Festive Friday : Annkut Utsav at AVM
Atmiya Vidya Mandir is a distinctive Temple of Learning as it is blessed and led by the divine vision of His Divine Holiness Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji. One of His simple yet profound ideals is “જીંદગી આનંદ માટે છે, મરવા માટે નથી”. Consequently, one can find here an amalgamation of education, festivity and culture.
Every Friday is celebrated as a ‘Festive Friday’. This is the time, pupils experience joy of celebrating different festivals in their true spirit. The sole objective of celebrating Indian festivals is to promote and preserve Indian culture in the hearts of young angels of future India.
Once again Atmiya Family gathered and made the evening of 30th November colourful, festive & devotional by celebrating Bhoolku Annkut; a festival of devotion. About 125 eatables including fruits, chocolates, biscuits, snacks, refreshments, beverages, sweets & meals with beautiful garnishing were offered to Thakorji in decorative baskets, bowls and plates. Annkut was arranged on small steps as well as semi-circular platform adorned with flowers and rangoli patterns.
Celebration commenced with a small prayer and an introduction describing the glory of the day by two young hosts, followed by an inspiring speech delivered by the principal Dr. Vijay Patel. He shared the incident of how Lord Krishna was pleased with the handful rice offered by His beloved childhood companion poor Sudama and blessed him with a beautiful palace in return. He added, in a like manner, God always counts our devotion and blesses us with inner peace and spiritual wealth.
The occasion ended with ‘thaal’ and ‘aarati’. All the elders performed aarati, artistically made with flowers and lamps. Finally, all departed with prayers expressing their gratitude, had Annkut darshan & prasad capturing the memory of the auspicious moment in their hearts forever.
Saumya Ma’am
Inter House Volleyball Competition 2018-19
On 27th October 2018, we witnessed the very highly anticipated Inter House Volleyball Competition 2018-19, for which, all the supercharged players and eager spectators were waiting for. After a fortnight of practice of vigorous hard work, all the players regained their skills through the coaching given by Ritesh Sir and Hitesh Sir.
For this grand event, there were four equally competitive house teams of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram and Suhradam houses, categorised into three groups: Sub-Juniors, Juniors and Seniors.
On the bright afternoon of 27th October, the first match of the competition began by the whistles of our dedicated referees, Ritesh Sir and Hitesh Sir. The first match was between Satyam and Suhradam House in Sub-Juniors in which Satyam House snatched the victory by 2-0. On the same day, the second match in the Sub-Junior group was between Shivam and Sundaram House, in which Sundaram House acquired their place for the finals. For the third place in Sub-Junior group, in the contest between Shivam and Suhradam House, it was Shivam House that won making the sky Blue. For the Finals, it was Satyam House that defeated Sundaram House, building a crescendo among the young cheerful audience.
Moving on towards the Junior group, the competition started with Sundaram House competing with Satyam House. Against all the expectations, Sundaram House grabbed the miraculous victory in the decider set. Later in the tournament, the next match was fixed between Shivam and Suhradam House. The match started with a great competition leaving the audience dumbfounded. As the match proceeded, the intensity of clash grew exponentially. But it was the Blue Army that claimed the victory by 2–1. In the third place match between Satyam and Suhradam House, Suhradam House comfortably won the match. The venue got even more beautiful with a tender glow of Crimson Red later in the evening and the night lights were put on, brightness of which pervaded through the whole arena. In the centre of this, there was battle between Shivam and Sundaram House in which Shivam House won the finals by 2 – 1.
In the next category of Senior group, the first match was played between Satyam and Suhradam House. It was Suhradam House who won the match comfortably by 2-0. The second match was between Shivam and Sundaram House in which Shivam House grabbed the victory by 2-0. It was the time for third place match between Sundaram and Satyam House. This was a nail biting match in which the winning team didn’t lose hope after losing the 1st set, rather, they continued their victorious trail by winning the match. The time then came for Finals which was much awaited and was to be battled between Shivam and Suhradam House. Players were rapt with bubbling excitement, oblivious to the circumstances, they played the match to their fullest but it was Suhradam House who won the match with a perfect score of 2-0.
While witnessing and enjoying the sport, the players and audience also relished the august and loving presence of Pujya Suhradswamiji in the arena. The overall result of the competition is as follows:
| House Name | Points | Rank |
| Shivam | 24 | 1 |
| Sundaram | 22 | 2 |
| Suhradam | 20 | 3 |
| Satyam | 18 | 4 |
Reported by: Yogi N. Patel, Yash J. Patel (Class 10)
CBSE Zonal – Skating Competition 2018-19
It was the sunny morning of 24th October 2018. It was a special day for the juniors from U-10, U-12, and U-14 group as they were participating in the ultra-competitive CBSE West Zone Clusters Skating Competition held at RMG International School. There were 14 students in all representing our school and competing against 3500 others. The competition was going to last from 24th October to 27th October. Indeed, it was supposed to be a speedy meet!
The participants were all getting kitted up and were fired up with the motivation of coaches and were motivated up to the brim. All the students from Atmiya Vidya Mandir took part with great zeal.
After 4 days of exhausting but electrifying competition, the meet completed. Though none of the skaters from our school succeeded to finish in top-3 but they all got well-versed with the sport. It was a great learning experience for the young stars as they knew that they needed to try harder the next time.
Congratulations to all winners, participants and their coaches for such an amazing effort.
Reported by: Harshil Patel (Class 10)
Naturalistic Intelligence Competition 2018-19
इस पूरे ब्रह्मांड में सिर्फ एक ही जगह ऐसी है जहाँ जीवन है । और जहाँ चारों ओर हरियाली रहती है और इसी हरियाली से यह धरती बहुत ही सुंदर और आकर्षक लगती है | यह प्रकृति ही है जो हमें स्वस्थ जीवन जीने के लिए एक प्राकृतिक पर्यावरण देती है | यह प्रकृति हमें भगवान द्वारा दिया गया एक बहुमूल्य कीमती उपहार के समान है | हमें इस प्रकृति की रक्षा करनी चाहिए और इसे नुकसान नहीं पहुँचाना चाहिए | प्रकृति को ही ईश्वर का रूप माना जाता है और जब भी हम प्रकृति के समीप जाते हैं तो एक अलग सी सुख, शांति और समृद्धि की अनुभूति करते हैं | इसे पैसे या धन दौलत से नहीं खरीदा जा सकता हैं | उन लोगों का जीवन बहुत बड़ा होता हैं जिनका जन्म और मृत्यु प्रकृति की गोद में होता हैं | प्रकृति मनुष्य को बहुत कुछ सिखाती हैं लेकिन मनुष्य उसे नजर अंदाज कर देता है | प्रकृति से प्रेम ही मानव जाति के लिए हितकर है | इसीलिए तो कहा गया है कि “प्रकृति में कोई वाई-फाई (Wi-Fi) नहीं होता है पर हृदय से इसका कनेक्शन (Connection) बहुत मजबूत बनता है |”
ये प्रकृति शायद कुछ कहना चाहती है हमसे,
ये हवाओं की सरसराहट,
ये पेड़ों पर फुदकती चिड़ियों की चहचहाहट,
ये समुंदर की लहरों का शोर,
ये बारिश में नाचते सुंदर मोर,
कुछ कहना चाहते हमसे ||
आत्मीय विद्या मंदिर जहाँ प्राकृतिक माहौल चारों तरफ विद्यमान हैं | छात्र इसी प्राकृतिक वातावरण में अपना विकास करें इसी बात का खास ध्यान यहाँ पर रखा जाता है | छात्र इसी माहौल में कुछ न कुछ सीखते रहे इसलिए यहाँ विविध स्पर्धाओं का आयोजन किया जाता है | छात्र प्रकृति से कुछ नया सीखें इसी उद्देश्य हेतु आत्मीय विद्या मंदिर में दिनांक – 27 अक्तूबर 2018 के दिन सुबह 11:30 से 12:30 तक प्राकृतिक बुद्धिमत्ता प्रतियोगिता (Naturalistic Intelligence Competition – 2018) का आयोजन किया गया था | इस स्पर्धा में विद्यालय के चारों सदनों में से छात्र उत्साह के साथ प्रतिभागी हुए थे | प्रतिभागी छात्रों के लिए विविध स्पर्धाओं का आयोजन किया गया था | जिसमें कक्षा 1 से 3, कक्षा 4 से 6, कक्षा 7-8 एवं कक्षा 9-10 के छात्रों ने भाग लिया था |
कक्षा 1, 2 एवं 3 के छात्र हेतु माननीय शर्मिल मैडम एवं माननीय लोपा मैडम ने स्पर्धा का आयोजन किया था | इस स्पर्धा के अंतर्गत छात्रों को प्राकृतिक सैर कराने के लिए ले जाया गया था | वहाँ पर छात्रों को प्राकृतिक वस्तुओं का निरीक्षण भी करना था | जब छात्रों ने निरीक्षण कर लिया तब अंत में मूल्यांकन हेतु एक अभ्यास पत्र दिया गया और छात्रों ने उसमें पूछे गए प्रश्नों के उत्तर देकर अपने सदन को विजेता बनाने का प्रयास किया |
कक्षा 4, 5 एवं 6 के छात्र हेतु माननीय बिनु मैडम एवं माननीय अलका मैडम ने स्पर्धा का आयोजन किया था | इस स्पर्धा के अंतर्गत छात्रों को दो समूह में विभाजित किया था | समूह 1 में कक्षा 4 और 5 के छात्र शामिल थे | समूह 2 में कक्षा 6, 4 और 5 से दो-दो छात्र शामिल किए थे | समूह 1 के छात्रों के लिए तीन गतिविधियाँ की गई थी | गतिविधि-1 कक्षा 4 के छात्रों के लिए की गई थी | उसमें चारों सदन के छात्रों के आँखों पर पट्टी बाँध दी गई थी और छात्रों को जो प्राकृतिक वस्तुएँ हैं उनको सूँघकर या तो चखकर उन वस्तुओं की पहचान करनी थी | गतिविधि- 2 कक्षा 5 के छात्रों के लिए की गई थी | उसमें चारों सदन के छात्रों के आँखों पर पट्टी बाँध दी गई थी और छात्रों को जो प्राकृतिक वस्तुएँ हैं उनको छूकर उन वस्तुओं की पहचान करनी थी | गतिविधि – 3 कक्षा 4 एवं 5 के छात्रों के लिए की गई थी | इस गतिविधि में छात्रों को विविध प्राणियों की आवाज़ सुनाई गई थी | छात्रों को जानवर की आवाज़ पर से उस जानवर की पहचान करनी थी | समूह 2 में प्रत्येक सदन से कक्षा 4, 5 एवं 6 के छात्र सहभागी हुए थे | उनको प्रकृति में से एवं अन्य कई दूसरी वस्तुओं का संग्रह करना था | संग्रह की गई वस्तुओं में से सुंदर रंगोली का निर्माण करना था | छात्रों ने विविध गतिविधियों का भरपूर आनंद प्राप्त किया |
कक्षा 7 एवं 8 के छात्र हेतु श्री प्रेरक सर और कमलेश सर ने एक सुंदर स्पर्धा का आयोजन किया था | इस स्पर्धा में चारों सदनों के आठ छात्र प्रतिभागी हुए थे | इस स्पर्धा में चारों सदनों के छात्रों को प्राकृतिक वातावरण में से वस्तुओं का संग्रह करने के लिए कहा गया | छात्रों ने उचित समय मर्यादा के अंदर जरूरत के अनुसार वस्तुओं का संग्रह किया | तत्पश्चात छात्रों को उन वस्तुओं का उपयोग करके एक रंगीन कागज़ पर चित्र तैयार करने के लिए कहा गया | छात्रों ने विविध प्रकार की सामग्री का प्रयोग करते हुए इस लेखा-चित्र को उचित समय मर्यादा के अंदर तैयार किया | चारों सदनों के छात्रों ने अपना सर्वश्रेष्ठ प्रदर्शन दिखाने का भरपूर प्रयास किया |
कक्षा 9 एवं 10 के छात्र हेतु श्री आनंद सर एवं श्री मुकेश सर ने विविध स्पर्धाएँ आयोजित की थी | इन स्पर्धाओं में चारों सदनों के छात्रों के लिए चार गतिविधियों का आयोजन किया था | प्रथम गतिविधि में हर सदन के छात्रों को दो चित्र दिए गए थे उन चित्रों के अंदर कुछ अंतर थे | छात्रों को उन अंतर को स्पष्ट करना था | दूसरी गतिविधि में छात्रों को विभिन्न प्रकार के पेड़-पौधे, फूल इत्यादि वस्तुएँ दी गई थी और उसकी पहचान करनी थी | तीसरी गतिविधि के अंतर्गत हमारे जीवन में नित्य सामने आने वाली वस्तुओं के आधार पर प्रश्नोत्तरी की गई थी | अंतिम गतिविधि में छात्रों को पंद्रह अलग-अलग वस्तुएँ दी गई थी और उन वस्तुओं का वर्गीकरण करना था | सभी समूह के छात्रों ने इन सभी गतिविधियों का आनंद प्राप्त किया |
प्राकृतिक बुद्धिमत्ता प्रतियोगिता (Naturalistic Intelligence Competition) के आयोजन का मुख्य उद्देश्य छात्रों के भीतर जो प्रकृति से ज्ञान ग्रहण करने की कला है वह कला को विकसित करना था | छात्र जितना सहजता से ज्ञान अर्जित करता है उतना कहीं से नहीं करता है | आज के इस शिक्षा के माहौल में हम देखते हैं कि छात्र अपनी प्रकृति से ज्ञान अर्जित करने की कला को भूलता ही जा रहा है | तो छात्र यह जाने कि प्रकृति ने हमारे आसपास सिखाने के लिए बहुत सारे अवसर पैदा किए हैं | सिर्फ हम उन अवसरों को खोजें और कुछ नया ज्ञान प्रकृति से सहज ही प्राप्त करें | अंत में कह सकते हैं कि “जो सहज ही हमें सीखा जाए वही प्रकृति |”
कमलेश सर
ચાલો, થઈએ ગુણાતીત જેવા
It is rightly said, “Focus is the key to success.” ‘Focus’ in Gujarati means ‘એકાગ્રતા’. At Atmiya Vidya Mandir, we organize creative assemblies to help the children become aware of the hurdles of student life and how to overcome them. On Friday, 26th October 2018, Satyam House enacted a small drama titled “ચાલો, થઈએ ગુણાતીત જેવા”, demonstrating how to avoid distractions and focus on the task assigned. Two prasangs were performed, one from the life of Gunatitanandswamiji and one from Param Pujya Swamishree’s life.
The story was about a young boy named Sapanbhai, who could not memorize even small definitions like that of Osmosis and could not complete any homework in scheduled time. Frustrated, and being scolded and counselled by his friends, he goes to sleep. In his dreams he meets his house master who tells him a prasang of Gunatitanandswamiji. He tells him how focused Gunatitanandswamiji was as he was unaware of the monkeys that disrupted the decorum of the spiritual gathering conducted by Muktanandswamiji. When questioned how He could remain so focused, Gunatitanandswamiji humbly replied that it was not in His capacity to do so, but He kept praying to Maharaj to grant Him such focus. As a result, Maharaj blesses Him with immense strength to avoid distraction and stay focussed.
The next day in the morning, when the house master came to wake up children, Sapanbhai shared his dream with him. Upon severe insistence from Sapanbhai, he explains how to become ‘એકાગ્ર’ through a small prasang from our dearest Swamishree’s life. He shared how Swamiji remained focused in reading Vachanamrut, while the flight was delayed on the airport. He went to say that the A.C. in the flight was not working, the technicians and the flight staff were constantly moving around and the passengers were all filled with anxiety. But in such annoying and frustrating situation Swamishree was very calm and composed, He was completely focussed in reading Vachanamrut and remained oblivious to what was happening around Him. It was after 5 hours of delay that the flight was again ready to take off.
When Ashok Uncle, Swamishree’s secretary, asked Him of His such tremendous focus, Swamishree very naturally replied, “એ લોકો એમનું કામ કરે આપણે આપણું કરવાનું”.
Thus, through this short play, we all learnt that while we are seated in the class, we must avoid all sorts of distractions that can break our focus. We learnt that while we are seated in the class, we must not fidget with pen and pencil, not look out of the window or in the corridor, not bother about who is going and who is coming, not bother about who is doing what work, but remain focused on our own study and on what the teacher is teaching in the class.
Gunatitanandswamiji and Swamishree’s lives are an epitome of ‘એકાગ્રતા’. Children became committed to practice to remain focused in class. They also learnt that when their focus is broken, they would recall and remember these two prasangs and pray to God to give strength to become focussed like Gunatitanandswamiji.
Prabhudarshan Sir
Navratri-Dashera 2018 Celebrations
Swoosh went the rocket of Ram swiftly into the chest of the evil Ravan, leaving the effigy in flames depicting the victory of good over evil. Yes, it was the grand festival of Dashera.
Centuries ago, it was on this day that Lord Ram had killed the devil Ravan and freed the innocent people from his cruel acts.
At present, this festival is celebrated by burning the dummy of Ravan, which resembles the victory of dharm over adharm.
At Atmiya Vidya Mandir too, this festival was enjoyed in a splendid way. The atmosphere was spiritually charged, almost everything took on a spiritual hue when honourable Vijay Sir took the microphone and delivered a great insight into the significance of this festival. He mentioned that a man is defined by his deed and that ‘Saralta’ is the most vital attribute a man must possess.
Later in the evening, all the students had a cheerful time playing garba. The aromatic Manchurian and yummy Ice-Cream were memorable.
Finally, all the students went to bed with a year’s homework of ‘Saralta’.
Reported by: Manan Mehta (Class 10)
CBSE Cluster – U-19 Basketball Competition 2018-19
Our school participated in the CBSE Cluster – U-19 Basketball Competition 2018-19 organised by the American School of Baroda. The tournament was quite enthralling as the participating teams were all set to get the better of the others. Vibes of inspiration and sportsmanship were spread during the opening ceremony. The respected judges then shared their opinion about sports with the players, followed by a traditional dance show that entertained the mass.
Then began the tournament with lots of cheers from the audience. All the participants started their game by remembering God. As the day passed, we waited for our first match against Maheshwari Vidyapeeth which happened to be played in the night. In the duel, our school led by Smitbhai Padmani lost by 9-15 to their rivals. Nevertheless, all the players signed off for the day by shaking hands and congratulating each other for their play.
The team’s score was contributed as follows:
- Virajbhai Jariwala – 4 points
- GeetGauravbhai Joshi – 3 points
- Parambhai Dubey – 2 points
Reported by: GeetGaurav Joshi, Smit Padmani (Class 11 Commerce)
