My Visit to Ahmedabad: A Memorable Experience at the Sort My College Summit

On June 21st, I took a train to Ahmedabad, often referred to as the Manchester of India. I was heading there to attend the Sort My College  (SMC) Summit, one of the leading youth festivals that brings together young minds for discussions and brainstorming. The summit is hosted by my friend Daksh Kala, the founder of Sort My College.

I arrived in the city early in the morning during a refreshing downpour—the raindrops felt like a warm welcome from Ahmedabad itself. After reaching, I went to meet my sister at Gujarat University. She tied a rakhi on my wrist, which I believe would help me perform better at the event. We enjoyed breakfast together before heading to the venue.

The conference featured an exciting lineup of speakers and performers. We heard inspiring talks by RJ Krutarth, Rishabh Jain, Anand Kumar, and Arjun Vaidya. To lighten the mood after all the serious discussions, there was a fun stand-up comedy act by Shlok, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

On the sidelines of the event, I also had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people. We shared ideas, discussed our work, and I spoke about the Good Schools Alliance, trying to spread the word about our mission.

I want to extend my gratitude to Mr. Dutt for this wonderful opportunity. I’m thankful for the chance to learn, connect, and grow through this experience.

- Kunal Rajpurohit, Fellow and Analyst at the Learning Forward India Foundation

Reading is Reflecting - Ila Gautam

READING IS REFLECTING

Reading aids learning, understanding, creating, inventing, and inspiring. The selection of books paves the way for the journey of learning. Like a loyal companion, a book serves your sad as well as happy emotions, consoles your gloom, and redirects your pessimistic ideas. They entertain with silly anecdotes from someone’s life and fancies of the authors. They are the true reflection of one’s choices, as the one who loses heart likes the autobiographies, a curious one tries to peep in the books as an explorer, and the one in search with a better understanding sits among the wisdom of great thinkers and reads different views on the same ideas. The books that mirror the efforts of one govern the achievements of someone else, whereas some books pour out the hearts of those who want others to imitate their ideas. Most importantly, the significance of books lies in the choices made by the readers. It is rightly called reflection because the book one reads reflects his thoughts. They magnify the reader’s ideologies. The rhymes of a poet or themes of any author take space in the thoughts, beliefs, and even words of the readers. Think of a polyglot who excels in languages with books or a student who studies the concepts with his teacher’s directions but expresses them with his reflections. Each edition of a book tells a story of the reader whose reflections defined it again.

WRITER VS READERS

A character of a story remains an immersive experience for its readers. Through the insights of his life, he revives the reflections of the readers. Happiness, sorrow, excitement, or anxiety are the emotions beyond the interest of the reader. Is it what the writer wants its readers to do? Or is it a reader’s choice? Ironically, it’s something that wasn’t and, moreover, can’t be imagined. The writer who fabricates a woof without having experienced it and readers devour it without being one of them. Some of the bitter or best memories gain their vent at a moment in time where the frequency of the reader goes exactly the same as the reader.

What if the reader comes before the writer—the creator of the character? This moment opens another space for them. It’s a beginning to a new journey where the creator rejoices in the praise, appreciation, and liking his character yields, where some new characters come into existence, and where he actually meets his own creation. To a reader, the moment is a completely different place. He who has been struggling with his pain and misery, who has been so excited to find the one with the experiences and ideas akin to him, encounters a reality that’s not true. His acquaintance—the character is merely a fanciful creation. The reader who has already driven out many of his poor thoughts attains a better maturity, turning into a stronger and perfected being.

Ila Gautam

The Century School

A Business With A Purpose - Rishona Chopra

Any business needs a purpose to thrive and grow. To fulfil something missing in people's life. To fulfil a much-needed need. A unique idea that serves the customers to their comfort and, of course, an idea that has a clear image and purpose. They know what they want, how to achieve it and how to grow it. 

One such business is the Tata Group. It has shaped the India we live in today. Their business has been serving India for so many years, and all of them have been a success. 

1969 – Entered the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

1982– The Taj Group accelerated its international expansion.

1983– Tata Salt became the country's first iodized branded salt.

Their businesses were firm in their values and had a clear purpose. 

  ***

There is no one person behind a business. It is a team of hundreds of people. Their strong values of cooperation and humility make a strong and concrete business. 

If the co-founder of a business is jealous of the founder and tries to belittle him, then won't the business be at risk. While working in a team, will a business work out if people don't respect each other's ideas? If people don't appreciate each other's efforts, will they be motivated enough to strive for more? 

Cooperation is when you adjust with someone, whether you like it or not. It is when you help someone not caring about yourself and putting their needs before yours.

While doing business, our core values have to be strong for the business to grow without any inner conflicts between people. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Enjoy the essence of boredom! - Rishona Chopra

Being bored is something which many of us consider something which should not happen. As my mother fondly says- "An empty mind is a naughty one. " 

Being bored is quite good, and utilising that time of boredom well is a talent. 

The first thing that most of us do when we are bored is either pick up the phone or a book. Which is better? None. 

Just doing nothing boosts our creativity for many things. I was just lying on my bed doing absolutely nothing, and this really humourous idea came to my mind for a novel. 

This doesn't mean we should never do anything, but it simply means that we should take a break sometimes just do nothing. 

Therefore, we must take a break and learn to get bored without actually being bored!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School 

My pen's view on nature - Yashraj Sharma

                                                     

A big part of who we are or how we are recognised is the company we stay in, which means the type of people we are surrounded by.  

Mother nature is also filled with examples like this, like this picture I took today at the Pradhan Mantri Sanghralaya. Let me tell you the 2 ideas I came up with when I first saw this picture.

First, I thought that the part of the tree with the concrete wall in its background is the stage in a person's life when they have a fixed, enclosed and rigid mindset. But the part of the tree with the other trees in its background is part of a person's life when they are mixed with people with positive vibes and a "growth" mindset open to new thoughts and suggestions. This thought about the different perspectives of people depicted in this picture came to me from the 'My Guide Inside' session on Friday.

The second utterly different idea I came up with was that when the tree had the concrete wall in its background, it is the stage in a person's life when they sometimes get mixed in "negative" company. But the part of the photo where the tree has other lush green trees in its background. That is the stage when a person slowly progresses to be surrounded by people with positive feelings, thoughts, discussions and ideas.

These precious teachings and skills to live life to the fullest, provided by nature, are everywhere, just sitting in the landscape waiting to be discovered….

Yashraj Sharma

Grade: IX

Gyanshree School, Noida

Nishan Karki on 'Pot of Wit'.

My Pot of Wit

Everyone's mind keeps on thinking about and discovering many new things. Every time there is something curious going on in people's minds.

My mind is also filled with curiosity about doing new and exciting things. My pot of wit means my mind is filled with many new ideas and thoughts. It is interested in reading, playing, writing and doing numerous things. 

Nishan Karki

Courtesy -
Shelja Thakur
Pestalozzi World Local Alumni Coordinator and Senior Student Liaison Officer
https://pestalozziworld.com/about/where-we-work/indian-village/

We are reading The Art Of Focus by Gauranga Das.