F r 0 m U S t O Y O U

We have for you this time, a mixed bag; so many different things have happened in these past few months that we have decided to put in everything that we possibly can from all the adventures that students have had. We have Parths piece on his and Neel Rakholias experience at the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) in Manila, Philippines where they came in 3rd among the many countries represented. This was the first time our school won at such a prestigious event at an international level. We also have Binal Maam telling us about the achievement in an interview by Pranav Sejpal and Kunal Kamania. We have a piece on DAIMUN (Dhirubhai Ambani International Model UN) 2010, where we had an eleven person delegation representing the countries of Mexico and Malaysia. For all of those not in the know, Model UN is a simulation of the United Nations at a high school or college level in which students participate in a dialogue representing various countries and try and come up with solutions to real issues that plague our society today. It encourages one to think internationally and look at things from completely different perspectives. We have from Kunal Kamania, experiences of students who went to the Tribal Academy at Tejgadh which they visited as part of their International Award for Young People scheme. Then, we have the students experience of the Tagore Train that had docked at the Rajkot Junction. It was a unique experience that gave students an insight into the life of the Nobel Laureate and acclaimed poet. We had the Animal Action week when Grade 7 and 8 participated in various discussions and quizzes to raise awareness about animals and their ill-treatment. This year is the first time that the 7th graders face examinations. We hear from Radhika Jagani about the exam experience. Its now 2011 and we usher in the new year. Its going to be a year filled with yet more interesting experiences and adventures. We have a very busy two months coming up; we have the Dzongri expedition, we have the Talking Gandhi event in February, we have Crosstalk happening and we have IB debate at Mahindra United World College in Pune. So we can promise you that the next issue is going to be as busy and packed as this one and we hope you enjoy it. Happy New Year to all! Jay Batavia, IBDP2 (with the Editorial Team)

Photo: Jay Batavia

Display on Junk Food created by the students of Grade 10 as part of their ongoing class work on argumentative writing.

On the verge: news, views and more from the galaxy school
volume 1, issue 3

Staying with problems longer: the WRO Parth Mehta, IBDP1 Getting to Know: Our Robotics teacher, Ms. Binal Kamdar Pranav Sejpal & Kunal Kamania, The Exam Experience Radhika Jagani, 7A Make a DFrance in your life Anuradha Khara, Faculty, French Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore: Celebrating 150 Years Shyamal Vibhakar, IBDP1 MUN: A Learning Experience Sonark Vajir, IBDP2 Nalini Malanis Splitting the Other: A Post-MUN Experience Juhi Palan, IBDP1 Tiger! Tiger! At Amdavad ni Gufa Shivali Kansagra, 9B

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Editorial team: Jay Tekwani (IDBP1), Kunal Kamania (IDBP1), Parth Mehta (AS levels), Jay Batavia (IBDP2) Glogs on Cover: Nishka Raman, Vaidehi Chhotai, Design and tech team: Jay Tekwani (IDBP1), Kunal Kamania (IDBP1), Juhi Palan (IDBP1) Photos: Jay Batavia, Shyamal Vibhakar Guidance and support: Editorial and design: Ms. Gopika Jadeja, Ms. Anuradha Khara, Ms. Luna Banerjee Faculty contributors: Ms. Nina Kapoor, Ms. Sakina Bharmal, Ms. Anuradha Khara On the Verge, the newsletter of The Galaxy School is meant for private circulation only.

Animal Action Week: Focus Tiger Vaidehi Chhotai, 7A Tejgadh: Residential Project Kunal Kamania, IBDP1 One of many heroes Juhi Palan, IBDP1 Teachers we less know: P C Roy Parth Mehta, AS Levels Inter-group competition results

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From the Principals Desk

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Staying with problems longer: THE WRO

It all began in December 2009 when we ventured into robotics for the first time, with the faint goal of trying to represent India at the World Robot Olympiad lying dormant in some corner of our hearts. When we set off with two to three learning sessions a week in the month of December, neither of us could have really calculated our chances of accomplishing what we currently have. Day by day, it went on becoming more and more concrete. What seemed to be a stop gap arrangement turned out to be a one of the most exciting events in our young lives. The trio of Binal Maam, Neel and I produced Indias best result ever at the World Robot Olympiad 2010 in the Philippines, fetching our nation the much awaited medal (BRONZE) in Indian LEGO Robotics history. The competition for Senior High (15-18 years old) category consisted of 45 teams from 22 different nations striving hard to complete the robotic challenge successfully. The challenge Palo Sebo was all about building a functional robot that climbs a 2 feet pole, grabs the ping pong ball on top of the pole, walks to another 1.5 feet pole, climbs it, and grabs the second ping pong ball on top of this pole. It took us around a month and a half of hardwork to develop such a robot. But, as one might guess, that certainly wasnt the end. Not surprisingly, numerous teams from around the world managed to perform the challenge described above with cent percent accuracy like us, and hence, time apart from consistency, was the deciding factor. Reducing the running time of our robot from the previous best 38 seconds to a figure close to 10 seconds was certainly not going to be easy. Much experimentation and testing followed, where our sole aim was to complete the challenge as rapidly as possible, bearing in mind that we could not afford to compromise the consistency of the same. In other words, yes, we wanted our robot to finish the course in less than 12 seconds maximum, but we did not want a situation where the machine stops working in the middle of the course every once in a while. At the WRO, each team was to make its robot run twice, and the better of the two runs would count. Our robot let us down in our first run, courtesy a strange problem with the ultrasonic sensor that we had used to climb both the poles. All charged up before the second run, Neel and I managed to regain the speed as well the consistency of our robot that we had worked so hard for back in India. And, it was bound to pay off...our robot completed the challenge with a high degree of perfection in 11.63 seconds!! To say all three of us were overjoyed would be an understatement!! Overall, when it comes to LEGO Robotics, the last ten months have been an enormous learning experience for each one of us. In my opinion, the most important thing I learnt is patience you try endlessly for four hours on a Saturday morning with not a soul in sight in school only to worsen the running time of your stupid robot from some 11.2 seconds to 12.5 seconds which is definitely highly frustrating!! There were countless such pitfalls, but none so severe as to leave us disaffected. We encountered problems, we diagnosed them and we solved them; each time adding a bit to our knowledge of LEGO robotics. As Albert Einstein has said, Its not about being so smart; its about staying with problems longer.
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Getting to know : Our Robotics Teacher, Ms. Binal Kamdar

Were you interested in robotics from the day you got to know of it? Being always driven by technology, robotics influenced me in wishing to comprehend upcoming technologies to a certain extent. However, hard core metal robotics doesnt fascinate me as much as LEGO Robotics does. How did you get involved in such a unique profession as teaching Robotics? Interestingly, the idea was originally Kiran Sirs. In 2004, he wanted to set up a LEGO Lab in the school campus to provide students with training in robotics. Given my engineering background, I willingly accepted such an exciting & challenging task. Did you face any difficulty from your family regarding your work? Not really. Ive been working since I graduated. Fortunately, my family has been very supportive, open and encouraging, and has helped me make a difference through my work. Being a woman did you face any problems in the society when you were studying for robotics or Lego labs? How does gender matter here? On the contrary, I received much more respect and admiration for being able to work diligently in a so called Mans World. Thanks to the changing face of society in the 21st century, responsibility for the idea that equality seems to be proving metal contraptions could ever replace a human being. itself to the fullest. Mainly, Artificial Intelligence Robotics is known of but now ( A I ) a n d M e c h a t r o n i c s many know about it? How do Engineering are two upcoming you see the future? professions in the world of Robotics. It certainly is known. Especially, in India, there are very few What are your other hobbies specialized professionals in the besides Robotoics? Apart from eating sweets (hobbyfield of Robotics. I see turned-weakness, by now) and tremendous potential in this then ending up in the gym field since Robots have been (necessity-turned-hobby, by making their place around now), I enjoy meeting and human lives gradually and interacting with people from different fields. comfortably. I believe that awareness of and Apart from the learning I gain education for the same should while being surrounded by start taking place right from sensitive and sensible people, I value the kind of openness it builds in thinking with different I received much more reperspectives. spect and admiration for being Needless to say, that was one of able to work diligently in so a the driving forces behind called Mans World initiating all of you into Robotics. After all, being among all of you secondary schools in order to certainly makes me feel younger build inquisitive scientists, psychologically. innovative designers and I also like to read philosophical fiction books, at random. creative engineers for the future. Exploring the globe as well as How will robotics develop in different foods is another the near future and what are passion., the professions that are How did it feel standing third at influenced by robotics? WRO? Robotics is mainly a combination of Mechanical, Although, each and every win makes one feel on top of the Electronics and Computer Engineering as well as Machine World, I thoroughly enjoyed the Design. Development into the process that led to such an field of Robotics seems to be outcome. What seemed to be a endless. At school level, it helps stop gap arrangement (when students understand and apply Shekhar Sir suggested initiating the concepts of Science, robotics in Dec 2009) turned out Technology, Engineering and to be a life time achievement! It was fabulous to work with two Math (STEM) effectively. assiduous heroes of TGS Neel I think robot lovers will keep [Rakholia]and Parth [Mehta]. It discovering new inventions feels like a distant dream come until they successfully simulate true as a result of perseverance a Human Robot. As Karl and believing in ourselves, which Capek, who coined the word led us to make the difference in robot in 1921 said, I reject all Indian LEGO Robotics history!!

The Exam Experience

The clock was ticking; my mind had taken over my body. I was in some other world where only I and the paper in front of me existed. I was taking my first exam of several more to come. Before the exam, my stomach had butterflies and I was excited. I knew all the answers on the paper sitting in front of me, but yet the tension in the air was so thick, it made me panicky. You only have two options during an exam: you either know the answer and get it right or you dont know the answer and get it wrong. But instead of thinking of getting answers wrong I was thinking think about what I had got wrong during class because thats usually where I make mistakes during an examination. And instead of dwelling on the fact that I am probably going to get the answer wrong, I think about all the answers that I have already answered or know the answer, to because many a time answers are inter-connected. Saying that you dont know the answer to a question isnt a bad thing; it shows you your weakness and how you can improve...plus sulking about getting an answer wrong just worsens your attitude towards the exam, and that doesnt have such a positive effect on the exam overall. I remember that when I started to lose my self-confidence in one of the papers the score wasnt as good as it could have been otherwise. Everyone thinks exams are some sort of a big deal, which they arebut I think we all over react when we say the term exams are coming up, I need to study . I say this because it happens to be proven that last minute studying doesnt helpit confuses you more and creates further trouble; but I am not saying that studying before exams is bad, I am saying that you shouldnt over study. What you studied during class is probably going to be what you remember during your examination and the topics that you probably have the least confusion in. The question is that when everyone hears the word exams, we all sit down and start studyingbut what are we really focusing on? Are we focusing on recapping what we learned or just focusing on how many chapters we finished recapping. While recapping we say we know it all and we do, so we dont give our full attention while revising. I am just saying that what are exams really about besides seeing how much attention you pay in class? By RADHIKA JAGANI, 7A

Make a DFrance in your Life!

BONJOUR! I take this occasion to introduce myself as the French teacher in TGES. I would like to state a few facts which you might find interesting about this beautiful and expressive language. Something that is not very well known is that learning French can improve your vocabulary in English. This is because 40 to 50% of English vocabulary comes from French! Learning French develops your critical and creative thinking skills, because progress is very easy to measure. You can quickly take pride in your new abilities! And then if you are planning to go abroad for further studies, proficiency in French will significantly improve your chances of being accepted by the university and by a graduate school as most graduate schools require knowledge of at least one foreign language, and French remains the most commonly used language after English. If you are a Travelholic, you can travel to Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa and use your French for learning more about these countries. France is also the most visited tourist destination in the world! I would like to leave you now with a Czech proverb to ponder, You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.
Ms. Anuradha Khara joined us recently as faculty for French. 6

Anuradha Khara

This year we celebrate the 150th birth Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore: anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Celebrating 150 years Tagore. In a travelling tribute the Indian Railways created an exhibit on a train that is travelling around the country. The train stopped at Rajkot on 24-25 November 2010, taking us along on an exploration. The students of Grade 11 and 12 (IBDP) joined the long queue outside the train at Bhaktinagar Station to be part of this journey. The exhibit was spread over 5 coaches depicting the poet's life and philosophy. The names of the coaches were, 'Jibon Smriti', 'Gitanjali', 'Muktodhara', 'Chitrarekha' and 'Smaranika'. Besides rare photographs of Tagore, the exhibit took us through various aspects of the life and work of Rabindranath Tagore. The Grade 12 were excited to find among the photographs, one of Tagore in a performance of Dakghar (The Post Office), one of their World Literature texts! Here are some glimpses of us on our journey:
Photos: Shymal Vibhakar

Know more about Tagore:

He is the only person in the world to have written the national anthems of two countries India and Bangladesh. The Gujarati poet Umashankar Joshi, whose centenary we celebrate this year, spent many years at Santiniketan. He travelled to many countries; to Burma, China, Japan, Europe, North America and South America. Remember, travel during those times took much longer and was much more difficult than it is now. It was Tagore who Mahatma to Gandhiji. gave the epithet
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MUN
A learning experience
The Model UN conference at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai with Corruption as its theme, was one of my first experiences in the area of public speaking. It was the first ever conference of my life and I was both excited as well as nervous about it. The basis of this conference was research about an assigned country and the preparation of a resolution and debating it. A resolution is a official document that is drafted and presented in the United Nations. Its aim is to deal with a specific matter of prime importance. This is the most challenging part. I struggled a lot in preparing it but in the end, it was a fruitful experience. I was a part of SPECPOL (Special, Political and Decolonization Committee) committee of the General Assembly. After we reached there, in the first meeting, we were addressed on the issue of CORRUPTION. This was enriching and it gave a new outlook to our thoughts. The next part was LOBBYING. Here we needed to discuss our resolution with other representatives. The topics of the resolution were PROBLEMS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND WATER CRISIS IN ARCTIC REGION. In the SPECPOL Committee, our resolution was discussed in depth. During the discussion, there was opposition from different delegates on the committee. I had a lot of stage fear and didnt ever believe that I could express myself before of a group of people. This discussion was really a huge challenge for me. At first I decided not to speak at all but this wasnt possible as I had to make my point clear. As soon as I spoke my first sentence, I started to gain confidence. Then slowly and steadily, I answered all the questions posed to me. After this discussion was over, my stage fear vanished. The day of the plenary session was the most crucial one. All the delegates gathered in the General Assembly for the final discussion. It was a pool of intellects at one place. When my turn came I presented my point strongly and with confidence. The questions posed to me were really intelligent and I tried to answer them. I really felt that there is a lot of competition in the outside world and if we want to stand out then we must SPEAK. SPEAK is all you have to do. But to speak, you must have something to speak about. That requires reading and being aware of the happenings around you. Never be afraid to do something new. If anyone really wants to overcome stage fear or wants to be good at debating skills, then I STRONGLY URGE that this is one of the best platforms you can look forward too. I met a lot of people from different schools and made new friends. This was really a memorable experience for me. It taught me how to overcome stage fear, to be a speaker and much more.
Sonark Vajir, IBDP1 Our team consisted of Pooja Khajuria (9A), Kishen Shah (AS Level), Juhi Palan (IBDP1), Amar Govani IBDP1), Sonark Vajir IBDP1), Kunal Kamania IBDP1), Jeshika Shah IBDP1) and Jay Batavia IBDP2). Kunal and Jay debated their resolutions on the Israel-Palestine Water Crisis and Improvement of the social conditions of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people, and eradication of social stigmas based on their sexual orientation well.Sonarks resolution on Intellectual Property Rights was debated in the 4th Committee of the General Assembly, the SPECPOL was passed in the general plenary. Even all our first time MUNners contributed 8

NALINI MALANI S SPLITTING THE OTHER :

A Post-MUN encounter
Preview: Saturday, October 30, 2010, 7.00 pm onwards On view till Tuesday, November 30, 2010 | Monday-Saturday 11.00 am 7.00 pm Venues: Chatterjee & Lal, Chemould Prescott Road Mumbai Recently, a few students of TGS went for the DAIMUN (Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations) to Mumbai. As we had no idea where to spend the evening of the second day, after spending 7 hours in the committee brainstorming and filtering out resolutions, Gopika Maam came up with an idea. A preview of an art exhibit sounded not so appealing to most of us at first, but we really had no choice. The moment we entered, various sorts of snacks were put in front of us, and that made us think, why not look at the paintings while we are eating? But soon, it was the paintings that were the centre of our thought and talk, and not the food. To visually render human pain and suffering, past and present, seems to be the driving force behind Nalini Malanis works, for her recent art exhibit, Splitting the other portrays the agony and pain of the people during the Gujarat riots of 2002. Splitting the other is a unique collection of paintings by an artist who uses a variety of mediums, from ink to acrylic to Lexan cylinders. The exhibit is put up in two parts in two different galleries. At one gallery, we are surrounded by paintings that are saturated with a feeling of hopelessness and utter desolation. They tell the tale of the suffering in the riots, of how people had become terribly selfish and of how peace and unity had been alienated. One thing very prominent in all the paintings was that various body organs were painted onto them. Kidneys, lungs, livers, bones, intestines, etc. could be seen everywhere along with blood; revealing how dreadful those times must have been when the streets were in a similar state. At the second gallery, there was a video shadow play with three single channel animations, a series of lights, 7 rotating reverse hand painted Lexan cylinders and sound as the catalogue told us. The spectators find themselves caught between the turning cylinders, with their luminous images moving in the round on one side, and the flat black projection on the gallery walls on the other. All this, while shrieks continue to frighten us, for that is the sound that the artist chose to play. This is evidently done to penetrate deeper into the spectators hearts and to make them imagine that they are actually there in the midst of the riots and help them empathize with the victims. And this, after all, is the purpose of this exhibit. Viewing these installations changed a lot of my beliefs about the art of painting. I came to know that paintings need not be only in rectangular frames. That paintings can be circular or any other shape, that the images need not be whole to tell a story but split up and still tell another story. Also, the painting was done in various layers. Creating video shadow shows from painted Lexan cylinders was something I had never imagined. Watching films is different, but to see paintings projected on the wall created a completely different effect. Of course, my imagination should not be the yardstick but, I must say that I could not ignore the uniqueness of the display. Another very important observation that I could make, was that although the theme was riots, there was nowhere any trace of a crowd or a mob in any of the paintings. This signifies that although riots are said to be communal clashes, they are much an individual phenomenon. The distorted images and scattered body organs seem to show the level and cruelty of destruction. But at the same time, they also seem to hint at the fact that reasoning and rational thinking (signified by brain), emotions (heart), strength (bones) and peaceful co-existence (indicated by the connecting blood vessels) have all been disorganized and are no longer in harmony with each other. Thus, every dead person signifies the crumbling of the society. This was a rather shocking experience for me as it was the first time ever I had seen such paintings. I had only heard about the riots, and that too, only facts. I had never imagined how being caught in a riot would feel like. The paintings had captured the chaos, the frenzy and the agony in such a manner that I was forced to imagine how the actual riots would have been like, and the more I thought about it, the more I found myself condemning religion or rather religious divides which led to all this. The fact that it happened very near to me, in my state, in a city just 4 hours away, increased this feeling and also created a sense of insecurity for a while. The video shadow play was also very shocking. The sounds being played in the background were shrieks and cries. The sounds combined with the rotating painted cylinders were really disturbing and it almost recreated the horrifying scenes of riots through the sounds. I was again very shocked. However, I soon overcame these thoughts and left the exhibit with a better knowledge of the Gujarat riots, if not of the destruction and violence associated with them. Juhi Palan, IBDP1 9

Tiger! Tiger! At AMDAVAD NI GUFA

Walking out of the Ahmedabad International School, after two exhausting, yet exhilarating days of the MUN conference, we, being the teenagers that we are, were looking forward to going to the malls, having milk shakes and relaxing. So you can just imagine our reluctance to Gopika madams idea of exploring Ahmedabad ni gufa, for a far richer experience than moving in malls like civilised zombies. We were adamant, and wouldnt budge from our original plan of going to the mall and chilling. I mean, being urban zombies, following the clich was all we were used to. Appreciating art in a calm environment with no pop music blaring out of speakers was something completely foreign to us, something we thought we were not ready for. Yet, somehow, madam managed to stifle our groans and convince us to tag along to the Gufa. Also known as the Hussain Doshi Gufa, it is an underground art gallery that illustrates the works of the famous painter M.F.Hussain. It has been designed by yet another famous personality, one of the best architects in the country, B.V.Doshi, and hence, the name. Some of us, including myself, being new to the city, half expected the car to stop in front of a gloomy underground cave. So our surprise at glancing at the almost futuristic looking so called gufa was expected. As they say, never judge a book by its cover! We walked into the very quiet gallery across the Gufa, and it felt as though someone hit the mute switch. The calm took us all by surprise. After a couple of Hey, look at SHUSHH! we started losing ourselves in the extraordinary works of Nabibaksh Mansoori. The show, aptly named Tiger! Tiger, would lead us, on first take, to believe that the paintings would be ferocious ones of the fiery wild beast that weve heard oh! so many stories of. But that is why the painters work is so famous. It surprises us and makes us do a double take. The typical orange Tigers that the eye is searching for are not found, instead we meet blue, purple and red ones. The apparently vicious monster has a new avatar; it is now seen as a guard, a lonesome mortal, almost a human. Nabibaksh Mansoori shows the gentler, and often overlooked, side of the socalled beast, but while doing so, he doesnt forget the wilder one, which has made us fear it so. Mans relationship with the animal is also portrayed in The hunt, as a Ring master, a Back-biter. The lonely road (pictured right) becomes the tiger, our consciousness. The Tiger even enters our dream. The exhibition also tries to create awareness, one of the paintings fittingly titled Extinct. As you move along the gallery, absorbing every single work, you feel yourself to be on that brink where youre not exactly sleeping, but youre not entirely awake either. Its like a dream world, and youre moving with what youre seeing, all alone with what youre observing and your thoughts.
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Courtesy: Nabibaksh Mansoori

Now this is the kind of chilling we had never done before, the kind, we now wish, we did more often. As I dwell on one of my personal favorites, The lonely road, I hear voices and turn around. The painter himself is going around, talking to all of us and describing how tigers became an inspiration for him. He is re-telling a story to maam about how, when he was young, there was a rather extraordinary event which made quite an impression on his mind. Walking in the woods near his home in Idar he was attacked by a tiger but managed to escape. The incident left a deep impression on his mind. The tiger never left his mind, he said, and that is why he wanted to dedicate an entire album to the magnificent beauty of the beast. We thanked him, and after appreciating his work some more, left the gallery, more in awe of our national animal than ever before. The exhibit turned out to be a far cry from our preconceived notions; different, and inspiring. The experience in itself was a surreal and enriching one; one that I would like to have again in, hopefully, the near future.

Courtesy: Nabibaksh Mansoori

ANIMAL ACTION WEEK: SAVE THE TIGER

By Vaidehi Chhotai, 7A The Animal Action Week 2010 was observed at TGS from October 2-8, 2010. The focus of this years animal action week was the conservation of tigers Born to be Wild: Saving the majestic tiger. Grades 7, 8 and 9 did a detailed study about tigers and the ways to protect them through various activities like watching videos, a quiz on tigers, poetry recitals and the display on the soft -board about the tigers. They also participated in the International Art Competition in which they had to draw and paint about Tigers in the Wild. We have sent around 35 entries for the competition. Our activities were part of IFAW's (International Fund for Animal Welfare) Animal Action Week programme, which aims to educate, and raise awareness about animal conservation issues, particularly amongst students across the world. It reaches out to schools in 16 countries around the world and spreads awareness on a large scale. We learnt that the number of tigers is decreasing every day. Due to habitat loss and poaching, tigers are in constant danger. In 1900, the population of tigers was 100,000 all over the world, now in 2010, it has reduced to only 3,000 tigers in the wild, Bengal Tigers being the most populous. There are about 6,000 tigers in captivity in China. There were supposed to be 5 species of tigers existing in the world till the early 20th Century. In many cultures including ours, tigers are a symbol of strength and courage and because of that they are being poached illegally shot, trapped and poisoned for their majestic coat, teeth and bones. More wild tigers live in India than anywhere else in the world. At the beginning of the twentieth century, roughly 40,000 tigers lived in India. Their numbers dropped during the first two-thirds of that century, largely due to hunting for sport. In 2009, as few as 1,411 tigers were left in our country. So, lets join hands to create awareness to save our National pride.
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In the midst of hills, far away from our busy cities, in what seems a remote land, lies the small tribal village of Tejgadh. Situated on the outskirts of the city is the ADIVASI ACADEMY, which was our dwelling for our week long project. On paper, it looked as if we are going just as a part of our curriculum and out of compulsion but our vision went beyond that. Our perception, how we look at things certainly changed. We had heard all RESIDENTIAL PROJECT a b o u t t h e conditions and life in villages but going there and actually seeing it provided us with a rich, firsthand experience. It also dismissed some MYTHS about villages and tribal villages and confirmed others as true. It was a five day excursion. We had some first time experiences. We stood in the ST bus for 3 long hours; cramped and crushed. We also travelled in the general class compartment where there was no place for even a snake to slither. The ADIVASI ACADEMY is a language centre where tribal culture and literature and many other types of courses are taught and pursued. It also runs a school of 60 students from nearby tribal areas and educates them. The students are first taught their own culture before going into scientific knowledge. All of them spoke in different languages and it became very difficult for us to comprehend it. Looking at these kids, who are either dropouts or unable to pay for school fees, I felt we all are so lucky in receiving the education that we do. We had a good discussion with the children. The school aims at bringing them at par with any Standard 7-8 student so that they can be admitted to a state school. The interaction was really fruitful,. They asked us a few riddles, and we were tongue-tied. The session got more serious as we tried to understand their lifestyle and their background. We told them about how we live in Rajkot, our school and transportation. They found our sleeping time very unusual; at 12 midnight they are done with half their sleep, whereas we are far from going to sleep. We held a quiz and found they were aware of the world. It was a beautiful school, with lively students and friendly teachers. We also helped in farming. We levelled the ground, plucked out the weeds, planted trees, moved bricks and removed the dry grass. It is a difficult job to do under the hot midday sun and it drained all the energy out of us. But what we did is what 60% of this country does to earn a living. Its then that you realise that what it means to do the work which is thought of by us as so small and negligible. We also attended a class in which we came to know more about the tribals. A day was spent in going to the village and splitting into groups and then going to interview different people from all walks of life. We even met the sarpanch who told us about the changes the village has seen in the last decade and also what more has to be done. We met a potter, a sick man, a teacher and a farmer. It was very interesting to hear about their superstitions, their beliefs and their ways of carrying out daily work. We look at these people with a different view, like they are very different from us. We feel as if we need to give them special attention. This is not what they expect. Their idea of interaction is very different from us. We have to go very deep into ourselves to identify the actual needs and tools for empowerment. Donation is not the solution; equipping to empower is. They are not looking for a favour. It was a wonder, standing there under the setting sun and a wonder that even after having only bare necessities, they are so happy. It makes me think who actually are the Privileged people??
Kunal Kamania, IBDP1

P L O U G H I N G W A S H I N G I N T E R A C T I N G S E R V I
The team of students who visited the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh

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One of many heroes

Juhi Palan, IBDP1 May, 1942. Seven young Indians, with a do-or-die attitude and with a twinkle of national pride in their eyes, set out for Jetpur to accomplish a missionMr. Jayant Palan, one of these seven Indians, and now better known for his beautiful Gujarati poems and songs, retells his story of struggle for freedom: In 1942, in response to Gandhijis Quit India Movement, sabotage activities had become very popular amongst the Indians. Mr. Jayprakash Narayan was the coordinator of such activities at the national level and devoted most of his time and energies teaching young men how to go about uprooting railway tracks or causing similar damage and providing them with tools for the same. All this was handled at the Rajkot level by a lawyer named Mr. Kantibhai Shah. This Mr. Shah gathered a group of 7 young men including Mr. Palan, aged 15 then. They had to blow up a bridge in Jetpur after a particular train had crossed it. After a brief time period of training, they set out for Jetpur. There, at midnight, they planted dynamite under the bridge and pressed the switch, but instead of the whole bridge blowing up, only a small part of it was destroyed. Thus, unable to gain complete success, they returned to Rajkot. Their next mission was to set Dharmendrasinghji College on fire. Mr. Palan and one of his companions, Mr. Vasant Parekh were students there. One day, in the afternoon, they kept the ventilators open and came back in the night to set the college ablaze. Unfortunately, as soon as they set the office on fire, they themselves were caught in it, such that they had to run away immediately without being able to cause further damage. A police inquiry followed, wherein the staff and other people related to the college were questioned. One such person to be questioned was Mr. Haribhai Pandya, the head clerk, who also happened to go to the gymnasium run by Mr. Palans elder brother. The police followed him one day and found out that this was the meeting place of all the activists. The next day, the police gave them a surprise by reaching the place before them. As soon as Mr. Palan saw them, he ran away to the railway station and boarded the train just leaving it. As he did not have any money, he was told to get off the train at the next station, which happened to be Sirohi. Fortunately, he knew a police officer there, Mr. Tapubhai Gohil and went to his house. By this time, the police in Rajkot had already found out his name through a person who distributed the Inquilab booklets. They published a warrant against him in the newspaper and consequently, he had to run away from Mr. Gohils house and realizing he had nowhere else to go, he went back to Rajkot. There as soon as he reached his home, he realized the police were waiting for him. He bid goodbye to his family, who had no clue about what he was up to till now and proceeded towards the prison. He was first kept in the Rajkot State Jail, and the court proved him guilty and sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment. After that, he was shifted to Rajkot Central Jail, where again a court trial was conducted where he was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment. Thus, in total, he had to serve 9 years of rigorous imprisonment, not to forget he had not been sentenced to death just because he was underage. He first had to serve the sentence in Rajkot State Jail for 4 years. There, he was treated as a political prisoner. But after one year, he was shifted to Rajkot Central Jail. There, he was treated as a criminal and was given corporal punishment, such as incessant beating till he would lose consciousness or sprinkling salt on his bleeding wounds, or beating him after making him lie on a huge block of ice. Although he was kept with leading freedom fighters like Mr. Uchrangrai Dhebar (who later on became the first Chief Minister of independent Indias Saurashtra state) and Mr. Balvantrai Mehta, he was treated worse than a murderer. But as good fortune would have it, all this soon ended and in1945, after having served three and a half years in prison, he was released on parole and was completely released in 1947 as India got its long desired independence. After this he and his fellow freedom fighters were givendue respect and privileges as the freedom fighters of India which include a monthly pension of Rs.12000 by the centre and of Rs.200 by the state along with a lifetime railway 2nd A/C pass with a caretaker. The next time when we sing odes in praise of our national heroes such as Gandhiji or Chacha Nehru, we must not forget to remember these valiant soldiers who forgot all about themselves and their families to convert these heroes speeches into national movements. 13

Teachers We Less Know: P.C. Roy

In our regular column on personalities who have made a difference but who we do not know, Parth Mehta, AS Level, writes about the pioneering Chemist P. C. Roy whose 150th anniversary we celebrate this year

It says in the Upanishads that the Supreme One wanted to be many. The urge for self-dispersal is at the root of this creation. It was through this kind of creative urge that Prafulla Chandra became many in the minds of his pupils by diffusing and thereby reactivating himself in many younger minds. But this would hardly have been possible unless he had the capacity to give himself away fully to others. Rabindranath Tagore (Quoted in P. C. Ray by J. Sen Gupta, National Book Trust, 1972) A bachelor throughout his life with clean Khadi clothes, well polished shoes and strict dietary habits, this man earned the well-deserved reputation of a remarkable teacher, a skilful industrialist and a true patriot. His dwelling a simple room on the first floor of the College of Science, Calcutta University; his household beloved students too poor to afford accommodation elsewhere; his salary donation for the development of research facilities in the Department of Chemistry. A man who was righteously called the Doctor of Floods by the Father of the Nation for his untiring efforts to provide relief to the flood victims in Bengal. We talk about Professor Prafulla Chandra Roy...a personality whose mention fills the heart of every Indian with an enormous amount of pride! Born in 1861 in current day Bangladesh, most of Prafulla Chandra Roys primary education took place in some of the best schools of Calcutta. While in college, though his first love was literature, his interest in the natural sciences was deeply intensified by the autobiography of Sir Benjamin Franklin and his famous kite experiment. Owing to his academic brilliance, he was one of the two candidates across India who received the Gilchrist Prize Scholarship to receive higher education abroad. It was his highly influential professor of Chemistry at the Edinburgh University, Britain who transformed this gem into a devoted and passionate learner of Chemistry. On returning to India, he worked for a year with the famous Jagdish Chandra Bose, before being appointed the Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Presidency College, Calcutta. While in the Presidency College, Roys attention was solely directed towards imparting quality education to his students. His lectures, in virtually no time, became extremely popular throughout the college, primarily because they never failed to glow with humour and wit. The biggest highlight of his early career was perhaps the discovery of a new stable chemical compound, Mercurous Nitrate, which brought him recognition from all over the world. Following this wonderful achievement, he, along with his students, went on to publish 107 papers in all branches of Chemistry by 1920. However, there was this one extremely important aspect of his life that made him ten times greater. Roy had always believed that the progress of India on an international scale was completely linked with industrialization. It was Roy who pioneered the chemical industrialization of India, and the way he did it makes it all the more spectacular. One wont argue that it takes tremendous courage to venture into entrepreneurship with the capital of a mere Rs. 800 in hand, all property having been sold to clear debts. Despite the fact that Roy was devoid of any knowledge of business administration, he succeeded in giving birth to The Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works, which was destined to grow into the first Indian firm that mass manufactured chemical goods. Through his 83 years, Roy had been extremely fascinated by the deep understanding of Chemistry that existed in ancient India. His book, A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century soon became renowned worldwide and was appreciated by numerous scientists across the globe. Moreover, he also wrote his autobiography, Life and Experience of a Bengali Chemist, and dedicated it to the youth of India, thereby demonstrating his love and affection for the countless students of India. He passed away in the same room at the Calcutta University which he had been occupied by him and his pupils for twenty five years.
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Inter-Group Competition Results

Chess (Junior) Position 1 2 3 4 Group Agni Jal Prithvi Aakash Chess (Senior) Position 1 2 3 4 Group Jal Agni Aakash Prithvi

Football Position 1 2 3 4 Group Prithvi Aakash Jal Agni

Cricket Position 1 2 3 4 Group Prithvi Aakash Jal Agni

Rangoli Position 1 2 3 4 Group Jal Agni Prithvi Aakash

Wall Hanging Position 1 2 3 4 Group Jal Prithvi Agni Aakash

INTER-GROUP RANKING AS ON 31/12/10

1ST PLACE 2nd PLACE 3rd PLACE 4th PLACE JAL PRITHVI AGNI AAKASH 33 POINTS 27 POINTS 25 POINTS 21 POINTS

These points are based on the performances of the groups in the various inter-group competitions held during the academic year.
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Why?

How?

When? Who?

Being inquisitive learners

This month I would like to start on a series of articles regarding the IBs Learners Profile. The LP is a set of ten attributes that form the lenses through which the IB views education. As an IB World School, we at TGS also want our students (and teachers) to embody these attributes. Think of it as an artist staring at a blank canvas. What does she want to create on that canvas? This is the LP. The ten attributes are: Inquirers; Knowledgeable; Thinkers; Communicators; Principled; Open-Minded; Caring; Risk Takers; Balanced; and Reflective. In this series I will take one or two attributes and discuss what it means and how the school hopes to instill this in you. First off, Inquirers! According to the IBs website (www.ibo.org/programmes/profile/documents/ Learnerprofileguide.pdf) (Inquirers)...develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives. To me this means that an inquirer has two important skills, curiosity and research skills. Curiosity to not be content with what one already knows. You should always want to dig deeper, to find out more. Your curiosity should not be confined solely to your subject areas. Expand your mind. You will learn in TOK that all things are connected. Knowledge is best thought of as a spider web, it all fits together if you can see enough of it. Your teachers try to raise your curiosity every day. Give it a chance. Research skills are the other important part of being an inquirer. Gone are the days where you have to travel to university libraries in order to find information. Now more information than you can possible want is available on your mobile. The question is how to get quality information. This is why we focus so much on debates, robotics and the Model UN. The skill we want to develop is your ability to discern quality information. So my fellow inquirers, let us leap into the unknown together and find out lifes truths together as a community. David Udry

From the Principals Desk ...

Ripple, Robin Hunter, 1970 Performed by The Grateful Dead
If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung, Would you hear my voice come thru the music, Would you hold it near as it were your own?
,

Songs of Freedom:
David Sirs pick of songs that matter and move us

Let it be known there is a fountain, That was not made by the hands of men. There is a road, no simple highway, Between the dawn and the dark of night, And if you go no one may follow, That path is for your steps alone. Ripple in still water, When there is no pebble tossed, Nor wind to blow. You who choose to lead must follow But if you fall you fall alone, If you should stand then whos to guide you? If I knew the way I would take you home.

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken, Perhaps they're better left unsung. I don't know, don't really care Let there be songs to fill the air. Ripple in still water, When there is no pebble tossed, Nor wind to blow. Reach out your hand if your cup be empty, If your cup is full may it be again,