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September 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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TEACHER’S
DAY Chandigarh, September 4 The principals of two private schools, Mr Sanjay Sardana of Manav Mangal School, Sector 21, and Ms Madhu Bahl of KB DAV Centenary Public School, Sector 7, have been chosen for this year’s state award, while Ms Shelly Khanna of GMSSS-18, Mr Dharmvir, a physical education teacher at GMSSS-26, and Mr Gurcharan Singh Gill, also a physical education teacher, at GMSSS-33 have been selected from among the teachers. The department has also announced commendation certificates for two teachers — Mr Harguldev Bhatia of GMSSS-47 and Ms Madhu Kanwar, a music mistress of GSSS-10. Mr Sanjay Sardana said it was a reward for the efforts put in by everybody in his school as a team. “My father has been my mentor throughout and I owe a lot of my learning and management of the school work to him. The announcement has given us a good boost and we will strive to improve in the future,” he said. Innovating and experimenting in the classrooms has paid off for Ms Madhu Bahl who has a number of other awards to her credit. Having travelled abroad and imbibed the best of the education systems of India and the west, she has changed her school curriculum in a manner that every child is provided an opportunity to display his talent. “We give as much importance to co-curricular activities as we do to academics. This holds the key to our success,” she holds. All three teachers, Ms Khanna, Mr Gill and Mr Dharmvir, are elated by the news of the award. “We have worked hard in school for our children not with an eye on the award. However, recognition of hardwork by the authority is always welcome,” they said in unison. The awards, announced on the eve of Teachers’ Day by the UT Education Department, here today, entail a cash prize of Rs 5000, a medal and a certificate. These would be handed over to the principals and teachers on November 14 later this year. Ms Grace Pinto, Director of St Xavier’s Group of Schools and Ryan International Schools has been honoured with “Rajiv Gandhi Award — 2003” by the Mumbai Pradesh Youth Congress. Ryan school:
A citation read out on the occasion said, “This educationist wants to fulfil her dream of seeing each and every child educated and able to realise their potentialities. Her only objective is to strive for the best of the nation by imparting this noble education to each and every child. She is an educationist with a vision, which combined with lots of hard work and toil has resulted in the successful running of 75 schools in 14 states across the country”. Aanchal School:
Tiny tots of pre-nursery to UKG classes presented a cultural programme for the first time without the help of their teachers. They danced to the tunes of song ‘‘I love my teacher’’. They also presented a small skit, where they copied their teachers. On the spot competitions like slogan writing were organised by the students for their teachers. Various games such as musical chairs, dumb charads, what is the right word? busy bee, pass the parcel were also held. Following are the results: Slogan writing — first: Ms Lalima, Ms Anita and Ms Deepkamal. Second: Ms Radhika and Ms Anurit. Prizes for ‘Just A Minute’ were bagged by Ms Seema, Ms Shail and Ms Jatinder. Prizes for the games were won by Ms Harprit, Ms Surekha, Ms Shikha, Ms Pooja, Ms Shweta and Ms Neerja. A small party was also organised in their honour. |
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SCHOOL WORLD
When the Indophil, the India loving English first discovered the Raja Tarangini in the early 19th century there was much surprise that even Indians could write history that was accurate, dispassionate and yet readable. In the next 25 years various efforts were made to translate the Raja Tarangini into English so as to make it understandable to a larger body of people. Once the pleasure of discovery had worn off much effort was made to prove that the Raja Tarangini was merely a badly written poem and not a well-written history. That debate lasted another 75 years. It is amazing that there could be a time when scholars actually spent time and effort to establish whether a book was a book of history or of poetry instead of trying to test out its information with information available on the ground. But then, such is the nature of many scholarly debates. It was only in the 1930s that scholars, both Indian and English, became more comfortable with the fact that even an Indian, without any formal training in the western craft of history, could write history well enough to qualify as the first historian of India. The Raja Tarangini was written within one year, between 1148 and 1149 and contains over 8,000 slokas. It was written in the tradition of a Kavya, for in those days history as such was not an independent subject. Yet we recognise the Raja Tarangini as a history. Kalhana, though, would have preferred to be a poet. “Who else but the poets resembling Prajapati in (creative power) and able to bring forth lovely productions, can place the past times before the eyes of men ,” he wrote in the beginning of his book. His poetry, though, was of a very basic kind. “Having come out of the grove off lowery creepers, (a young Brahmin) saw before him two virgins donning blue robes and having very sweet eyes” records the Raja Tarangini of one encounter. “The corners of their eyes were very attractive and were smeared with a very thin line of collyrium, as if this was the stalk of the red ruby-like lotuses used by these as ear-ornaments. To their two shoulders were pinned their faces, as it were like flags, the ends of which in the shape of their captivating eyes were fluttering in the gentle wind.” Surely this was not the kind of poetry that was going to ensure the book a place in the annals of poetic writing. As a history, though, the Raja Tarangini is beyond compare. Essentially it is composed of many anecdotes. The Raja Tarangini begins with Kalhana praising the gods and requesting blessings from him. He also seeks the indulgence of his readers for what he has to say. All this was according to the established traditions of fine writing of those times. Then he gives a detailed description of the topographical layout of Kashmir, its geological history, the various rivers, lakes and mountains that enrich the land. Some of the information is taken from personal observations while for others he depends on legends and folktales. The English scholars who tried to trash the Raja Tarangini in the 19th century focussed on such use of legends etc. to point out the unreliability of the Raja Tarangini. But it is the Raja Tarangini which has the last word, because today it is established that the descriptions taken from legends were fairly accurate. The history of the Kings of Kashmir is traced from the first one, Gonanda who was a contemporary of Yudhishtara of Mahabharat. Those kings who were merely mentioned in legends but for whom no corroborative evidence could be found are mentioned as ‘lost kings’. The Raja Tarangini refuses to further build upon their fiction. Talking about kings and queens inevitably results in detailed descriptions of intrigue, deception and many other things which are morally reprehensible. The Raja Tarangini roundly criticises the kings and other social elite when they are unfair to the people, do not perform their duties adequately and indulge in cheating. There is a strong moral undertone as well. Four out of its 8 tarangas end with the King leaving his throne in order to lead a life of greater piety. M.Rajivlochan, Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh mrajivlochan@hotmail.com.
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SCHOOL
WORLD HELPLINE Parenting adolescents is a major challenge that parents have to face when their child grows up to be a teenager. Since adolescence is a time of rapid biological, emotional and psychosocial change, many adolescents face considerable stress in dealing with the challenges that these changes throw up. A good home life, and a kind and a warm relationship with parents can help the growing child, to avoid many of the pitfalls of adolescence such as drug and alcohol use, negative peer pressure, low self-esteem, academic failure and sexual promiscuity. The emotional climate within a family, the quality of the parental relationship has a considerable influence on the ability of the adolescent to develop adaptively and with a minimum of stress. If the parenting style is one that inhibits change and tries to maintain the same structure that applied when the adolescent was a child, then the adolescent will struggle to make the changes that are required to move towards adulthood. The adolescent may respond with compliance in which case normal adolescent development will be inhibited. Alternatively, there may be confrontation leading to a high level of stress and conflict. In order to promote a good parent-adolescent relationship it is recommended that the relationship be characterized by warmth, kindness, love, acceptance and caring. Adolescents need to have the confidence that their parents’ love is unconditional and not contingent on getting good marks, excelling in sports or being compliant. Evidence indicates that adolescents who share a warm relationship with their parents are more likely to respond to others positively, be self confident, be more respectful and cooperative with others, and have fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties. In this context, the communicating style of parents assumes considerable importance. Communication with adolescents must necessarily be a two way process, and both the adolescent and the parents should get an opportunity to express their views in a supportive environment. Parent need to respect the adolescent’s view even if it contradicts their own. Very often parents ridicule the adolescent’s view, make personal attacks, use demeaning labels, withdraw love or induce guilt to constrain the intellectual, emotional, or psychological expression by the adolescent. Most parents also have high expectations of their adolescent with regard to their behaviours, beliefs, attitudes, values and choice of friends. Their expectations may also include academic performance and career goals. Imposing values and choices may be one of the biggest impediment in the adolescent’s growth and autonomy and push the adolescent towards self- destructive beliefs and behaviours. Although, parents need to be continually warm, positive and provide opportunities for expression and change, they need to exert some level of control and monitor the adolescent’s activities. Adolescents who report that their parents take a genuine interest in their activities, friends and interests are more likely to avoid trouble. Parents need to be aware where their adolescent is, what is he or she doing and with whom is he spending his time with. The process of monitoring has to be subtle and not intrusive. Parents need to strike a balance between too much and too little monitoring. Parents also need to enforce consequences when rules are broken. Involving the adolescent in defining rules, setting limits, and selecting consequences when rules are broken help in avoiding conflict between the parents and their teenagers. Surprisingly, adolescents find rules, firm boundaries, clear do’s and don'ts reassuring as it provides them a sense of stability and helps them to resist negative peer pressure. When rules are fair, formulated after mutual discussion and clearly stated, most adolescents do not have problems in following them. Parents need to understand that it is the adolescent’s perception of parental control, regardless of parental intention, which is important. Many parents feel that they are being totally fair and accepting, whereas their teenagers may find them too imposing and controlling. Interestingly, boys are more likely to have problems with parental control than girls. Parents should aim towards encouraging independent thinking and expression in their adolescents, respect their views and be consistently warm and loving in order to guide, nurture and help their adolescents to thrive and grow up to be responsible adults.
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FROM
COURTS Chandigarh, September 4 While deposing before the UT Additional and Sessions Judge, Mr Balbir Singh, in the special court room in Model Burail Jail, the witness said after getting direction from the SHO, Nana Singh, he had reached the hospital after the blast to maintain the records of the dead and injured persons taken to the hospital from the spot. The witness further added that he had taken the skull and two legs of the suspected human bomb to the PGI for the post-mortem examination. |
NEW
RELEASES R.S. Entertainment’s “Kuch Naa Kaho”, produced by Ramesh Sippy and directed by his son Rohan, will be released today at Nirman, Chandigarh, and Suraj ,Panchkula, by Tips Films.
Rohan’s maiden film is a dignified love story, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. A young Indian-American who does not believe in arranged marriage is dragged to meeting a string of potential brides. He surprises himself by falling in love.... and shocks those around him by choosing the most ineligible woman as the object of his affections. Satish Shah, Suhasini Muley, Himani Shivpuri, Jaspal Bhatti, Tanaaz Currim, Gautami Gadgil, Divya Palat and Meghna Malik supports the lead stars. The film is technically superb. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics, especially the title song, have been put to melodious tunes by the trio Shankar-Ehsaan — Loy. The beats have a pace and the compositions are delightful. ***** ‘Rules-Pyar Ka Superhit Formula’ is Crossover Films’ first release and stars Milind Soman, Namrata Barua, Tanuja and introduces Meera Vasudevan. ‘Rules’ marks the directorial debut of Parvati Balagopalan. This one will be released today at Batra, Chandigarh. Those who have seen the crowds for ‘Rules’ say the film look at the lighter side of people in love. The story set against the backdrop of the glamorous world of fashion, uses vox pops to stylise the narrative. It is a young contemporary love story which explores and exposes the trap of romantic illusions. Nirja Shah is the producer. Subrat Sinha and Prof RN Dubey has penned the lyrics. The music is by Sandesh Shandilya.
***** C. Ashwani Dutt’s ‘Calcutta Mail’ will open today at KC, Chandigarh. It is produced by Alu Arvind and Mukesh Udeshi. ‘Dharavi’ and ‘Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin’ fame Sudhir Mishra has directed this movie which stars Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Manisha Koirala, Saurabh Shukla, Sayaji Shinde and Shivaji Satam. Satish Kaushik plays villain in this emotional thriller. The pre-release reports are good. Film pandits say it is an offbeat. Javed Akhtar and Mehboob have penned the lyrics for Anand Raj Anand and Viju Shah.
— D.P. |
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