Friday, 1 December 2023

Our Family at Film & Music Appreciation Club Has Expanded! - Saikiran Sahu

Hold onto your hats because we've got big news!

We are thrilled to share some incredible news with you all! We are excited to announce that Ms. Vininder Kaur, the joint managing director at Lost Heritage Production, has joined our team as a mentor. This new addition is a significant milestone in our journey and could be our single most game-changing move in setting up the club! We would be privileged to have her join us and serve as our guiding beacon. Ms Kaur's expertise and support will be valuable to our team. Let's give her the warmest welcome!

Vininder Kaur was educated at the Convent of Jesus and Mary (Dehradun, India). She pursued a fashion design degree and taught at ONGC College of Vocational Studies. She also worked as a fashion designer in an international buying house in India. She is the editor of two books, ‘Lost Heritage, The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan' and ‘The Quest Continues: Lost Heritage, The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan’. In addition to being the Joint Managing Director, Scriptwriter and Music Coordinator for the docuseries “Allegory, A Tapestry of Guru Nanak’s Travels”, she travelled with the film crew, providing valuable guidance in the filming process across nine countries. 
This docuseries is available on TheGuruNanak.com.


Saikiran Sahu

Club Secretary -Film & Music Appreciation Club

Image Courtesy- Lost Heritage Production

The link to learn more about the Lost Heritage Production - https://lostheritage.info/about/


TRAILER: Bliss of universality is experienced when unity in diversity is embraced.‘Oneness in Diversity: Elixir of Guru Nanak & the Indic Saints’ documentary presents concordance of Guru Nanak & Indic Saints whose verses are enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib. Releasing soon.

Thursday, 30 November 2023

Our most powerful weapon: BOOKS - Nishan Karki

Why is education important?

"It wasn't until I started reading and found books they wouldn't let us read in school that I discovered you could be insane and happy and have a good life without being like everybody else." John Waters

Our most potent weapon is books and, more precisely, education. The book is vital in people's lives, including teachers, students, businessmen, workers, and all the others. It serves as a medium for acquiring knowledge and gathering information.

Like me, there are numerous students all around the world who use books. The use of the Internet for gaining knowledge and information has increased, yet books have retained their trend and popularity among the masses.

"If you do not have any friends, make books your friends." In fact, you can make books with your best friends.

Why is education important?

Education must be taken by every person. It is vital for the holistic development of every human being and for improving people's quality of life. An educated person can become a good citizen of society. It's also necessary to decide your career.

The rapid rise in population and pollution is because people are uneducated.

Let's take the example of India. India has been facing the problems of pollution and population growth since it attained independence. Many people in India still need to be educated. People may be literate, i.e., able to read and write, but need to be educated.

Educated people can bring the most effective change to society. Although the problem of population growth might not be wholly diminished, it can be reduced to a great extent. So education is vital for the development of every country in the world.

Nishan Karki
Pestalozzi Children's Village Society 

My Experiments with Self-Awareness - Anvesha Rana

From daily news to new trends, the weather forecast to the match score, we know so many things just because they are happening around us; we love to be up to date. However, amidst gathering this information, we get so distracted that we must remember to collect ourselves or ask ourselves what is happening within us? 

Self-awareness is to know, share, ask, or be aware of oneself. Strangely, the person we have been since time immemorial is also the person we know the least about; most of the time, other people know more about us than we do about ourselves! Yes, and as an exercise, ask your friends about what you like; I am sure they will get it right. 

So, self-awareness is vital as you need to know who you are and be clear about what you like or dislike. Self-awareness is a gradual process, though it is believed to be an innate ability that vanishes growing up. Thus, we need to constantly experiment to regain ours. 

Whenever we get lost in a discussion, we should ask ourselves, is this really important? Would I like to be a part of this? Moreover, we must decide about numerous things daily and sometimes need help with choices. Consequently, we should learn to recognise and observe our choices and decipher the pattern. This code or pattern is our approach to problem-solving that sums up the kind of person we are. 

To be more self-aware, we should spend time alone with our thoughts in our head; it’s good to head out, but sometimes, to seek answers to deep questions, it’s okay to run in. Being the observer of our lives also means observing or influencing our thoughts. Being the observer is being in the position of power, i.e. we are not guided by the current flow in the ocean, but we decide where the current shall flow. It may be difficult initially, but once we start to love our own company, that is the self-awareness threshold.
Anvesha Rana
Grade 11
Gyanshree School

Monday, 27 November 2023

Being always grateful is what Gratitude means - Tenzin Jambey



Gautam Buddha was born into a royal family, but unlike other princes, he didn't like being a prince or wanting to become a king or rule a kingdom. He was greatly affected and unfortunate after finding out that human life is a misery; therefore, he attained "Nirvana" after meditating for years to free himself from the world of sorrow and sadness. Sometimes, religious texts and stories make me wonder whether they occurred in reality.

The flying chariot of Ravana, the superpower monkey God like Hanumanji, etc., are all myths that few people in the world don't believe, and some people like me are in a dilemma. Some people believe that praying to God and offering sacrifices brings peace into one's life, but we must understand that we bring happiness and sadness to ourselves.

Now, the question arises: What does gratitude do with all this?

Gratitude is an art that can bring about a significant change in our lives. When gratitude becomes part of our lives, we stop blaming gods for our sadness and sorrow. First, we must understand that it is a natural process that, after giving birth, everyone has to die. A flower that is blooming today won't stay blooming forever. At the same time, we have to learn to accept sadness, sorrow, failure, hate, death, and misery. Because of all such emotions, we know what happiness, joy, birth, and pleasure feel like.

"Every action has an opposite reaction and an equal reaction." Newton's law is implied in everything around us, even our emotions. Now that we know that sadness and sorrow will come into our lives, why mourn for a long time? Why do you have to cry and shed tears for the sad moment that happened years ago when you didn't laugh at the joke from last year?

People are like a maze, and it's our nature to look for sadness until we change it ourselves. To overcome this, "gratitude" serves as a hearing medicine. We should always accept that whatever happens, it happens for the best. Always be grateful for everything that happens around you. Even if you fail or someone takes away your privilege, be happy and grateful, as there is always a learning part and learning and lessons are far better than winning. "Be grateful for your house," "Be grateful for the food you eat," and "Be grateful for your body organs," as there are some who don't have a home, have body parts, or get one meal a day. A boy was sitting on the bench, and he was barefoot. We wished for a show and became sad, but his desire for a shoe vanished when he saw another guy with no legs. This is how gratitude works.
 
Having gratitude will protect you from being affected by others; feelings of jealousy and hate will never arise if you follow the art of gratitude in your daily life. "BEING ALWAYS GRATEFUL IS WHAT GRATITUDE MEANS."

TENZIN JAMBEY
Pestalozzi Children's Village Society

Major set backs serve as a catalyst - Shambhavi Nautiyal


My opinion implicitly agrees with the title 'major setbacks serve as a catalyst for success'. I come across many such stories embodying the essence of the title every week, thanks to my mom, which are usually about some IAS officers from a grassroots-level background. As vexed as I have grown from reading the headlines of those stories, I set out today on a journey to finding my own inspiration in this concept. 

The first thing that comes to mind (as I can relate the most to it) is my spiritual journey and study patterns. Each day, we are growing and evolving. And learning new things, but what if all you had were hand-me-down textbooks from your elder brother or a library near your house? Then what would you do? Would you lose all hope and lie hopelessly, thinking you will take over your family's profession, or would you employ what you had best instead? People could only choose the second if they were self-motivated due to having a vision or a transitional figure who inspired them to rise above all the odds and fight for what was right. 

When two people are standing in prison, one sees the stars, and the other considers the bars. As humans, those of us who have a Sattvic nature tend to reach for the stars innately, even if maybe in the external, there seems no prospect. But even those who don't have that kind of mindset can still learn to mend their mindset. However, what happens on the inside is what manifests on the outside, which is the reason. Having a vision is so consequential. Not caring about other people's disproof or approval while trying to find our way through that one thing we want to achieve. 

That is the most brilliant thing about human dispositions. It may seem too fanciful at the start or in the middle of the journey, but we must learn how to dream. We must have faith, or we'll all just perish, and it won't mean a thing. Let the people around you head into the darkness, but you must Reach for the stars; you need to try, or else it will all be wasted.

Don't let the people around you DEFINE YOUR MINDSET; DON'T GIVE UP ON YOURSELF.

Imagine your own success story in that place you want to be and keep striving to get there because, in the process, I know you will find your own position. Get in your high vibrational state and decide your future and your vision. The moment you do that, the universe sets the path for you. All you have to do is walk on it. Now that you have backtracked, it makes it all worth it for you to achieve. Have hope and faith that you can make a difference; you do it daily without knowing it. You are worth so much; don't let anything convince you otherwise. I love you, and if you don't, I'll be upset and won't talk to you, so better be careful. Ciao!

Shambhavi Nautiyal
Intern at My Good School

Sunday, 26 November 2023

Reflection of the week - 26th November 2023


Live Life In Crescendo
1. Major setbacks can often serve as the catalyst.
2. Our most potent weapon: Books. Why is education important?
3. My experiments with self-awareness 
4. "You see things, and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were, and I say 'Why not?'"
5. Was Malala merely a leader or much more?

From Tata Stories
1. Search up and learn more about the RTI Act ( Right To Information Act)
2. What are relief funds, and how were they used? What were the various relief funds we have?
3. Were there any similarities between Malala Yousafzai and JRD Tata?
4. There is no doubt that vision and purpose, once well defined, constitute the most important North Star in the life of any individual. 
~a helping point~
Your vision statement will include what you're hoping to achieve. Your purpose statement will include your motivations for this. Your mission statement will include your actions to get there.

These are some suggestions you can choose from. I am looking forward to seeing your wonderful and thoughtful reflections!

You can email your reflections to Manisha Ma'am at - SS@learningforward.org.in.

Rishona Chopra
School Captain My Good School?

Saturday, 25 November 2023

Gratitude - Tulsi Karki

We all know that being thankful and being ready to show appreciation and return kindness is known as gratitude. Gratitude is when we feel grateful for the good things in our lives. This could be stuff people often take for granted, like having a place to live, clothes to wear, food to eat, clean water to drink, and friends and family.

Having gratitude can bring change to us. If we express our gratitude towards something, we feel positive. It can broaden our outlook, boost our minds, and help us face negative thoughts and challenges. People who purposely acknowledge and express gratitude feel more positive; their emotions are better able to relish good experiences and build stronger relationships.

Tulsi Karki
Pestallozi Children's Village Society