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SCHOOL
WATCH
JAL UTSAV SPECIAL
There was a talk by Nasa Astronauts
on the contribution of Kalpana Chawla
followed by a Q&A session.
Class 9 and 12 had the opportunity to watch 2 films on
Basant presented by Yousuf Saeed.
There was a poster making session on Practical Ideas of Saving Water
for class VI.
Brig. Trigunesh Mukherjee gave a Multimedia Presentation on India to class IX
Pradeep Saha Managing Editor ‘Down to Earth’
gave a talk to class 12 on
‘How the media reports water related events.’
Class VIII had to do a creative writing in Various
Languages on Water.
Class 12 students saw a film and attended a talk by
Sanjay Kak.
We look forward to seeing all the students at the
Jal Utsav Play this Saturday.
Class VIII visited The Agrasen Baoli.
Prof. Norman Myers (has worked with the world bank. on Sustainable Development) gave a talk during class activity.
Class 9 was shown a film The Longest Day,
based on World War II.
Class 9 visited the National History Museum.
Class 7 visited Mausam Bhavan.
The Woodstock Jazz Band will be performing in school this Sunday at 10:30 am. Make sure you don’t miss this exquisite jazz session. So be there!
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BASANT- A CELEBRATION OF LIFE...
On the 17th of March, two films by Mr. Yousuf Saeed were shown to the class 10's and 12's, depicting the celebration of Basant by the Sufis and qawwals at the dargah of Nizamuddin. The film traces the history behind the Sufi Basant and why it is an important metaphor of the Hindu- Muslim syncretic culture. The film had been screened at the Mumbai Film Festival, a symposium at Harvard University and was also telecast on Doordarshan. The beautiful Persian couplets recited in praise of the advent of spring were filled with passion and simplicity which lent an almost ethereal tone to the film.
The second was a colourful film about the popular culture associated with the Basant celebration at Lahore, Pakistan, focusing on the kite flying events. The film traced the history of kite flying from the Mughal period to modern times. The celebration of Basant in Lahore can be compared to the celebration of Diwali in India as the number of kites and the scale in which the festival is celebrated is beyond the imagination.
Though Basant is supposed to be a Hindu festival, it is celebrated more enthusiastically by the Muslims. Basant is afestival that has no religious connotations. It is associated with the harvest season and the beginning of spring.
According to Mr. Saeed, "Today, people are trying to be puritanical. Hindus want to be pure Hindus and Muslims want to be pure Muslims. This film shows that there has to be a give and take between the two countries and religions. Each should inculcate the ideas of the other and still retain their own identity. When people watch these films, I want them to be aware of this and also feel that Lahore could easily be mistaken for Delhi as this festival is not related to religion in any way and is a celebration of life.”
To know more about Basant or Mr. Yousuf Saeed, you can log on to www.alif-india.com
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