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Even with poor infrastructure, private schools dish out toppers Faridabad, May 13 While a girl student of a private school at Palwal town in the district had topped the matriculation exam of the Haryana State Education Board last year the momentum has been kept up this year too as a girl student of a private school at Ballabgarh town has been declared joint topper of these exams this year. As many as five students of the district have made it to the top ten list of the state board this time. While the marks scored by these toppers have increased this year the number of students and the schools from this district have also improved in comparison to the past years, according to the reports. But the interesting point here is that the situation is not same with the government schools in the district. Although there are a large number of such schools with the required infrastructure and paraphernalia there is hardly any government school which can boasted of its achievements in the academic sector in the recent years. Faridabad is one of those districts where the menace of copying during the exams has been common although the board officials claimed they had been too strict this time and had caught the defaulters without any favour or fear. According to certain people in the education field, the menace of copying had been in prevalence more in the government schools as the academic activities and studies were not carried out in a serious manner in many schools and this perhaps had many reasons behind it, which are known to the teachers, parents and even the education department. According to Mr Kailash Sharma, Secretary of the Abhibhawak Ekta Manch, Faridabad, the teachers of the government schools are deputed on several extra duties which include pulse polio campaigns, preparation of votes and various survey works carried out from time to time. As a result, teachers hardly had enough time for their students and subjects. Moreover, he said the shortage of staff for particular subjects, lack of extra coaching of the students appearing in board exams, non-availability of additional books or library facilities and proper laboratory work and facilities related to it were other factors. He added that the teachers doing well or taking extra pains were hardly rewarded or motivated in most government schools. He said despite the fact that many of the private schools had been running from ill-equipped buildings and the state of infrastructure was woeful the focus there was on the studies and improving the results. |
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Oracle offers new course at half cost New Delhi, May 13 The course enables database administrators to leverage the sophisticated, self-management capabilities of Oracle Database 10g to decrease the time spent installing and managing the database and in some instances, eliminate the need for manual intervention by DBAs for basic tasks. The added functionality in database allows DBAs to increase their focus on strategic information technology projects critical to their business goals. IT professional it is claimed can get quickly started with the Oracle Database 10 g-Day DBA training. Oracle’s new curriculum features training paths tailored to fir the needs of any Oracle customer and the Database 10g two-day programme enables technical professionals to install, configure and handle the basic functions of Oracle Database 10g. |
Siddhartha Basu to quiz India’s brightest minds New Delhi, May 13 Kicking off from May 16, the show will be hosted by India’s best-known quizmaster Siddhartha Basu and air every Sunday at 9 pm on Star World. Providing a platform for the brightest pre-teen academic achievers in the country, the show will not only test the general knowledge of the kids, but also quiz them on verbal and non-verbal reasoning, maths, science, history, natural world, geography, mythology, literature, English language and spellings. Apart from the title of Britannia India’s Child Genius, the show will also offer substantial sums of prize money each episode. Produced by Synergy Communications, the show is broadly based on the original Fox format show, “The Challenge of the Child Geniuses”, that first aired in the United States and then carried across successfully to various other parts of the world. It was rated the second most successful reality based show of all times when it first aired in the States. The content for the show has been developed by Synergy Communications in association with academic experts and Educational Initiative (EI), who conduct the ASSET evaluation, which is the leading scholastic test in India for students of class 3-9. Commenting on the launch, Deepak Segal, Senior Vice-President, Content and Communication, Star India Pvt Ltd, said: “Britannia India’s Child Genius is one of the biggest properties on Star World this year and will reinforce our already strong India Band - the line up of India-centric programming from 7.30 to 11 pm on Sundays. Today, parents are highly involved in their children’s education and through this show we will attract a lot of family viewership, in addition to the core loyal Star World audiences. This is also the most expensive India-centric show for Star World, enforcing its positioning as the leading English entertainment channel with premium content.” When Star World first announced the show in January 2004 and called for entries, it received an overwhelming response with over 20,000 applications arriving from across the country. This included entries from small towns and villages. With the eligibility criterion set at an academic track record of above 80 per cent for two consecutive years, 5000 (1250 per zone) kids were short listed from the four zones North, South, East and West for the written tests conducted at over 26 centres in the country on 15th February 2004. |
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Artscape The Hungarian Cultural Centre is hosting an exhibition of paintings by Robert Swierkiewicz titled “Book of a River-Way”. The exhibition will be on till May 25. The artist explains this work as a synthesis of different eras and chapters in his life and art, the synthesis of life-poetry-wisdom-colour, as they settle over each other like deposits in the riverbed. From Chennai to the Danube river and back to India, Robert `Swierkiewicz has been writing on Buddha’s teachings from 1993 to 2004 and also painted, inspired by the environment around him. He says that the title as a “visual river reflecting various stages of my consciousness, in different time and places and put together into a book of a river”. This exhibition of Robert Swierkiewicz presents an opportunity for the art lovers in India to witness the visualisation of his impressions from his recent visit to south India. These images are also inspired by Buddhism, which influences his devices as well.
Walking with the Gurus ‘Historical Gurdwaras of Punjab’ has been sponsored by Patiala Heritage Society in collaboration with INTACH and supported by Government of Punjab. Part of the series of travel guides published by Good Earth Publications, it follows in the line of the highly successful, ‘Walking with the Buddha: Buddhist Pilgrimages in India’ published a couple of years ago. In the guidebook, ‘Walking with the Gurus: Historical Gurdwaras of Punjab,’ an attempt has been made to tread the path followed by the Sikh Gurus with a hallowed history dating back to the 15th century. This highly visual guidebook on historical gurdwaras in the Indian state of Punjab seeks to capture, in essence, the spirit of the Sikhs. The core of the book is a detailed section on the Golden Temple and the other sacred gurdwaras associated with the life of the Gurus, including a separate chapter on the five holy takhats. These gurdwaras are, by and large, scattered along two great swathes in Punjab. An attempt has been made to make it easier for the pilgrim and the traveller to visit these shrines by creating separate travel circuits. The first circuit takes the holy city of Amritsar as its heart, and covers the gurdwaras around it, including those at Tarn Taran, Khadur Sahib, etc. The second circuit is centred on Chandigarh and covers the gurdwaras of Anandpur Sahib, and includes those in Patiala. Over 125 specially-commissioned photographs, reproductions of ancient paintings and illustrations freeze-frame of the glorious state, its traditions, history and its enterprising populace. Also included in this guidebook is a comprehensive practical information section, which will help the traveller make his way through Punjab.
Classical music
from the Land Of the Five Rivers The ‘Land of the Five Rivers’ has always been renowned for its beautiful `Bandishes’ (compositions), which have enriched the repertoire of Hindustani Classical Music. Punjabi is the only other language, apart from Braj Bhasha, in which Kheyal Bandishes have been written. Shah Sada Rang and Shah Ada Rang, who have given us the Kheyal style of classical music have also composed some beautiful Bandishes in Punjabi, which will be presented in this festival. Over the last two centuries, Hindustani musicians, whether from the Punjab or elsewhere, have sung these Punjabi Kheyal Bandishes and this is an effort to revive an interest in them by encouraging research, presentation and documentation of these
Bandishes.
‘Festival of Traditional Music of Punjab’ is being organised by the Punjabi Academy at the India Habitat Centre. Mr Som Datt Battu and Mr Jawad and Mazhar Ali Khan perform on May 13 and Pt. Yash Paul and Mr Somjit Dasgupta on May 14. |
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Music zone
‘Aaja Ve Mahi’, the title track of the album is also the first. The Sufiana song, moulded in a folk style had once been popularised by the legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In the album, Hans Raj Hans sings it in the same feel as a tribute to the maestro, which also comes forth through the lyrics. Music Today also unveils a beautiful album where two great maestros come together with their distinct styles to give an outstanding performance. ‘Moonrise’ is a jugalbandi between flute maestro Vijay Raghav Rao and tabla wizard Alla Rakha. The double volume album is a live recording of three American concerts where the legends performed together to ecstatic audiences in three different cities. The album recorded in 1980 is one of those rare documented performances, which are once-in-a-lifetime-experiences for both the artiste and the listeners. The album features four selected pieces based on traditional ragas. The artiste has improvised on traditional ragas creating masterpieces, which reflect the spirit of their ancient origins, interpreted for the modern ear. The inimitable Alla Rakha has yet again proved his exemplary genius in collaborating with other artistes. He interphases with Vijay Raghav Rao and as the flute and tabla meet, the sound becomes a mesh of intellectual mastery and melodious genius. Rhythm from Bollywood The artists of Rhythm are all set to regale the audience in Singapore with Bollywood numbers. Consisting mostly of young men and women from the city, the group specialises in rendering Bollywood
numbers. The group consists of Kamal Chokrovarty, Nand Kumar Shukla, Sanjay Kumar Chakravarty, Saibal Basu, Daman Deep Kaur, Mamta, Manisha and Tinku. The group claims that it has several confirmed engagements in Singapore. |
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The Punjabi Academy is organising a two-day ‘Festival of Traditional Music of Punjab’ on May 13-14, at the India Habitat Centre, here.
After the smashing success of Hans Raj Hans ‘Tera Ishq’, Music Today presents ‘Aaja Ve Mahi’, a brand new Sufi album of the Punjabi music icon. The album is an assortment of some amazing Sufiana qalam sung by Hans Raj Hans in his unique, peerless style. Aaja Ve Mahi is a melange of popular and new qalam.
After having regaled audiences here in New Delhi and other cities of the country, the Rhythm Musical Group is now all set to sail on a musical journey to Singapore.