplaces. There must have been fear in his mind; fear of the stigma attached to losers by our society.

We are young, inexperienced and at the same time trying to cope with a plethora of problems. At the peak time of our teens, Board Exams come to drive us past the limits of sanity. Parents at the same time are expecting too much from us. They want us to excel in academics but, everyone can't be a topper. They have dreams as well, this fact is understandable but aspirations at the cost of precious lives are meaningless. During the crunch examination times, we need support from our surroundings which in turn are hostile.

Parents at home are serving you dozens of notices and contracts. You score well and the very next day, we will place the keys of a new bike in your hands….. You score below ninety in aggregate… and you don't get to use that PC ever… Score hundred percent in Science and Maths and you get to choose any place you wish to go on a trip. When you look outside your home for support, there are child ren flipping pages of books furiously, rummaging for more facts and banging their head on tables. Then you see the cut-offs rising like the temperatures this summer and your head is reeling.

We shun a society that identifies you on the basis of scores achieved in tests. We don't want people to stigmatize the subjects, courses and careers and grade them at different levels. Why don't they realise that every profession requires skill and hard work. We want them to discover our true skills and aptitude and accept us as God has made us. We want them to groom us according to our talents and not their blind aspirations.

At the same time, we want elders to explain to us the true meaning of life. Of course, most children are sane enough to refrain from taking a drastic step, as suicide, but there are children in want of an emotional support system. Their chain of thought needs to be changed. Teach them that life is precious. Failures and successes are just a part of it. Time changes. One must not get disheartened by failures. Only then can you relish this life like Osho's 'Zorba, the Buddhist.' They must be told, that their unwise decisions prove traumatic for their families and friends. How can a mother accept that a part of her own soul, whom she bore nine months in womb, six years in lap and the rest under her loving caring eyes, has left her, forever? A question difficult to answer.

We need to reform the attitude of people and this social set-up to ensure children---a secure society with plenty of hope and joy.

Guest Editor Rohit Bhat(Class XI)

Counselling should be part of curriculum

IN a sudden turn of events, the city has been witnessing a spate of suicides, specially among the younger generation. It is indeed a cause for concern for every law-abiding citizen. According to psychologists "It's the pressure of excelling in every sphere of life. It could be in studies, sports or even at work places that has led them to take these drastic steps."

In a recent incident a boy of 16 tried to drown himself but was saved. Lying in a local hospital bed he was asked the question by the media — why did he attempt to take such an extreme step? The answer he gave was simple — he had not done well enough in his entrance exam for a prestigious course and felt that he had let his parents down and was worried what they would think of him. Peer pressure and expectations from all are also the cause of rising suicides among students. Therefore, the question arises, what causes these young people to take such extreme and at time fatal steps. According to the principal of a private school in the city —"Many times it's the pressure from the parents who don't see the potential of a child, but want them to bring excellent marks and excel in what ever he or she does. They don't realize that they are playing havoc with the child's psyche. Not scoring well in exams is not the end of life. It's high time that counselling should be taken seriously. Students along with their parents and teachers should take an active part in discussions so that they know the true potential of their child. As a part of the school curriculum students should be encouraged to speak up their minds and aspirations, so that they are heard loud and clear.

Simrat (Class XI)

Music makes my existence joyful

Music is the noblest creation of god. There is melody and music in the universe. The planets are perpetually in an ecstasy of song and dance. Music is joy itself. It is the flowering of virtue and this music has blossomed with a flower of pleasure and joy in my life too.

It is said that God blessed the birth of music from the body of Lord Shiva's an important part so that he could get immense pleasure and the mental peace from music. And this music has always helped me to relax myself from any psychological stress; be it studies, tension of exams or anything else. At times when I am not able to concentrate on my studies or I am not in mood of studying, I start singing and yes ! This is a reality that after half an hour, I am completely engrossed in my studies. Thus music has increased my concentration power.

Whenever, I feel any type of fear or I am sad, I always go in the lap of music, which is my best companion, and the gloominess vanishes. Earlier when I was not much knowledgeable about music I was not even aware of the natural harmony around me.

Music has changed me. I always remain happy and the most interesting fact is that indulgence in music has never proved any hindrance in my studies. On the contrary, with my increasing interest in classical music, my percentage has gone up from 90 to 95%.

Music has become an important part of my life. I sing to please my displeased friends, I sing to relax my depressed mother and above all I sing just to derive pleasure for myself. Music has imparted colours to my life otherwise it would have been insipid. In this past paced world, music provides me relaxation even though it is for a short time.

Millions of us have eyes but we do not see and millions of us have ears but we do not hear the melody of cosmos, the musical voice of universal silence. I feel the music in every breath of mine. I feel that the very cause of my existence is the music only and I can not even dream of my life without music.

Karanbir Kaur (Class X-C)

We are becoming morally bankrupt

THESE days we are living in a dangerous world. Why I call it dangerous is because none, anywhere is safe or secure. Our society is ridden with crime, murders, petty & serious thefts, suicides and what not. Today each one of us has to look after oneself and be alert to safeguard our lives. The younger generation is exposed to so much of violence, vulgarity, senseless emotions that a so called sensible person like me also gets confused seeing the contrary morality shown on various T.V. soap operas and I am surrounded by the question; Should I let the devil rule me or not? I will not mince words in saying that our society is fast becoming morally bankrupt. All the good old virtues of truthfulness, honesty, humbleness which we have been hearing since childhood seem to blur away in the haze of commercialism and materialism which are fast emerging as the dons of the new found individuality. The level of patience is fast receding in the people like the waters of most of our lakes and rivers. The virtue of jealousy and backstabbing are the latest mantras to climb the ladder of success. As if all this was not enough we have T.V. the greatest evil right amidst ourselves which exposes us to so much of violence, and teaches us things, which we could have never imagined in such an easy and effortless manner. Newspapers add oil to the fire by reporting the latest murders, suicides, clashes, riots, and homicides on their front pages to arrest the attention of the readers.

They derive sadistic pleasure in printing the most horrible accompanying pictures of the above mentioned news items so that the reader gets the complete shock. No doubt awareness of such incidents is required but such news items can be printed at the back pages without the verbal ornamentations. Where will all this lead to ? I think its time we all looked into ourselves and see where we stand on the scale of humanity.

Ramneek Gill (Class X-C)

The politician serves to become the master

“Just for a handful of silver, he left us.

Just for a ribbon to stick in his coat.”

ROBERT Browning made this wise observation in The Lost World.

Have the politicians done well for the country? In my opinion, they haven't.

As the joke goes, when God created India, it was a wealthy and prosperous land . The other nations protested about this favouritism .So God, in His infinite wisdom, willed the government of India to balance the matters

We have been cursed since. India's polity is blight on the nation. It now exists not to serve the people but to feed itself, and all the taxpayers of the country have the privilege of supporting this monstrosity. There are black sheep, cheats and dishonest people in every profession. But, certainly there are more dishonest men and hypocrites among politicians than among any other class of people.

New century India is getting familiar with a new kind of politics, which seems to have made corruption distinctively and intimately Indian. By now the changed faces of politicians from the ones whose goals were decided by the needs of the masses to the present ones, whose deeds have become too ugly to be tolerated. In order to become rich and powerful, the politicians used politics as a platform to wield their power.

The Indian Politician of the new century is aggressive, calculative, mean and materialistic to the core. The typical Indian politician is a man without principles and scruples of any kind; he is an opportunist par excellence. He promises to deliver results but need not. He yearns for the luxuries of life and must have them. He ought to win elections and no power on the earth could stop him from doing so. He is the most powerful businessman of India. He could alter the election results. He is the mastermind behind all the financial and social upheavals. James freeman has rightly said that a true politician thinks of the next generation but our Indian politicians are too busy worrying about the next elections, which leaves them with no time to ponder over national issues.

Corruption in the Indian context may not have become a religion. It certainly has become a way of life with the politicians. But nothing is required to prove that corruption cuts across all party lines and is universal as far as the politicians are concerned. Misuse of state power and criminalisation of politics can be eliminated only if people participate on a larger scale in running the affairs of the state. Power must be decentralized; rules and regulations must be transparent so that the politicians are not able to implement the saying of Charles De Gaulle,

"In order to become the master, the politician poses to be the servant."

Jaspreet Kaur (Class X-A)

Be good for the sake of being good

WHY do we do good deeds? Why do we express concern about the welfare of others? Excluding the social discipline, which we observe under the fear of the stick of law, we still behave as good citizens. We are careful enough not to make a garbage dump of our street. We don't abuse people and become an anti-social person. Why? Ask your self. The reason being: we don't want to fall in the eyes of the society. We want to create a respectable position in the society and maintain our status. We don't want people to accuse us ever. Our good deeds are more of a show-off. Our display of complaisance is a farce, which must be ended.

Virtues are not meant for others, they are for the saturation of our own mind and of every strata of our knowledge. We need to realize the fact that we must be virtuous just for the sake of being so. We must not be good for the satisfaction of social obligations. We must be good for the satisfaction of the self.

God made this earth a beautiful place and we transitory beings are to maintain its each and every aspect. This society is a part of nature and to ensure that the society is humble we have to behave in a civilized manner. When we are respecting someone, think that he deserved it, and when we observe utmost complaisance, think that the people deserve such humbleness from you. When we are being virtuous and charitable, we must be so with the feeling that we have given something back to the world, in lieu of the care that it has taken of us.

So be good, for when you have grown old and you look back at your past, you must praise yourself and not regret wasting away your time in notoriety. So, please evoke the true virtuousness within you.

Guest Editor Rohit Bhat (Class XI)

Voice of heart

Under the ample sunlight,

In the green fields upto distances infinite,

lies the secret of life.

Among the high mountains and muddy mounds,

the land overflows with silent sounds.

The overhead sapphire - skies,

in the site where essence of living lies,

among beautiful emerald woods,

in the flock and herds,

from the heart of singing birds,

comes the message for humanity :

Life's meaning is in eternity.

You don't exist alone.

Planters of life watch you galore.

One day, He shall meet men before Him,

that wonderful day,

He shall wash off all thy sins.

Then thee shall be in,

a heaven of a kind,

whose beauty can't be defined

: he will be helped, who he enters this place,

for He helps all those, who come to this space.

Simranjeet Singh (Class XI)