Taxila - Chitranshi Singh

Taxila (also called Takshashila or Takshasila) is an ancient city near Islamabad in present-day Pakistan. It holds significant historical and cultural importance:

Educational Center: Taxila was a renowned learning centre in ancient times, attracting students and scholars from various parts of the world, particularly during India's Maurya and Gupta periods (around the 6th century BCE to the 5th century CE).

Buddhist Center: It was an important Buddhist centre and played a pivotal role in spreading Buddhism across Asia. Many stupas, monasteries, and relics have been excavated from the site.

Crossroads of Civilizations: Taxila was strategically located on the trade routes that connected Central Asia with the Indian subcontinent. This geographical position facilitated cultural exchanges between different civilizations, including Persian, Greek, Central Asian, and Indian.

Archaeological Significance: The archaeological remains at Taxila provide valuable insights into the urban development, art, architecture, and daily life of ancient Indian civilization.

Chitranshi Singh

Sunbeam English School, Bhagwanpur

The Growth Of Social Networking - Etash Deb

Image courtesy https://chrisnwest.com, used by Etash Deb for representation only. 

 THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA: FROM SOCIALIZING TO MARKETING

Social media has come a long way since its early days as a place to chat with friends and to promote small-scale businesses. Now, it's evolved into a major marketing tool for businesses all around the world.

Back when social media started, sites like MySpace and Friendster were where you'd go to connect with friends and share updates about your life. But then, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter came along and changed everything.

Nowadays, these platforms aren't just for chatting with friends; they're where businesses go to connect with customers. Take Instagram, for instance. It used to be all about sharing cool photos with your followers. But now, businesses use it to showcase their products and connect with potential buyers. Influencers, who have lots of followers, play a big role too. When they endorse a product, it reaches a huge audience.

Twitter is another example. It started as a place to post short messages, but now businesses use it to interact with customers, share news, and even provide customer service.

The key to social media marketing is engagement. Businesses need to create content that people want to like, share, and comment on. That's how they build a following and reach new customers.

But it's not just about posting ads. Businesses also need to engage with their followers. That means responding to comments, answering questions, and being a part of the conversation.

Overall, like all things in life, change is inevitable. Social media has evolved from something insignificant for mankind to a vital development tool. It has evolved from simple networking platforms into powerful marketing tools. It's changed how businesses connect with customers and has been going strong for a while. Thus with the growing development of the world, the ever-growing expansion of social media is also inevitable.

Etash Deb

IX-B

Gyanshree School

Image Reference-

https://chrisnwest.com/social-media-strategically-2023/

Ignorance, Evolution and the Avatar - Anvesha Rana

It is uncanny that we sometimes just need a short story or a mishappening to make us realize our position in this circle of life. We all are human, yet we stand at different steps of the same staircase. Our mindset defines the place we idealize, but there are many positions to choose from: 

Realization of Ignorance is the first stage of development. It is the state where we think we are superior to our fellow beings, but in reality, we are just the same. Ignorance makes us turn a blind eye to the tiny creatures; it fills us with a sense of pride and destroys the humility within us. When the worms discovered the ray of light, they felt that it was meant for them to find and that they were special, but if the worms had been a little wiser, they would have decided to share this finding with the entire the worm population for everyone's wellbeing. Ignorance makes us immature, and after some time, it will cause us to rot. There is no development in ignorance; when we blindfold new learning opportunities and avert our eyes from new people when we disregard new things, that would stop our learning. Ignorance stops us, but observance adds a boost to our life. 

The second stage of development would be Evolution. Evolution is simply letting go of all sad things, destructive grudges, negative emotions and guilty practices; it transforms yourself and then rises above others. Evolution is perhaps the final and supreme stage of development for all humans; it is exploring and experiencing such a level of spiritual consciousness that no pleasure can be more significant. It is simply breaking free of all the chains that hold you back and then unfurling your wings to fly in a free and limitless sky, only to discover the real deception of life. We can live genuinely only when we have evolved, grown, learnt and understood, for Evolution is the true joy. 

The third stage of development would be The Avatar. The Avatar is the truest, pure, divine form one can pursue. It is a reconciliation with the almighty to develop the utmost level of emotional, mental, spiritual and physical being. The Avatar is definitely hard to reach and even more challenging to maintain. The Avatar is not god, but it can be us if we attain the final enlightenment possible. Buddha and Mahavir were ordinary people, but the course of their actions was so holy that they acquired the form of The Avatar. The path is not hard, but it is filled with thorns and pricks until the rose. 

The development that I hope for is Evolution. Some day I do expect that I can be the worm who could spread its wings, cross the horizons and truly realize life.

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School