Back at home, not only is she improving her family’s crop yield, but she returns when she can too help in the fields. She also spends time with her uncle, the only other member of her family with a formal education. To read more click on the link From Rural Village to Global Village.

Let’s see where Radha represents all girls like radha, and changing the life of rural children in India from a remote village to the global village of the 21st century. She belongs to a village nearby Bhilwara in Rajasthan.

We are a little far from the real result, but we have a start! Let us create more Radha….

Note: I feel it is a nice documentary if I exclude think.com promo.

A Regional children’s Science Congress was planned by deputy commissioner V Nageshwar Rao sir this year for NVS Hyderabad region. After discussion with him over phone in the month of july, we sought the help of few IIT Kanpur & IIT Madras faculty in this regard. Thanks to the motivation by Rao sir that NVS Hyderabad principals showed readiness and enthusiasm. They met faculty and administration at IIT Madras and the dates and venue were fixed. Participation is expected to be over 150, atleast 100 studends and 30 science teachers from various JNVs have already confirmed for the event. Subsequently, a tentative program was finalized which I am appending here.

Tentative day-wise programme

03-11-09

10.00am to 11.30am : Inaugural Session. His Excellency, Dr. Abdul Kalam,Ex-President of India. Prof. Anand, Director, IIT, Chennai.
11.30am – 11.45am : Tea Break
11.45am – 01.00pm : Dr. Kesavan, Asst. Professor,Dept. of Bio-technology IIT, Chennai.Topic – Application of Bio – technology in Medicine.
01.00pm – 02.00pm : Lunch
02.00pm – 05.00pm : Visit to Labs in IIT, Chennai Physics/Chemistry/Bio-technology.
05.00pm – 05.30pm : Tea Break
05.30pm – 07.30pm : Visit to Library, IIT, Chennai (Dr. Harish Chandra, Librarian, IIT, Chennai)

04-11-09

10.00am to 10.15am : Dr. Mishra, Asst. Professor,Dept. of Physical Chemistry. Topic – Science as Career
10.15am – 11.30am : Dr. Santha Kumar,Dean, Academics, IIT, Chennai. Topic – Air Plane and How the Fly
11.30am – 11.45am : Tea Break
11.45am – 01.00pm : Dr. T.S. Natarajan, Prof. Dept. of Physics, IIT Chennai. Topic – Learning Physics through activity.
01.00pm – 02.00pm : Lunch
03.00pm – 06.00pm : Visit to Science and Technology Park
06.00pm – 08.00pm : Planetary and Observatory Session

5.11.09

9.00am-10.30pm : Dr.M.S. Swaminathan. Hon’ble Rajya Sabha Member (or) Head of the Dept. M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation Chennai.
10.30am-10.45am : Tea break
10.45am-12.00noon : Dr.Hema A Murthy, Prof. Dept of Computer science. IIT, Chennai. Topic: ICT for education in Indian context
12.00noon-1.15pm : Dr.Arvind Krishnamurthy. Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai.
1.15pm-2.00pm : Lunch
2.00pm-3.00p : Interaction with Students by Scientist CLRI Chennai.
3.00pm-5.00pm : Visit to CLRI, Chennai.
7.00pm-9.00pm : Quiz by Alumni.

6.11.09

9.00am- 6.00 pm : Visit to Kalpakkam
9.00am – 01.00pm : BHAVANI Project, Kalpakkam
01.00pm – 02.00pm : Lunch
02.00pm – 05.00pm : MAPS Project, Kalpakkam
07.00pm – 08.00pm : Paper presentation by students.

07-11-09

9.00am – 01.00pm : Visit to M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai.
01.00pm – 02.00pm : Lunch
02.00pm – 03.00pm : Interaction with Alumni.
03.00pm – 05.30pm : Valedictory Function. Dr. Vishwanath, Ex-Vice Chancellor, Anna University, Chennai

There are a few sessions to be conducted by JNV alumni for which we need to get ready and assure its presence at IITM on the given dates. The sessions include quiz, paper presentation, interaction with students and career counseling. I will be participating in the sessions too. I invite all the navodayans those who wish to join us for the same. Additionally, we want such navodayans who are willing to do something for navodaya.

Few of us alumni had a meeting and discussed the ideas yesterday. The quiz will have 8 rounds and 9 groups of the students, and each round of ten minutes. Each group will have maximum four students with at least one girl student. Instructions for each round will be given before starting the round. Please suggest for some more rounds.

* Rapid fire
* Choice based
* Silly points
* Movies and Fun rounds

You may kindly send us some questions for quiz based on science and technology by this Sunday. You may also send a list of few great books to be presented to students. The books can be related to multi-dimensional aspects facilitating an all round accompalishment of students, eg. Science, Technology, Indian Culture and History, Economy, Polity, Adolacent fiction/non-fiction/Biography by good Indian/International writers. CDs too to be given on Science & Technology (documentaries). Prizes will be given to winner so suggestions for prizes are welcome too. Please get in touch with us writing a message here.

If you can not make it and would want to contribute to the event, contributions can be made to Trishul, SBI Bank account no 10620885653, Branch, IIT Madras. Make sure you add ‘JNV Regional Science Congress’ in the remarks column.

Dear readers, waiting for your prompt response. Thank you!

Regards.

Yesterday I was talking to one of my juniors on phone and her mood was totally off. She had a fight with her colleagues. While talking to her, I realized that she had got hurt. She was very much angry and when I inquired her, she said,

“pata nahi ye ladke log khud ko kya samajhte hein. I don’t know why they take only themselves to be talented”. One of her colleagues said that “girls ko to aise hi select kar lete hein, tujhe padhne ki jarurat kya hai? Aise hi shakl dekhkar number or promotion mil jayegi. Waise bhi shadi ke baad to ghar hi sambhalna hai. Promotion ki tension chod aur homemaker banne ki taiyari karo. You will not have any other choice because you are a woman!”

Hmmm… first of all why should it be shameful to admit that we are homemakers? Why can’t we simply say, “Yes, I am a homemaker”. No qualifiers, no need to prove ourselves and no feelings of guilt. Instead, one needs to respond with a silent smile and see the great joy of accomplishment shrouded in that word, “homemaker”!

Actually, her embarrassment is not being called a homemaker. Rather in being told that she is “fated” to be a homemaker. The role of a mother in shaping the life of man cannot be omitted. No way. But, a woman needs to have the choice to play a bigger role in the society. The choices are not only made for a man. And its not so that a man only has the right to lead his life his own way. I too have a number of friends who say, “I don’t want my wife to work, so she doesn’t work.” That’s fine! But, the question is if a guy has the right to take his own decision then why can’t a girl? Do the guys only know how, when and what decisions are to be taken?

Women are well known for multitasking, then why can’t they take decisions? Why should a woman totally depend on somebody? Please don’t say that a woman doesn’t know better or doesn’t have the capability. I simply can’t accept it! I believe, no one is either fully dependent, or fully independent. We are rather interdependent. So how can a man expect that woman should fully depend on him? If a woman can run a country just as well as she can run a home, what sense does it make to deny her right of choice?

People use to say, “It’s so easy. Just make the right choice! It’s not a tough job!” Well, let me say that right now, it is a tough job for women. It is very tough to make the right choices even when everything seems to be going perfectly fine because our society has yet to give the right to choose to everybody. People don’t only need to upgrade their current systems but they do need to upgrade their mindset too!

We need a society where women are given the right to choose, in the first place. I don’t say that just given the right to choose, we will have a civilized society. The right to choose may be misued too, as we see with the lifestyle of women caught up in the trends of consumerism, vanity and page-3 culture. This is certainly not desirable. And the same holds true for a man. But denied the right to choose will not let a good society to emerge either.

Men and women can work together in all dimensions of life, and help each other to make this earth a better place to live in.

Men may feel worried at this today, but in the long run they will feel proud of us!

“AINAA” got conceptualized for the first time in 2006 and finally it got registered this year.

What is AINAA?

AINAA- All India Navodaya Alumni Association, is a platform to encourage efforts aimed at “giving back” to society, navodaya and humanity by the members of Navodaya family. We promote all such endeavours which strengthen the family bond, knotted by the AINAA members bringing the alumni, teachers and students under one umbrella.

Every individual has some idea to do good for the society. Listening to them and if found useful, helping individuals to enterprise is one of our aims. AINAA promotes yoga, creativity, value education, use of teaching aids in education, conducting workshops to train teachers and support students etc. To provide access to resources, we follow the concept of globalized teaching whose major task includes connecting all the students to all the teachers and alumni of navodaya so that talented teachers and alumni can help all needy students, the website navodaya.net being helpful in the process. AINAA gives the platform to the students where they can look for solutions to their problems and seek career guidance or roadmaps for their future planning.

There are so many persons who have recently worked for the association with strength and wisdom. Suffice it to say that the growth of our association has been the work of many loving, caring navodaya alumni. We have grown from a small group representing a true national level association with a wonderful representation from all the regions of our country and abroad. When I think of the growth of the association, I am really impressed. Of course this has all become true because of the devoted and long-lasting efforts of many alumni who gave their precious time to thrive and fulfil its early mission.

It would not be feasible and appropriate place to name those wonderful people who have helped and are still helping AINAA grow what it is today, but I would like to mention one name here. Shri Rama Rao was the Joint Director of academics (NVS, Delhi) at that time when we presented our idea- “give back to Navodaya” back in 2003. After listening to the proposal, he just said “I was waiting for you people only…Welcome back!!!” and this was the beginning of our role in navodaya vidyalayas. One very eye-opening statement was given by him in our Kanpur meeting – “I don’t feel proud of the number of IITians and IAS we produce, I am proud of those only who can live for others!”

Serving others is “our Culture”, serving others is in “our Nerves” and living for others is “our Mission!”

On behalf of AINAA, I would like to express gratitude to all those who guided and nurtured us, directly or indirectly, during this gestation period and with whom we plan to take our society into a new future.

Hami Navodaya hon…!!!

It was quite windy when I was walking down the street in my colony today. Lined up with Gulmohar trees on both sides, the street was soothing to my eyes and soul. Painted in red with flowers, it seemed to be all prepared to welcome my Palaash!

Sometimes you have a fear in your heart which inhibits expression in words of the feelings you have for someone, a fear that expressing your feelings openly may wear it out. I kept looking on the red flowers lying on the street, and wondering if the fear could be reasoned out.

I reached home, remembering the moments I spent with you. Those moments keep flashing in my eyes as if they have become an innate part of my being. I want to live forever all those moments that bound us together in just a few days…

…Spending my evenings with you after my office hours, going for dinner and a long walk, and the pain which I had when I left you at the railway station with tearful eyes. It was really so hard to let you go. It made me feel all-alone. Getting down from the auto, I just closed the door and all the windows of my house, lied down on the bed and cried a lot. It was so tough to eat, to sleep, and I was thinking only about you continuously.

I paused! I knew we have to walk a long way…I wiped my tears. I never knew and I still don’t know how to say, how much I love you, and all I know is our love will grow, on and on till the end of time…

Wait…there is a ring at the doorbell, probably somebody is knocking at the door.

Excuse me please…..!

Book Information:

Name: An Insight Into Navodaya
Number of pages: 128
Language: English
Writer: Navjeet Singh Sandhu

The book describes the life of the students, teachers and all other concerned with one of the biggest and most successful schooling system of India. It’s not a story of an individual but an image of the system itself. It tells how the students are groomed in the institute, the obstacles they face, the struggle they do and the voices they raise. Book enables the reader to visualize the scenario of the schools pointing out the reasons of failure and success of the system. It’s the very first book of its kind giving out firsthand experience of growing and learning in the prestigious institutes.

For more information, please contact Navjeet. His mail id navissandhu@gmail.com

Regards.

चेहरे पर शिकन तक ना देख पाओगे,
हल्की फुहारों में जब भींगती चली आऊंगी!

तेरे बज़्म में है ज़न्नत, तुम ये समझ पाओगे,
सबसे नज़र बचाके जब भागती चली आऊंगी!

सुलझे रिश्तों के धागे को, यूँ ना उलझा पाओगे,
असलियत बयाँ करने जब हर बार चली आऊँगी!

बहते आँसू में दबी दर्द को, तुम ना पहचान पाओगे,
पिघलती बर्फ की चादर जब ओढ़ती चली आऊँगी!

चाँद की चाँदनी में बैठ, मुझे ना आज़मा पाओगे,
गुमसुम बैठा चाँद के साथ जब चुपके से चली आऊँगी!

I have been requested from some of my dearest nearest friends to start some shero – shayari on blog. Keeping their words in mind, I am putting this post here, and all are invited to post your shers and shayaries from dil se as well as thoda dimag se.

Shayri is a unique poetic language to express yourself. And jo sabse jyada or sabse achhe shayaries yahan shabdon ka safar mein dalenge, unhe ham surprise gift denge. Now, feel free to share your shayaries or poems here and let’s have fun and bring out the emotions in this महफ़िल-ए-मुशायरा…!

Notes : Rules ye hai ki her ek ko apne se pahle wale sher ka jawab dena hai!

Here I am starting and here it goes…अर्ज़ है -

जज्बातों की महफ़िल है
रखना कदम संभाल के,
शब्द भी सफ़र पर हैं
देखना, बिखर ना जाए
कहीं आँसू मोती बनके…

Let’s keep the ball rolling…where should we go next?

It is a story of a struggler which will inspire any common person. Many people fail because they just give up. He faced many problems since his very childhood time, but this ‘navodayan’ never gave up. ‘Kamlesh’ belongs to a small village in eastern UP, India. He has become a role model for thousands of navodaya children as well as for his village children.

For his mother, it was her faith in the power of life that got her through some of her darkest moments. I would give most of the credit of his success to his mother who by her courage, shear hard work and perspiration made her son to climb the ladders of success. This proves the age old truth that mother’s sacrifice never goes in vain. ‘Mother’ means the whole world to me.

I would like to share a video with my readers- “Kamlesh Shares his journey of 25 years”.

I am quoting his few words for the readers who dare to fight with struggle to achieve their goal, no matter how difficulties they are going to face!

* कमल को खिलने के लिए सुंदर तालाब की ज़रूरत नही होती है, कमल कीचड़ में खिलता है!

* हर इंसान के जीवन मे समस्याएँ आती है लेकिन उनको फेस करने के लिए जिन संसाधनों और लोगों की ज़रूरत पड़ती है, सब मिलते हैं, बशर्ते आप अपने आपको उसके लिए पात्र बनाए!

* Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached. (Swaami Vivekanand once said)

After listening about his struggle I am inspired. I love to read such success stories and such extraordinary circumstances which give a boost to my strength. And at last I would say “do not lose hope, do not lose faith, beacuse at the end of the tunnel it’s burning bright!”

Until recently, I used to feel very inspired when I saw the growing literacy curve in India or when somebody working for literacy campaigns reported success in terms of such benchmarks. But slowly I have come to realise that literacy is not enough (or is it even necessary to this extent?); the need of human being is education, not just literacy, and literacy is not education.

One can be literate but not educated or one can be educated though not literate!

I feel literacy is a small tool in helping one getting educated. Literacy is just a tool to read, write, count and calculate, but it doesn’t directly address the need of the human being. The basic need of human being is to understand oneself and his/her relation to every other entity in the existence which differentiates him or her from an animal. If literacy helps him/her to understand and express his/her understanding, then it is a virtue otherwise if it only helps fill on’s stomach then it is needless as animals can also fill their stomach without being literate, and if it helps exploiting others be it human or the rest of nature, then it is a vice. We can see that today we literate people are more responsible for the damage of this planet than the illiterate, so today it has become a vice for us.

I guess most of the people are lietrate but not educated. One can live a hi-fi life but that doesn’t mean that the person is educated because life is all about “how we can live happily with secure mind”. Needless to say, the way literate people are behaving with each other living in so called educated society, should not be considered as educated! People are able to get as best as degrees but these degree don’t prove that they are educated. So I suggest we should now start working for education in true sense of the world, and not just limit us to literacy. Again, this doesn’t imply that one should abandon programs of literacy but rather complement it with human consciousness to make the earth a better place to live in.

I think we should have a good discussion on the topic “what is Education?”…and “what is the difference between education and literacy?” Are we educated?…or just literate! I would like to know the views or opinion on it from my dear readers and commentators. Your comments are most welcome here.