A roller coaster of the good and the bad
Smriti Kak

The Christmas and the New Year celebrations over, it is back to the grind. With schools having reopened there is nothing, not even the chilly winter wind that can be excuse enough to stay put in bed. So the children are back to school and the usual rigmarole of homework and tests.

It is a testing time, especially for the ones taking the board exams. What with the pre-boards and in some cases the ‘pre pre boards’. Cramming and revising what has already been fed into the CD ROMs of the human body, the final countdown has begun for the class X and XII students.

It is also the time of the year when the counsellors are on the job, with nerves being tested and tried, students often find themselves in throes of panic and hysteria.

And while the shadow of exams is looming large, there is something to look forward to. The one big event in the school calendar, when it’s time for class XII students to bid adieu to their alma mater.

A roller coaster of the good and the bad… no wonder there are not too many complaining that it’s back to school.

Euro Kids enjoy themselves

Euro Kids Pitampura celebrated the New Year with the children joining in the festivities.

School director Rajesh Sharma lit the inaugural lamp and welcomed the participants.

Children participated in cultural events based on the western and Indian themes. A play titled Jungle Life was adjudged the best. Principal, Ms Sarika Sharma explained the importance of celebrating the New Year and distributed gifts among the children.

Heritage India Quiz

The Heritage India Quiz conducted by the CBSE is an opportunity not just to examine a child’s understanding of his country, but also provides students a chance to discover the history, art, culture and heritage of the country.

In its third year now, the Quiz’s third edition was inaugurated in September 2003. Of the 1,000 schools that participated, 73 made it to the Zonal round held at 12 different cities across the country.

The quarter-finals saw 24 teams compete against each other in Jaipur in December 2003.

And now eight teams are gearing for the finals scheduled for 28th and 29th January 2004 at Appejay School, Noida.

The eight teams that will fight for the winner’s title are, DPS, Bokaro, DPS R K Puram, Scholar’s Home Dehradun, BVB’s Vidyashram Jaipur, PSBB Senior Secondary School Chennai, J H Ambani Saraswati Vidya Mandir Surat, DPS Ghaziabad and St. Joseph Co-Educational School Bhopal.

English series

Educational Publishers Sultan Chand and sons have launched a series of Educational books titled, ‘Sparkle Multi Skill English Series’ for classes I to V. The series comprises five readers and five activity books.

The package, it is claimed, has been developed on the “holistic approach that combines the solid grammar foundation provided by structural approach with the impressive fluency among children by drawing them into interactive situations and providing them a solid base of grammar and correct usage”.

The book has coloured illustrations that make it interesting and also work as an essential aid to the understanding of the reading material.

The books have been authored by a former Delhi University English lecturer, Mr Rajendra Pal. Having specialised in ELT, Pal has to his credit many workshops, text books and literary criticism covering the work of Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Coleridge.

Principalspeak
Love is a manifestation of God

Whenever a family is blessed with a newborn child, the new guest becomes a bundle of love for his procreators. In no time, the newborn gets priority over the parent’s own personal needs. He is showered with utmost love and affection. God cannot be physically present with all the children to take care of them. That is why He has created ‘mothers’ to take His place on this earth. A mother is like a Goddess for her children, because of the selfless love she showers on them. This love is nothing but a manifestation of God.

Talking of maternal love as a manifestation of God, one remembers the great divine soul – Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa, an epitome of love, devoted her entire life to the selfless service to humanity. A simple woman, Mother Teresa, worked for the cause of the homeless, the diseased and the lepers. She cared for them like her own children. For all her godliness and benevolent deeds, she is still remembered. It was her belief that by serving the children of God, she was serving Him.

God, omnipresent, all-powerful and divine, is the creator and ruler of the universe. He made this world for his children, whom he cares for and loves above all. The divine Lord wishes that they live in tranquillity, harmony and brotherhood. For all His benevolent deeds, all the rich and the poor, the old and the young worship Him. He is supreme. People have faith in Him and are devoted to Him. People seek his protection whenever they have any suffering or face any difficulty. Even when all the doors of the world are closed for a person, God’s doors are forever open for him. God always provides succour to a person in need. He is omnipotent. He punishes the wrong doers but simultaneously he also showers the righteous persons with his blessings.

Love can make a very big difference in this world divided by selfish interests. Real worship of God is to love one’s fellow men. True devotion to God implies living in concord with beautiful creatures created by Him. Love and God are inseparable. Love symbolises God. If it had been for love, the world would have been annihilated. Love is a kind of cement binding the world together.

People misinterpret the meaning of worship. They presume that by visiting temples and chanting mantras one can show one’s devotion to God. They even boast about their devotion towards God. True worship lies in embracing the poor, the suffering, the weak and the meek. If we can love them instead of exploiting their weakness we can become truly humane, as God would like us to be.

No person is good or bad in totality. Both God and the devil are hidden in a person. It is left completely to the person to decide how he wants to react to a particular situation in life. He can shower love on his fellow men at the time when God in him is awakened. On the contrary, he can disturb and create troubles and let the devil inside him take possession of him.

As long as there is love on this beautiful planet, God will continue to exist. He will make His presence felt. The lovers of mankind will make the world a heavenly place to live in.

Madhu Chandra, Principal, Birla Vidya Niketan

DG to lay stone of first girls law college on Jan 14
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, January 11
The Director-General of Police, Haryana, Mr Mahender Singh Malik, will lay the foundation stone of the building of the first girls law college in India at Kanya Gurukul Khanpur Kalan in Gohana sub-division of the district on January 14.

According to Mr Jai Singh, the new building will be constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 1.50 crore on the land, which was donated by the village panchayat of Khanpur Kaslan. The land of 28-acre was donated during the life of late Padamshree Subhashni Devi for promotion of girls’ education.

Mr Singh also informed that a girls sports college would also start functioning in the Gurukul from the next year.

Mr Singh, who is the general secretary of the Management Committee of the Gurukuls, informed that with the commencing of these new educational facilities, Kanya Gurukul Khanpur Kalan is set to become the leading educational centre of girls’ education in India.

It is also pointed out that Mrs Krishna Mali, the wife of the DGP, Mr Malik was elected unanimously as the president of the management committee of the Kanya Gurukul Khanpur Kalan and Boys Gurukul of Bhainswal Kalan about two years back and the state government has been very liberal in granting funds and new courses for Kanya Gurukul since then.