To Our Heroes...

For Rakshabandhan, the Shishyans sent handmade Rakhis and messages of appreciation and gratitude to our Jawans guarding the border of our motherland.
Our class also participated. Here are the messages and notes we have written to our valiant soldiers.

"I SALUTE YOU!!! You leave your families and all comforts of your life for the citizens of our country. You sacrifice your life so that your brothers and sisters can sleep peacefully within the borders of the country. You sacrifice your life without thinking of your family and yourself. आपकी कुर्बानी हमें हमेशा याद रहेगी!!"

"Thank you for always protecting us like heroes, like our own family. Please continue to do so!"

"Thank You Brothers!"

"Dear Mr Soldier
 'Not as famous as SRK, but you are popular!'
 Your identity is unknown, yet we respect your identity - full of love for the nation. Your life can't be measured in movies like Border, it can't be known by the speeches which agitate us for a while and are soon forgotten.
हम हॉस्टल जाने से घबराते हैं क्योंकि घर से दूर हो जायेंगे लेकिन कौन जानता है की आप अपने घर से कब से दूर हैं? कि आपके लिए घर के लोगों से मिलना एक उत्सव है. हमारी जिंदगी बीत जायेगी, हमें तो पढकर कोई अच्छी सी नौकरी कर पैसे कमाने हैं. लेकिन क्या ये आपके बगैर हो सकता है? नहीं, कभी नहीं. हम जो आज हैं, जहां है और जिस ऊंचाई तक पहुँच सकेंगे सबका श्रेय आपको भी जाता है.
Because of you we are secure. Because of your hardwork, our happiness lives.
We honour you in our hearts you will always cherish your love for the nation."

" Thank you Soldiers!
   For all protection
   Exhibiting your affection
   For Nation's security
   Saving so many lives and property
   Even if you get some scars.
   You are the most loyal friends our ours"

"Thank you for all that you have done for our country, for our protection. For all that you have sacrificed be it your life, and more importantly, your family. Like a brother, you protect us from all the problems, so thank you for all that you have done for us. HAPPY RAKSHABANDHAN"

"To the Indian Army
  For staying away and protecting
  For being brave and selfless
  For working day and night
  For being strong to save us
  We thank you !! :D"

"Namaste! I want to thank you for giving the Nation a higher priority than your family and yourself. We all just think about ourselves and our family but you have thought beyond that ie about our country. You do think about the country and that is why you stay away from your family for months. When you want to celebrate festivals with your family, you cannot.
I had always wished to have a brother but now I realize that I have so many brothers taking care of not only me but the entire country. THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is the best gift you give us on every Rakhi.
Thank you once again"

"To the superstars! Who have sacrificed so much, borne all the pains for the country! Sorry to hear about the recent deaths at the border. We're very thankful and lucky to have such soldiers, such Indians. I am proud of you all and am feeling great!!!"

"To the Indian Army, thank you for protecting the country by staying at the border. The whole country is with you appreciating your bravery. WE THANK YOU!"

"To the Brave Soldiers of India - We, the youth of India feel proud of you and thank you for making our life safe and comfortable. We support you. Take care!"

"With each day passing by
  You defend not only the nation's territory but keep our heads held high
  The sacrifices made are priceless
  And we value them no less
  You are like fathers of them all
  To protect us you always stand strong and tall
  So how can there be no connection?
  When in your hearts there is so much love and affection
  Like the sky our respect for you is boundless
  Like the stars, you keep watching over us
  And with a safe and secure nation, you bless us!
  Each and every sacrifice is valued and mourned upon."

"Years of your life which you have spent in protecting us, our motherland. Thank you for being there for us, always helping, supporting, fighting for us. You spend your life at the borders of our country. You don't care about your dreams, you do everything for our future, you guard us. You face all the tough conditions, go through all the bad weather just for our security. A BIG THANKS TO THE REAL HEROES OF OUR LIFE!"

"You've sacrificed so much, leaving your family, your hobbies and followed your passion to save the country. Truly, the country is proud of you. This is a message from one brother to another brother on the occasion of Rakshabandhan. I feel so inferior, thanking you for guarding our lives. Still, with all possible respect and love from the country, I call you 'heroes of the country' THANK YOU HEROES FOR SACRIFICING SO MUCH!"

"You protect us day and night from terrorists and enemies of the country. We salute your bravery and courage. Although it is a very small word to express my feelings but 'Thank You' for sacrificing your life to save ours. With respect.."

"Beware and aware
 About the Indian Soldiers who care
 Like the clothes which we wear
 And a car with five gear
 For the ones who play fair
 Be aware and beware."

"A big thanks from the heart for you all who without caring for your own life are protecting the unknown citizens of the country. We understand the pain you all face while living away from your family as I cannot live for even a week without them. This Rakshabandhan, you all would not be able to meet your sistersbut don't worry. The whole country is your family and we all are dependent on you for a peaceful sleep. Once again thank you for all your hardwork and determination that you put to protect the pride of our nation.
Salute you for your bravery!!!
Jai Hind!
You are our real heroes!"

Success at Samagam!

Disha was adjudged the Best Speaker in an Inter-School English Debate Competition organised under the aegis of CBSE Sahodaya Schools Complex, Indore.

She spoke against the motion:

“SOCIAL DEPRIVATION CAUSES CRIME”

The transcript of her debate:

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the architect of our constitution was haunted by caste discrimination and humiliation from the early years of his life. He was awarded prestigious scholarships and a doctorate from the University of Columbia, yet, faced social deprivation all his life. But he went on to become the first Law Minister of India and he undoubtedly had an iron-hand towards criminals.

Social deprivation does not have a direct relationship with the crimes committed. When we try and solve the mystery behind criminal minds we find that it isn’t social deprivation but the failure to realize one’s virtue; the failure of self- direction; the desire for a bed of roses which leads to a belief among potential bombers that 'my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak' and induces in thieves a never satiating craving for more and more.

In fact, according to Criminal Psychology, crime occurs because the criminal chooses it when he starts having a feeling of inadequacy or when he becomes extremely sensitive towards negative evaluation.

There are people like Dhirubhai Ambani and Oprah Winfrey, coming from the grassroots of poverty who have worked hard come rain or sunshine to become the epitomes of success. They wisely used their conscience to choose legitimacy over rebellious and undesirable thoughts.

“A Criminal Mind makes himself so !”

By nature he is irresponsible, impulsive, self- centred and lacks empathy. He tirelessly trudges into the fields of anger, frustration and the lust of more power. He is infested with greed leading to molestation, murder, burglary and theft to calm the ravenous self. He gets convinced to commit heinous crimes in the name of religion.

Social deprivation is but a euphemism for some who can’t tackle the frustration and are lazy enough to give infinite excuses not to modify the situations around them. 

With more power comes more greed. The infamous prisoners, be it Lalu Prasad Yadav or Harshad Mehta, didn’t lack power, money or respect. Then why didn’t they think twice before involving their grey matter in the fodder scam or in stock market crash? Doesn’t the very clique of concentration camps and genocide traillblazed by the highly educated Adolf Hitler ring a bell in your ears?

For the socially deprived, the cat comes out of the bag as they lack the resources to bribe the administration while the bracket of high earners successfully manage to evade taxes and disprove allegations against them! As a result, we find statistics indicating that the majority of the criminal population belongs to the uneducated poor!

Social deprivation is a veil that blinds the stringent laws while catching hold of criminals.

Desires are nourished by delays

by Vinisha

Naturally, each person judges us differently and we perceive ourselves differently. With every little effort we put in to achieve the set grades, it always comes down to ‘you could have done better’.

My mother always taught me never to expect anything in return, just help and forget. And I jumped right at it doing the same. But every time things can’t be better and we give up. Lot of time I feel being nice and helpful has not been great at all.

We’ve always been told - childhood or the teenage happens to be the most beautiful days of life. The days when you desire to be the most successful. “I’ll do this. I’ll do that”. And sometimes these desires are shattered. We forget that desires are nourished by delays. 

Forcing yourself to attain academic excellence cannot be everyone’s award. The mind set becomes weak if expectations are not fulfilled. It could cause so much pain that you may feel there is only a single way left to end it – SUICIDE !

Wanna kill yourself? Just imagine this. This happens when you start to love. But sometimes things you love turn into things you hate. This should be a cry to be heard but remains unheard.

However, nobody should be pushed to such an extent, the elementary school is just the beginning. The real world could be even more harsh and cruel. These choices do not affect you at times.

Whenever you feel you are entering the world of wrong. Just question your motives, Academics is not something which decides that you should live or not. Be calm and don’t let your feelings go beyond. Else, it will end up with people who love you blaming and accusing themselves.

Well, I am a kind of person who loves to please people and at times go out of my way to help them. Though this would affect people’s mentality about me. But it is sometimes wise to let people take you for granted. Yet alas! A moment comes when you have to act. Just talk directly about things that matter. You are a living being and you have emotions. If at all it hurts learn to say no, learn to ignore and never compromise.

I personally feel that the more we stand out from the crowd, more the chance to be yourself- BE UNIQUE!

Everything in life makes you ask yourself - were you able to fulfill what you want or what people want from you? Well, never give this question a second thought. Think positive, whatever the result is. “Yes I achieved it.” Or maybe “ it was not a bad try.” This would surely be better than scribbling a suicide note on a paper out of frustration.

Just develop a thought. C’mon! There are so many things to live for. This is just a start to the real world.

I hope reading this would change how people think.

I know, this dilemma would never end but a clear mind could help. We have to have this positive perception and the broken expectations will definitely work the way you want. 

Happy Independence Day

Our class came second today in Inter-Class Board Decoration Competition!

King Tut’s Curse and Superstition

By Manas

Superstition is a pejorative term for belief in supernatural causalities – that an event leads to the cause of another without any natural process linking the two events, such as astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft, that contradict natural science.

When reading about the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb we came to hear about the Curse of the Pharaoh. The belief in a curse was brought to many people’s attention due to the sometimes mysterious deaths of a few members of Howard Carter’s team.

The Curse of the Pharaoh refers to the belief that any person who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh is placed under a curse. This curse which does not differentiate between thieves and well-intentioned archaeologists allegedly brings bad luck, illness and even death.

The first of the ‘mysterious’ deaths was that of Lord Carnarvon who sponsored the excavation. He was bitten by a mosquito and later he slashed bite accidentally while shaving. It became infected and blood poisoning resulted.

Carnarvon’s death had a medical explanation. But why did it have to happen to him just days after King Tut’s mummy was discovered. Was it just chance? And if the curse really exists, why didn’t it hit the others including Howard Carter?

Superstitious beliefs may have a scientific explanation or a logical genesis. Whether it is true or not, most importantly it is a belief. If we step on a book we touch it to our forehead out of respect or out of superstition? That’s debatable.

Some common superstitions of the world:

- Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day

- If you walk under a ladder, you will have bad luck

- If a black cat crosses your path you will have bad luck

- To break a mirror will bring you seven years bad luck

- Garlic protects from evil spirits and vampires

- Wearing your birthstone will bring you good luck

- If you blow out all of the candles on your birthday cake with the first breath you will get whatever you wish for

- An itchy palm means money will come your way

- Crossing your fingers helps to avoid bad luck and helps a wish come true

- After receiving a container of food, the container should never be returned empty

- When a dog howls, death is near

- Washing a car will bring rain

- You must get out of bed on the same side you got in on or you will have bad luck

- To kill an albatross is to cause bad luck to the ship and all upon it

Superstitions in India

-          Donating a sum of INR 101 instead of INR 100. The extra rupee is supposed to bring good luck.

-          Cutting nails or sweeping the floor after sunset is considered unlucky.

-          Footwear kept upside down will bring bad luck to both the owner and the doer.

Terror Has No Religion

- Vinisha

(Most of this article was written in class during a Writing Skills assignment)

Sometimes things go our way and sometimes they don't. Terrorism is widely recognized as the most threatening enemy of mankind. News about any terrorist attack in any corner of the world gives a spine-chilling effect. Terrorists do not see themselves as evil. They believe they are legitimate aggressors, fighting for what they believe in. hence, by whatever means possible, they try to attain their goals.

‘We can’t accommodate terrorism, its like demanding the IMPOSSIBLE.’

I have heard this almost every time a terrorist attack is carried out. And immediately after the attack, there will be some ‘secular’ rather ‘sickular’ leaders giving statements. They would talk about how cowardly the leaders are and how brave are those who die innocent.

It might not be the right time to ask but still I do. We can always keep alert and prevent such attacks but for how long? We do need to ask what makes people plan such attacks. These cannot be natural disasters. These mass murders are executed with a carefully thought-out plan. After the questions, the so-called leaders would choose their words judiciously and paint a saintly picture of unity that nature has and ‘they’ don’t. They would end saying – “terror has no religion.” LIARS!

They claim it is money, the biggest reason for the destruction. No wonder it refuses to stop. No wonder it keeps growing. As the real problem has never been acknowledged, never been controlled. Religion is and has always been the greatest fuel for terror and threat to life and property.

26/11, 9/11 – the dates hold a profound meaning to all. These were the days when horrific terror struck Mumbai and the United States. These are just a few examples which exhibit the acts of terror. 

Heard stories and made the movies, the facts have not turned. All religious people are not bigots but all terrorists are certainly religious. 

Someone has to control these religious think-tanks before they bomb the last surviving common man. If you really love your religion, your life, try to see where you are going wrong. Can any god be so cruel as to condone such indiscriminate murder? 

We all refuse to accept these facts generally. Bur we need to understand the need of the hour whether this red color is of passionate DANGER or LOVE!

Ask yourself and decide how you will end the lie. 

Pratibimb 2013 (2)

All that's hidden needs a platform for its exposure. Very true! We all have certain talents hidden in us and during our daily routine we hardly give any notice to it.
But our school gave all the Shishyans a platform to showcase their calibre and potential in different fields like Science, Art, Music, Dance, Commerce and all the other academic / non-academic areas.
There were skits, street plays, dance performances, inter-house competitions, the band, delicious food and what not. The show was a grand success and enjoyed immensely by the crowd.
The food court that was set up by the students earned a handsome revenue. This profit has been decided to be used for charity.

This is how we advertised our blog during Pratibimb 2013.

Art by Priyamvada.