REPUBLIC DAY 2013 CELEBRATED WITH SOBRIETY

The sun was resplendent in all its glorious warmth yet a cold shiver went through each one of us as we gathered in the courtyard to pay homage to our Nation on 26th January 2013 – yet another Republic Day. However celebratory it might be but the gloom hung low over each one of us, owing to shameful events of last month.
The events began with Dr. Urvashi Sahni hoisting the National Tricolour after which the congregation sang the National Anthem with great fervour, as the entire fraternity paid tribute to the Nation.
The Principal, Mrs. Shalini Sinha congratulated the Study Hall community with conscious restraint and her speech was relevance personified. Her appeal to all was focused on nurturing and ensuring the safety of the daughters of India and caring for the aged.This was followed by the Vice-Head Girl Saumya Tandon’s address where she elicited the true meaning of a ‘republic’ and touched sensitive chords in every heart. After her, the students of Class VII recited the poem ‘Brainstorming’ which was an exemplary exercise in correct intonation and enunciation. Indeed, the diction was superb! The students of Classes VI and VII melodiously experimented with the song ‘One Love’ which everyone enjoyed a lot.
The much awaited ‘Inter-House Hindi Debate’ began with tremendous fervour. The speakers spoke with conviction and courage. The motion, ‘Abhivyakti ki swatantrata par niyantran avashyak hai’ was very apt and contemporary. Kudos to its selectors! The speakers exhibited logic, restraint, humour, sobriety – they had it all and were indeed very convincing and impressive. Manoram Agarwal of Fire-Flame House was adjudged the winner for the proposition while Sansriti Sen of Jacaranda House was declared the best speaker from the opposition bench. The Winning House was Jacaranda and the Runner-Up was Cypress House. The rebuttal rounds were the best as the participants were extremely refreshing and reassuring in whatever they said. They seemed impressively decisive and probably swayed decions in favour of the speakers.

After the Debate, Dr Sahni addressed the congregation and in accordance with the topic of the debate stated the dilemma that we all contend with – freedom of expression precariously and pleasantly balanced with restraints and censorship. She went on to say that freedom of expression must be there but it must not cross into or be offensive to the fundamental rights of another. She concluded by saying that if we are to remain a vibrant democracy then we must be open to debate as well as well supported by serious implementable laws. Dr Sahni not only declared the debate results but also the much awaited results of the Student Cabinet elections. Dharam Pravartak as Head Boy, Arman Kuckreja as Vice Head Boy, Rohina Dass as Head Girl and Aiman Jafri as Vice Head Girl stand elected for 2013-14. The outgoing cabinet congratulated the newly elected student representatives and unanimously cautioned them that they must not let the badge control them. Instead, they must lead the school forward to conquer new realms.
Next on stage were three Prerna Girls who stole the show with their thought provoking and extremely sensitive expressions in verse. They left us wondering, ‘why we write in the lives of our daughters a long dark endless night’.
Summing up the morning’s proceedings was the emotionally wrought and extremely forthright address of Parth Shukla, the Vice Head Boy and the congregational song ‘Mera mulk, mera desh mera yeh watan’ full of patriotic flavour.
Sweets and muffins for all were the ultimate on the list before the children went home to spend the rest of the day with their family.

Article written by Anusha Sharma

THE SANCHI STUPA

Our trip to the Sanchi Stupa was a memorable trip and will always remain so. It felt wonderful going round the place, knowing about it and experiencing its beauty. We went there by a bus (M.P. Tourism). After passing the security gate, our eyes met the sight which we all had eagerly awaited for- The SanchiStupa. It appeared to be really beautiful. Our guide was very friendly as he told us about the place in a descriptive manner and patiently clarified each of our doubts. Sanchi Stupa has four gates in all four directions. The hate on the west direction is the main entrance but we entered through the Northern gate.

The guide told us that a Stupa is a dome made to keep the remnants of a person (asthiyaan). The remnants of Gautum Buddha are kept in the Sanchi Stupa. The materials used for building the Stupa are a mixture ofurad dal, moong dal, masoor, methi(fenugreek) juice, a tree’s bark, gud(jaggery) and the fruit bel’s gum. It is said that after Gautum Buddha died in Kushinagar, his ashes were divided into eight parts and kept in eight domes. King Ashoka, after the Kalinga war, opened seven of the domes and made eighty four thousand domes made of lord Buddha’s ashes and the first Stupa was made in Sanchi. Vidisha, a place 9 km away fromSanchi, is named after Ashoka’s second wife, Vidisha. In 2nd BC, a ruler of Songo Dynasty covered theStupa to prevent its damage due to rainwater. Greek architecture can be found in the Stupa as it has Greek columns. Carvings on one of the gates of the Stupa showed monkeys collecting and presenting honey to Buddha so that he may remain healthy.

The guide briefed us about the early childhood stage of Gautum Buddha. Mahamaya, Buddha’s mother, dreamt that a white elephant entered her stomach which took birth. As the birth of Siddhartha (as Buddha was earlier called), a priest predicted that he might either become a great ruler or a saint. In the fear that he may become a saint, he was never allowed to go out of the palace. He was married at the age of nineteen and had a son named Rahula. At the age of thirty, he was allowed to stroll outside the palace for the first time. He saw four incidents on the way-a dead man’s funeral, a weak man starving for food, an old man and a saint. These incidents highly affected him and he decided to go the forest for meditation. His horse, Kanta, on which he set out to leave, was carried by his followers so its footsteps would not be heard. He reached the forest, performed meditations, and preached people about good things.
The Sanchi Stupa was discovered by Mark Taylor. John Marshall repaired the southern and eastern gates of the Stupa.

Article by Aditi Gupta of class 7-C Study Hall School

Study Hall Convocation 2011-2012

Photography by : Jyotika Misra

The Annual Fete 2012

The Annual Fete 2012 was held on Saturday 15th December. The air was festive and all around one could see tastefully decorated stalls beautifully adorned with streamers, balloons, charts bearing catchy slogans and smiling faces galore.

A visitor had no chance to ignore even one of these outlets. Be it the mouth watering mutton biryani or the delicious ‘batashas’, name it and it was there. Lo and behold, there were ‘momos’ too.

There were also stalls where one could buy pretty utility items. Fancy planners, artistic paper bags, along with several exquisitely designed propositions enthralled the buyers.

At the games stalls, without hesitation, the enthusiasts were seen doling out coupons of low and high denominations, keenly expecting ‘wins’ of all sorts. Stall holders had very craftily advertised ‘assured prizes’ and towards the end even preferred discounts.

Almost all visitors were seen sporting tattoos of various shapes and sizes on their faces, back and forearms. It is presumed that the profits of this stall must have sky rocketed.

Not to be missed at any cost, the Juke Box and the DJ Zone were the hottest arenas where music and dance were at its best. As Shakespeare rightly stated, ‘If music be the food of love, play on,’ so did staff and students along with guests enjoyed every miniscule moment of it.

It was amazing to witness the ‘eager beavers’ who from the time this fete was inaugurated by Mrs. Shalini Sinha, Principal Study Hall, till the bewitching hour of 4.00 pm loved every moment of it. It was quite funny to see organizers trying to call for a ‘bandh’ at 4 o’ clock because many players were ‘at it’ and very reluctantly withdrew from these ‘gaming zones’ or ‘music zones’. How audible were the sighs and regrets!

Profits ( monetary ) are still to be calculated but the greatest profit we felt we made was add another magnificent treasure in the form of ‘ happy and enriching moments’ to our wonderful school days to be relived in future.

Microlympics 2012 Sporting Extravaganza

Microlympics, 2012 – 2013 (The Sports Day of Study Hall) was celebrated at the Home Guard Head Quarter Complex ground at Jail Road. Children put up a wonderful and colourful show. Mr. V.S. Chauhan was the Chief Guest for the occasion. He is the ex Principal of Sports College at Lucknow. Known as the Iron man of Asia, he is the Asian gold medalist in Decathalon.

The Lemon Tree (by Std 7), and the Russian dance ( by Std 6) were performed with precision which enthralled the audience. Students of Std. 8 displayed their skills in Yoga and Taekwondo. The track events brought out the sportsman spirit amongst the young athletes.

The highlight of the evening was Fire Flame House lifting the trophy for the Best House followed by Cypress House. Jacaranda House stood third and Silver Oak House fourth. In March Past, Cypress House was adjudged the best House. Jacaranda House won a trophy for being the best house in swimming.

The Mothers’ and Fathers’ race saw enthusiastic participants on the field.  The chief guest appreciated the efforts of the children. The logo for the sports day was designed by Rohina Dass of class XI D and Sakshi Raj of class XII D. The symbols signify the fire burning inside every sports person and the phoenix the spirit of relentless efforts before succeeding.

The Best Athlete award went to the following students :

Group A Girl Praneeta Pandey Class XI D Cypress
Boy Kumar Harsh Class XII D Fire Flame
Group B Girl Manya Gupta class IX B Silver Oak
Boy Shahzar Afzal class IX D Fire Flame
Group C Girl Mariyam Asakina  class VII A Silver Oak
Boy Abhinav Singh Class VII B Fire Flame
 photography by : Ekisha Narain

 

Dandiya Night 2012 Celebration

As nine days of non-stop fun, dance and festivities is around the corner, the young brigade of Study Hall celebrated Dandiya on 20th November, 2012 with the help of perfect traditional attires, the dolled-up look and dancing skills, preparations for which had started almost a month ago. The dandiya night saw a riot of colours and an eclectic mix of music which will make its  revellers remember the joyous celebrations for years to come.

The event was graced by the presence of Mrs Rehana Ali who has been closely associated with the school  as its former Vice principal and is the founder and Principal of Fairies and Elves school, Mrs Shalini Sinha Principal Study hall, Mrs Meenakshi Bahadur Vice principal Study Hall, Mrs Shalini Chandra Head Mistress Junior school, Mrs Shashi Mehta Principal Prep school ,Mrs  Surabhi Kapoor Head of the department Dosti , Mrs Rakhi Punjwani Principal Prerna school, Mrs Pratima Srivastava Principal Vidyasthali school and Mrs Veena Anand Head Didis food.

Traditional dandia music along with some peppy bollywood dandia numbers to kept the visitors  glued to the floor all through the evening.

The four houses of the school Cypress, Fireflame, Jacaranda and Silveroak participated in an Inter house Dandiya competition. The sight of light-footed young boys and girls swirling in graceful rythmic patterns  delicately balancing themselves evoked awe and admiration in all those who were present.

Silveroak house stood first while Jacaranda and Fireflame house bagged the second and third position respectively.

Various prizes for best attire, best dance, etc were given out.

 

photography by : Ekisha Narain

DANDIYA 2012 Curtain Raiser

The annual recharge
of the
festive season is
back
with Inter House Dandiya
competition on
20th December 2012
from 6 pm to 10 pm
go steal the best deals (Mall Hopping)
and join In
with vigour and verve
and dance and dine
on
The Grounds of Study Hall

Teachers Day Celebration


Fifth September witnessed a grand celebration of teachers’ day at Study Hall School. The day began with merry greetings to the teachers by the students. The student council members surprised everyone when they came dressed as teachers and played the roles of the teachers they were dressed as. This act was received with laughter by the teachers in comic and cheerful spirit. The programme began when ‘Santa’ and ‘Banta’ taking the stage to host teachers day on part of students. Their hilarious acts entertained and regaled everybody. The first performance was a beautifully sung duet by the Dosti students. This was followed by a humorous play by the young artists of class six

.’Agyaan ke Registaan’ was sung and composed by students from class ninth to eleventh. The lyrics, written specially for teachers stole their hearts. Two consecutive dance performances enthralled the teachers and children alike. The programme concluded by a melodious song sung by the student council. The well choreographed show was much enjoyed by the teachers. The teachers were felicitated with flowers and greetings throughout the day. After the program the teachers enjoyed an afternoon of fun when faculty of all the units of Study Hall bonded over lunch.

Aiman Jafri, Class XI-D

The celebration of rain with mothers

The first meeting of mothers was full of colors and music. Everyone was dressed up in shades of blue and green. Forthcoming events were part of the discussion. Mothers put their heads together and came up with ideas to help the school.After the discussion, it was fun time – Rain song, antakshari, an observation game and ramp walk followed. A delicious brunch from Didi’s was the fitting finale to the lively get-together.

Hindi and English Elocution

Hindi and English elocution competitions

In true spirit of Study Hall, all the children participated in the competitions. Instead of solo, we had group elocution where each section competed with other three. Children from ‘Dosti’ also recited poems.

Results

Hindi
Class II – D(1st) A(2nd) B&C (commendation)
Class III – B(1st) A(2nd) C&D(commendation)
Class IV – BA(1st) C (2nd) C (commendation)
Class V – A(1st)B(2nd) C&D(commendation)

English
Class II – A(1st) C(2nd) B&D(commendation)
Class III – D (1st) A(2nd) B&C (commendation)
Class IV – A&C(1st) B&D (2nd)
Class V – A(1st) D(2nd) B&C(commendation)