Love God, Serve Others, Live Simply : Sundaram House

/0 Comments/in , /by
Paropakaaraartham idam shareeram (this body is meant for the service of others) This is a proverbial poetic line, fervently recited by many, fostering fondness and devotion to the country’s composite cultural heritage but H.D.H. P.P. Hariprasad Swamiji lives through it. His life is completely devoted and committed for the welfare of others. Hence, the value based education of Atmiya Vidya Mandir follows His message which means to enrich the mind with expansion, fellow feeling and benevolence.
Many parents still sing this hoary value to their young children and Sundaram House clearly and evidently made sincere efforts through morning assemblies and soft board displays that the great legacy is not lost, but only to be restored, thereby proclaiming the relevance of service to the students for a meaningful life.

Sundaram House celebrated its yet another week with a great value-Service or Seva, conveying the students the message that human embodiment is meant to gain the treasure of values so it should be nourished with healthy food, exercise and rest, employing it more in the service of others than for their own needs.

It has been practice of Sundaram House to demonstrate and live up to the value first, which is being conveyed to other students by them. Applying this value, on the very first day of the week, the members of Sundaram House, the teachers and students took up the seva at dining hall. They served the food to everybody with utmost respect and care. It was a great experience for the students as they realized how fulfilling it is to do a little good to others. They were all just inspiring, standing at the counters of the dining hall offering their services selflessly!

It was Anand Kalavadia in the next day morning assembly, who highlighted another aspect of the value of service. He presented a slide show of the world renowned personalities who served the mankind some or the other way. Anand explained how Mahatma Gandhi sacrificed his flourishing career at South Africa in order to serve our nation, how Mother Teresa lived for the poor and the needy and her service still goes through the mission she established. The students got to know from the presentation of Anand how Narayan Murthy the founder-chairman of Infosys and his wife Sudha Murthy have made a better life of thousands of people through many programmes. He also shared with the students the remarkable acts of philanthropy and benevolence rendered by Bill Gates, the founder and chairman of Microsoft bringing a positive change in the lives of many people.

The Wednesday morning assembly had something most significant to know about the people in Atmiya Vidya Mandir Campus, who offer their services in the campus tirelessly with a sole purpose to please Swamiji. Jay Tailor explained in his speech how inspiring it is to find the elders in the campus who devotionally serve others without any expectations.

After conveying these various important aspects of Service or Seva to the students, it was mandatory for the students to know what the acts of disservice are and how to keep away from aseva. In Thursday assembly, Priyavadan Sir explained the students how to keep away from disservice. It was highly important for the students to know that thinking negative about others, criticizing others, being judgmental about others and disrespecting others for their status are the certain kinds of acts of disservice which the students must keep away from.

Sundaram house was all set to develop an understanding in the students that our first attitude should be to regard our body as an invaluable means to help and serve others. Seva or service is not something we do additional to everything else that we are doing in our lives; it is something that we do while we are going about the normal business of everyday living.

Following this was an amazing session by Sahishnu Patel (Class 10) in the morning assembly of Friday. He put forward the ways of serving others as directed in Vachanamrut G. M. 41. Sahishnu shared that the sole purpose of seva is to please God so we should extend a helping hand to others without any discrimination or sense of superiority as to serve humans is to please God.

The Sundaram house week concluded with a big bang with its incredible creative assembly. The students portrayed a scene from the book Nilkanth Charitra which describes the incidences of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s pilgrimage of India. During His pilgrimage how lord Swaminarayan as Nilkanth Varni served and helped the ungrateful Sevakram despite his disgraceful and humiliating nature. The students watched with great interest how Niral Patel (9B) acted well as Sevakram and Tanmay Patel was befitting in the character of Nilkanth Varni. Besides these students, Harshill Soni (8A) and Vishvajeet Solanki (8B) acted as pedestrians. Anmol Kagrecha (8A), Harshit Talesara (8B) and Jay Madgunki (5C) served as property managers and Jay Tailor (11 Science) and Nimit (Std 5) as hosts. The students were highly inspired to find how unconditionally Nilkanth Varni served Sevakram.

The amazing week of Sundaram House had much more for the students and it was the superb display material on the soft boards, displaying worth watching information along with the values. The chief motive of decorating the soft board is to enrich the knowledge of students and enhance their overall skills. Students of Sundaram house made an effort in the same direction.

The theme selected was “Traffic Signs”. Students of grade 9 collected Mandatory and Regulatory signs which were displayed on one soft board. Many of them came up with good ideas and suggestions to display those signs in a creative manner on the other soft board. For that they decided to make a symbolic path named as Path Of Success. On which they showed 16 different traffic signs along with the values they derived from those signs. E.g. One Way – There is only one way to succeed that is Perseverance. Success lies in focusing our entire energy on a single aim or No horn – Speak less work more, let your work speak for you. Speech is silver, silence is golden or Speed limit – Delimit the excitement and confidence to avoid an accident. Perseverance pays. Rome was not built in a day. The students who toiled hard for the concept, design, cutting, pasting and making of these display materials were Neelkanth Garg – 9A, Meet Chugh – 9A, Yash Patel – 9A, Sunny Patel – 9A, Smeet Bhatt – 9A, Harshal Gadhiya – 9B, Sagar N Patel – 9B, Parth Agrawal – 9B, Dhimant Rambhia – 9B, Niral Patel – 9B, Krushan Panchal – 6A, Kevin Patidar – 6A, Hitarth Savani – 6B, Utsav Patel – 6B, Jugal Vyas – 6B, Pranesh Tanna – 6C, Suraj Yadav – 7C, Virat Italiya – 7A, Arpit Trapasiya – 7B and Samir Patel – 7B. It was a stupendous concept of symbolic meaning of various traffic signals for a successful happy life. The presentation on both display boards was fantastic.

Thus Sundaram House made a humble effort that students at all levels of the school learn that serving others fosters their own individual growth and civic responsibility. Offer your work by means of your thoughts, words and actions today. “Work and live to serve others, to leave the world a little better than you found it and garner for yourself as much peace of mind as you can,” Sundaram House claims.. “This is happiness.” Thus students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir acknowledged that all services rendered through love are services to God through mankind and those who help or renders services to the needy through love never regret doing so, because God rewards for such services. God gives us blessings in various forms – some in the form of wealth, some in the form of good health, some in the form of skill and so on. The best way of thanking God is to share His blessings with fellow human-beings.

“The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
 

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
 
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
Written by: Seema Madam

Celebration of Heritage Day

/0 Comments/in , , /by
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced the observance of 12th January as the Heritage Day to initiate an educational campaign to preserve and protect heritage sites and monuments of the country.

Joining hands to promote awareness regarding safeguarding our heritage monuments and sites, the students and teachers of Atmiya Vidya Mandir pledged to contribute in a collaborative way towards this concern by being a part of the ongoing global campaign.

Together, the family of AVM created posters that boasted some effective suggestions to conserve and preserve such natural as well as architectural land marvels. Adopting “Valley of flowers” Standard X suggested that more documentaries should be shown in order to generate awareness a view that was corroborated by others to regarding preserving the glory of Victoria Terminus, Sanchi Stupa, Temple of Hampi and Ajanta and Ellora Caves.

Suggestion regarding inclusion of projects on such sites in the school curriculum and other such measures that will help spread awareness was widely accepted.

The wide range of suggestions that flooded this ‘creation of awareness program’ shows a genuine concern on part of AVM towards preserving and conserving our extraordinary rich heritage.
Written By: Rupashree Madam

“Fortunate are those who have got the company of the messenger of god”

/0 Comments/in /by

“FORTUNATE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE GOT THE COMPANY OF THE MESSENGER OF GOD” This statement was quoted by Jesus Christ. In this mortal world, where “maya” has taken over the minds of every human being, who can we call the fortunate ones? And who is the messenger of God? The most visionary of all the deities who manifested on this Earth – Lord Swaminarayan very well understood this and gifted us with “Holy Saints” as his messenger. We, at Atmiya Vidya Mandir, are fortunate to have elderly saints like Pujya Prabodh Swamiji, Pujya Prem Swamiji, Pujya Suhrad Swamiji who continuously bestow their love and compassion on us. I wonder how fortunate these little ones are who get such holy vicinity in their formative years. These saints along with their love and compassion, guide children towards positivity and “wholesome living”Wish you a very Happy and a Prosperous New Year on behalf of Atmiya Family.
Images: Students are wishing Happy New Year to Pujya Prabodh Swamiji after breakfast.Written By : Paras Sir

Suhradam Murti Pratishtha Mahotsav at Atmiya Vidya Mandir

/0 Comments/in , /by
Once, when Swamiji was on His US vichran, a dignitary approached Swamiji and asked “How many temples do you want to make?” Swamiji replied “50000 temples in two years….” The man was surprised, rather amazed that “Swamiji wants to build 50000 temples within two years, how can it be possible….” After a while, Swamishree beamed and explained that He wants to turn thousands of devotee’s hearts into temples which become a pious place where God resides. Swamishree assured the gentleman that He did not plan to construct temples out of cement, bricks and marbles, instead, He envisages to cultivate conviction and practice of ‘spiritual affinity with one and all’ i.e Atmiyata in all the devotees so that their heart becomes the holy abode of the God Himself.
With such devout purpose and through His divine prowess and sublime selfless love, Swamiji established Atmiya Vidya Mandir, where education leads to sustain divinity in every individual; such a stage is obtainable within religious milieu and spiritual guidance. Hence on the auspicious day of DevDiwali, the 21st of November 2010, Swamishree inaugurated the newly constructed temple in the school premises.
The inauguration ceremony was separated in two stages. The first stage was the Suhradam Yagna Anushthan and the second was the installation of the murtis at the sinhasan in the temple.
2010 is a special year for the members of Atmiya Vidya Mandir family where devotees and volunteers began preparing for this event under the guidance of P.P. Prabodh Swamiji and P.P. Suhrad Swamiji. One of the distinct facets of this festival preparation was excellent co-ordination and gelling of all the members. A meticulous planning, execution and above all with a required feeling of duties and seva was perceptible among them.
For those living in and around the school campus, it was inspiring to watch the dedication with which preparations were taking place for this event. As the weeks ran into days there was a perceptible increase in the tempo of activity at Atmiya Vidya Mandir.
On Saturday, the 20th of November 2010, Suhradam Yagna Anushthan was conducted at the school cricket ground in front of the Kothar Bhavan. About 650 couples participated in this Yagna. Along with the main havan kund at the centre of the pandal, there were more than 212 havan kunds around which three couples along with their relatives performed the holy rituals for the Yagna. Swamishree arrived at the pandal and gave His darshan to all the devotees performing and witnessing the Yagna. Devotees from various parts of India and abroad were part of this historical event and thousands of them witnessed the same. Swamiji extended His amrut vani saying that the purifying offerings to the sacred fire in the Yagna not only lead to a fulfilling spiritual experience but also sterilizes the vices in the environment and makes it divine. He explained the manifold significance of Yagna which assures physical, spiritual and intellectual well being which finally leads to Atmiyata and Suhradbhav in the family and society. Swamishree blessed the Yagna mandap with His divine presence for some time and witnessed the proceedings of Yagna at the main havan kund.
In the evening, a Shobha Yatra took place in which the idols of Shri AksharPurushottam Maharaj, Shri RadhaKrishnadev, GuruHari Shastriji Maharaj, GuruHari Yogiji Maharaj and Pragat GuruHari Hariprasadswamiji Maharaj were brought into the temple through a spectacular procession. The “Shobha Yatra” started at 6.30 p.m with a well decorated chariot in which the murtis were placed.
The next day, 21st November 2010 proved to be a remarkable and a very memorable day for all the devotees as the murti pratishtha ceremony took place in the newly constructed temple in the premises of Atmiya Vidya Mandir. In the early morning of the auspicious day of DevDiwali, at 9.00 am, H.D.H. P.P Hariprasadswamiji Maharaj arrived in the Mandir where He was greeted by many devotees. Swamishree began walking up to the mandir dome and stepped up the stairs with His lotus feet.
The rituals of murti pratishtha were being performed under the main dome of the temple. A special seat had been prepared for Swamishree, and around Him sat some 1000 or more well-wishers and senior devotees. The several thousands of other guests and devotees attentively witnessed the proceedings live on giant video screens in the marquee. Swamishree Himself began to perform the prescribed rituals as Brahmins chanted the appropriate Vedic hymns and verses. The chanting and prayers reverberated around the dome, charging the atmosphere with divinity.
Finally, at 10.15 am, Swamishree was requested to enter the sanctum sanctorum and begin the final rituals and prayers that would perfectly consecrate the murtis. Whilst He Himself performed the pratishtha rituals of the murtis of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swamiji in the central sanctum, He requested Param Pujya Aksharvihari Swamiji to do the same for the murtis of GuruHari Shastriji Maharaj and GuruHari Yogiji Maharaj.
In the outer sanctums, the senior saints performed the rituals for the murtis of Shree Hanumanji and Lord Ganesha.
Around 10:30 am, Swamishree, the saints and other guests were given lighted wicks with which to perform the aarti – in front of the deities who were instilled with pran, now fully consecrated in all their royal divinity. The aarti announced to the world the completion of the Vedic ceremonies. The mandir now was no longer just a beautiful inert physical object, but became new, radiated with the infinite divinity and tranquility of God.
After the ceremonies, the curtain to the sanctum was closed and as everyone waited outside, the murtis were clothed in regal splendour and an annakut of hundreds of devotionally prepared dishes were placed artistically before them. This was the first offering to the Lord here!
Swamishree and the guests were then led to the sabha mandap outside the Kothar Bhavan at school cricket ground. The sabha mandap was sanctified with the presence of saints and all the sadhaks from Haridham. The soothing effect of bhajan-kirtan at the beginning of the sabha was perfect to maintain the decorum of such a pious event. Very soon Swamishree arrived and gave His darshan to the thousands of devotees who were eager to have His glimpse. Pujya Sugney Swamiji delivered the ceremonial discourse after the kirtan aradhana. Thereafter, Swamishree was greeted with offering of flowers as all the devotees witnessed it with folded hands. Thereafter dignitaries, officials and respectable personalities present in the function were welcomed. Thereafter, Swamishree blessed the highly dedicated devotees of Bharthana village and those of the Surat area who had toiled day and night to contribute in the functional activities of Atmiya Vidya Mandir and be instrumental in Swamishree’s mission of Atmiyata.
It was followed by a noteworthy speech of Sarthakbhai Jariwala, a student of 11th Science from Atmiya Vidya Mandir who is also the Headboy of the school. Sarthakbhai shared how over the years, they (students of AVM) have been instilled with the feeling of Atmiyata and righteousness. He also shared the fact how Swamiji takes care of them and how Swamiji takes interest in each and every minor detail of the school may it be food, clothes, studies or any other facilities in the school. Sarthakbhai very well explained Swamiji’s vision about the name of the school. As all the students are given this Sutra by Swamishree that they should invoke the God before and after studies which is a sure way to success, thus they study or attain Vidya remaining Atmiya with one another. And it is a befitting feature to make a temple in the school, hence, the name Atmiya Vidya Mandir.
After this heart touching speech of Sarthakbhai, Swamishree blessed the devotees through His paraavani. Swamishree expressed His wish that through Atmya Vidya Mandir He wants to gift the society such eligible individuals who would be devotional, emotionally balanced, intellectually competent and spiritually strong.
Swamishree further said that temple in the school is significant for the concentration of divine energies and vibrations which would keep the students devoid of any vices consequently enabling them to be in a right state of mind to absorb teaching. Thus they will be capable to acquire the qualities of true perception, right judgement, self-mastery, patience, altruism, and unselfishness.
Last but not the least was an amazing speech by Niramaybhai, a student of Grade 2 at Atmiya Vidya Mandir. The devotees had enchanting darshan of Swamiji’s smiling and delightful face expressions while He was listening to Niramaybhai’s speech. In his innocent and sweet voice Niramaybhai said that they are very fortunate that Swamiji started the school from Grade 1 so that right from such a young age they are inculcated with good values. He said that the temple in the school would help them make their heart itself a temple. After the sabha, the devotees moved to have prasad as lunch.
The weather gods were evidently spectator who reserved considerate and ideal conditions that prevailed throughout the festivities but as soon as the sabha was over, the Indradevta showered His grace through heavy downpour on this special event.
Thus, with the inauguration of the temple began a new era for Atmiya Vidya Mandir.
સ્વામીજી આ સ્કૂલ તમે બનાવી એ તમારી અમારા આત્મા પર કરુણા છે…
સ્વામીજી તમે અમને આત્મીયતા શીખવાડી એ તમારી અમારા આત્મા પર કરુણા છે…
સ્વામીજી તમે આ મંદિર બનાવ્યું અને ઠાકોરજી પધરાવ્યા એ તમારી અમારા આત્મા પર કરુણા છે…
તો આજ ના દિવસે તમારા અને સમગ્ર ગુણાતીત પુરુષો ના ચરણો માં પ્રાર્થના કરવી છે કે,
“મંદિર બનાવ્યું આપ બિરાજ્યા, કરવી શું આરાધના. હૃદય મંદિરે કાયમ બિરાજો, ભૂલકા ની છે પ્રાર્થના.”
Written by: Seema Madam

Suharadam Murtipratishtha Mahotsav: Live Web Cast

/0 Comments/in , /by

This event will be web cast live, from Atmiya Vidya Mandir on 20th & 21st November 8:30 am onwards Indian Standard Time.

Live Web cast Link: mms://win.1.c2.audiovideoweb.com/1c2winlive6984

For optimum viewing experience of the Suhradam Murti Pratistha Mahotsav at Atmiya Vidya Mandir, kindly open the webcast link given below using Microsoft Internet Explorer.
If you are reading this page using Microsoft Internet Explorer then simply click on the link below to start viewing the webcast.

If you are using any other browser, kindly exit the browser and open this page using Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Happy viewing!

Regards,

Atmiya Vidya Mandir Parivar

Pursuing the guided goals: Sundaram House

/0 Comments/in , /by
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was duty. I acted and beheld that duty was joy.” (Rabindranath Tagore)

Inculcating the sagacity between having right to find pleasure and doing right to become happy, Once again Sundaram House made a humble effort through morning assemblies and display boards to contribute in building characters which are enduring while forged in the furnace of responsibilities which in larger sense become duties.

Students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir are blessed and privileged to have some daily duties guided by P P Hariprasad Swamiji so that they can live an ideal student life which eventually lead them to achieve great success. Sundaram House members have attempted to channelize their activities towards the guided path showed by Him. With a backdrop of thought provoking and noteworthy features of daily duties of an ideal student. The morning assembly stage was well set with an imposing banner of Sundaram house and it’s slogan ‘House Of United Hearts And Unbeatable Spirit’. Along with a magnificent artificial hibiscus (flower) having the daily duties of the students written on its petals.

To begin with the house week, on very first day, Harshil Soni from VIII Std delivered thought about Daily Prayer as an important duty of a student. Extending his thought on the power of prayer and its magical contributions in the student life, Priyavadan Sir gave a brain storming session to the students. He defined the act of saying a prayer and actually praying. Giving some practical tips on communicating with God through daily prayer, Priyavadan Sir suggested students to involve and invoke God’s intervention in all their enterprises.

The next day, it was the time to review the most talked about yet important duty of a student that is completing the home work on day to day basis. Dhimant M Rambhia from IX B shared thought for the day and Seema Madam urged the students to remove the preconceived notions about homework as a burden but to do it for practice and revision. She also explained how doing homework on daily basis can help to adopt habit of regularity and sincerity. The following day, the most sensitive aspect of student life was highlighted which is keeping good company. Sagar N. Patel from IX B spoke thought for the day saying ‘It is mandatory for a student to keep good friends who can show him his areas of improvements’. Rupashree Madam elucidated about an ideal living by a student. She said that a student should help his class fellows in solving their educational problems. He should be sincere, hard-working and co-operative. He should wear neat and clean dress. He should also know his religious duties.

Yet another and must-practice-it-now and always duty of the student is to keep his senses positive all the time. Arpit Trapasia from VII B presented food for thought that it is our duty to keep our internal- self neat and pure by receiving only the appropriate things through our senses. We should not see, hear, smell, speak and even think about the matter which is not of any worth. Speaking on the same topic, Anand Kalawadia from X Std shared his thoughts on this most obvious duty of keeping the senses positive, it is one of the highly recommended duties given by P.P Swamiji. He also provided reference of Vachanamrut (Gadhada Pratham 18) presenting its practical relevance and amazing outcome.

P.P Swamiji is always concerned about bringing up of the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir. Time to time He guides the students and teachers to perform some important daily duties which lead to sure ways of happiness and success. Duties given by Him are obvious to churn out the students who will be accountable family members, responsible citizens and above all loyal attendant of moral duties.
During the creative assembly of Sundaram House, the action dance was on the song Swami dada ni vaat na bhulai performed by students of junior group depicting the duties of students recommended by P.P . Swamiji.

Students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir just not try to perform these duties given by P.P Swamiji but adopt them as a habit .One fine example of the same was presented by the students of class 2 based on the true incident happened at Atmiya Vidya Mandir when Niramaybhai Mehta of Class 2 was performing his duty sincerely.

Senior students also presented a skit which showcased an informal interaction among students at hostel (role played by Sunny, Niral and Meet Chug of IX Std, Deep and Akshay of XI Std) which conveyed the message that we should be committed to follow our daily duties and moral obligations without knowing about other’s concern towards the same. Thus the creative assembly of Sundaram house was an urge to convince the students to change their focus from the effort they take to do their duties to the pleasure they can experience on its completion.
The Soft board theme was ‘India’s contribution to the world in Science and Mathematics’. Adequate information about the Indian genius (Aryabhatta, Bhaskaracharya, Shakuntala Devi, Shushrut, C.V Raman and Charak) was well presented and finely laid upon the petals of an imposing flower made up of origami paper. Through these displays, students acknowledged the worth and significance of Indian talent which catered a feeling of being proud to be an Indian.

Thus Sundaram House jog the memory of the students on the duties prescribed by P.P.Swamiji that they should be respectful towards their parents as well as their teacher. They should always seek knowledge from teachers. They should complete their home work in time. They should be punctual. If they are confused about any topic they should ask their teachers about that topic.

Food for thought by Sundaram House: Duty unto death to live an eternal life………..

Written by: Seema Madam

Bidding Adieu to Lord Ganesha

/0 Comments/in , /by
Harmonized with unusual blend of festive fervor (Ganesh Chaturthi) and academic persuasion (Trial Exams), students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir were once again set to pray and procure the benediction. The pious prayer hall of school became the ad hoc holy abode of lord Gnash when an imposing idol of this elephant headed deity was placed on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Throughout the five days of the celebration of the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesh, during the evening prayer, the prayer hall area of the school was conspicuous with the sight of students, teachers, housemasters, didis and other members of Atmiya family, giving off a general aura of faith and fun. They remained engaged in observing and witnessing with folded hands – the rituals being performed by the Sanskrit teacher Pushpak Sir who was chanting Vedic Mantras in front of the idol.

Besides its religious sanctity, this five day festival played an important role as students were able to perceive impeccable harmony while participating in daily prayer, aarti and bhajan. They were all set to take fresh spiritual resolves and pray to Lord Ganesha for inner spiritual strength to attain success in all their undertakings.

Each day in Atmiya Vidya Mandir brings a new experience with a new learning. Rejoicing with such festive celebration students get an opportunity to understand culture through religious ceremonies and adopt holistic development with a spurt of balancing act while walking on the tight rope finely woven with academics, values and convictions.

Students find the much celebrated form of the Lord Ganesha intriguing with an elephant head and a with a pot belly. During the evening prayer, through Vedic Mantras, their Sanskrit teacher Shri Pushpak Joshi explained them the inner meaning of Lord Ganesha’s form – the elephant’s head is considered to be the biggest which teaches to become broad minded. The small eyes inspire far sightedness. The big swaying ears conveys message of being a good listener. The strongest yet sensitive trunk teaches to be strong towards our beliefs but at the same time be gentle to other people’s emotions. Above all, Lord Ganesha is symbol of a devotional, responsible and an ideal son.

Despite long period of studies, festivals retain their uniqueness in Atmiya Vidya Mandir and are celebrated with deep devoutness. Throughout these five days of Lord Ganesha’s birth anniversary celebration, students participated in daily pooja of the elephant headed God which offered them an insight that religious rites and rituals have created connections to universal truths that are shared in every culture.

This five day festive fervor put to hold with immersion of the idol of lord Ganesha into a nearby holy river. Students, teachers and entire Atmiya family congregated to see off the lord back to His eternal abode, with a wish for His early and sure return. On this auspicious occasion let’s pray-

May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon us all!


May He remove all the obstacles that stand in our spiritual path!


May He bestow on us prosperity as well as renders stillness to the mind enabling us to be choicest children of the eternal father!!!

Written by: Seema Madam

Teachers! its just not a Day

/0 Comments/in , /by
A day that is dedicated to the inspirers bridging possibilities and achievements! A day which is outcome of the unique glory of relationship bountiful and submerged with unbeatable affection! A day being celebrated for those who align the inherent talent in making dreams and desires real! A day for re-defining feelings for teachers.
Driven by pristine emotions and affection for their teachers, students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir acquired event management skills overnight. The event was Teacher’s day celebration and students gave their sweat and soul to host a memorable evening for their Teachers, House masters, Didis and other members of the school. Dressed up in elegant and formal wears, students took up the roles of perfects hosts, in keeping with the school theme quite sensibly.

It was much beyond the imagination to find the students putting their earnest efforts to reciprocate the love and affection of teachers. A memorable programme was organized to honor teachers in fullest with most powerful expression. Bestowing it with dignity and enriching it with a deeper sense of respect, they welcomed the teachers by doing poojan and showering flowers on them.

Nothing happens beyond the reach of almighty, having been well instilled with this belief, they began the programme by inviting the elders of the school management to do the poojan of Thakorji .

The gusty and feisty show holders Mantvya Patel and Bhadra Parekh were right at the nook much like well trained professional hosts with their witty remarks, humorous expressions and some glimpses of poetic flourishes for their beloved teachers. They were able to maintain an enticing blend of devious humour and warmth of extreme regard and fondness for the guests of the show.

Joyous mood swept across the venue of the programme, as the fire of this noteworthy evening was set by the first performance of solo singing by Karan Bhakta singing a touching song “Tumse Hi”. This track just arrested the attention of the audience off their feet as he attempted some artistic brilliance. Karan sang wholeheartedly to showcase his soulful voice with supporting phenomenal music projecting an influential symphony. To ultimately take the audience by storm, there were dancers (Love Patel, Harshit Agrawal, Umang Mistry, Suraj Yadav, Krushan Patel, Vaishvik Maisurya, Vaishvik Patel) doing a jig in the backdrop giving a mesmerizing performance. The budding choreographers Piyush Sarda and Harsh Ambalia took initiative to add this concept of backdrop dancing with an effort to do something special for their pioneers (teachers). This special appearance of this heart- to -heart act created an evening that can never be forgotten.

Characteristically making the show intimate enough, the hosts, Bhadra and Mantavya left no chance to convey their message to their beloved teachers and to do the same, with enticing queries, they moved around the audience asking the jubilant students to say a few words about their favourite teachers. It was prominently a heart touching approach, depicting an idea of respecting teachers. Truly ensconced itself in the statements as some of them expressed meaning of a teacher which goes beyond the dictionary limit. Announcing their favourite teachers amicably even with some heart-touching reference students were able to ferrets out admiration for their teachers. Abhishek from XI Sci and Manav from X Std stated “Our teachers help us to make choices more empowered with values”. A senior student stated his feeling for his teacher “Right from pre-primary ,we have been benefited by our teachers who have gone beyond their call of duty, to mould us into better human beings, first and foremost, and then to instil in us a sense of purpose for life.”

This was followed by the groundbreaking dance performance by IX and X Std students (Harsh Ambalia, Smeet Bhatt, Deval Patel, Mishal Kansara, Vinay Rathi, Siddharth Shah, Akshay Patel) ‘Everything will be alright’ – something that was widely requested by the loyal fans of these ‘smashing dancers’ who displayed scintillating performances. These students offered an unmatched diversity of styles, making for a fast-paced, electrifying one-of-a-kind performance that never ceased to surprise the teachers. They were able to take up all contemporary style, while the music spans the breadth and depth of all that’s possible. Every dancer added his unique move like somersaults and free falls which were particularly noteworthy and must surely have momentarily provided the performers with a completely new angle of felicitating or honouring teachers. These dancers of the budding choreographer Siddharth Shah (XI Science) who channelized their energy and enthusiasm which was executed at a high magnitude that teachers were fully impressed with. All the sequences and moves were blended harmoniously with the beat of the music.

With the perfect decorum of the surroundings of prayer hall, teachers couldn’t escape the charm of the evening. The hosts left no chance to make the audience giggling away with some witty remarks.

Saturated in convincing scenes of teacher-student bonding, the next appealing presentation was a small skit (Conceptualized by Saumya Madam and directed by Pravartak Sir and Tarun Sir and performed by Sarveshvar, Rushi, Akshat, Harsh, Ashish, Raj, Ronak and Kishan Viradia). It illustrated inherent events and moments of teacher-student tie, hard to untangle, sort of Tom and Jerry bond. The characters were at ease posing and preening to get under the skin of the roles. The stage had a dramatic tint with a backdrop sound- effect of a moving train. The music had crystal clear dramatic effects. Characters enacted and rocked the stage with a spoof which had a preaching climax with a message of unparalleled patience and understanding – a teacher possesses.

The sustenance of education was palpable in the conduct of these students who left no effort to make the show grand. Teachers were spell bound and overwhelmed and remained glued to their seats throughout the programme.

Captured in leisurely yet with convincing grace, once again it was the time for the hosts to be among the audience to know more about what they think for their teachers. Het Adhvaryu (VIII A) said “My teacher helps me to get ready to become more intimate with myself and my world.” Another student offers a similar appreciation: “My teacher is always kind and makes me feel so at ease whenever I go to him with questions.“

Speaking on the occasion, the Principal Swayam Madam extended her thanks to the teachers and students. She also appreciated the students for their intense, passionate and vibrant performances showcasing their sheer creativity and sublime joy to perform for their teachers.

On this day , students expressed their indebtedness by presenting greeting cards to all the teachers individually having their qualities printed on it, Students got an opportunity to exhibit their privilege to be taught and guided by such teachers but the arrangements of this wonderful evening force the teachers to be proud of them.

The most charming and impressive part of this evening was the sumptuous candle light dinner being served by 11th Std students with warmth and regards. This event also proved a spectacular display of adoration and split-second precision with which each student went through his paces reflecting the caring attitude they have acquired so far. This, too, was an event of considerable merit earning the acclaim of all the teachers and staff members who beheld it. The teachers were at relish seeing their efforts turning their students into perfect hosts and event managers.

Finally, after witnessing these touching outpourings, it is inevitable to say that students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir are growing with sixth sense.

Written by: Seema Madam

I, We and India

/0 Comments/in , /by
India is our pride and we are proud to be Indian!
Considering this line as the foundation of our being, Shivam House celebrated the week with the value –Patriotism. The value – Patriotism was cherished in three levels i.e. Personal, Social and National.
The Personal level Patriotism was elaborated through Soft Board decoration.
‘Ocean is a collective form of an individual drop’.
 With this analogy, every drop represents ocean. Similarly, every individual of India represents India. Being a part of great nation – India, everyone feels himself responsible for anything happening around and thus binds himself with the feeling of Team India. To experience this message, the soft board had logos of different organizations, which conveyed some inspiring messages or represented some values in life that contributed to the development of India as a whole. We also had accidental discoveries section. The students researched on the topics and came up with many interesting details, which gave India a new pathway to attain sophisticated technology.
The Social level Patriotism was elaborated through audio-visual tools in daily assembly.
Every human is a social animal and thus being loyal and sincere to his society is one of the most important aspects of patriotism. Making India proud of being a united nation with so many diversities, the importance of every state of India was narrated in daily assembly. Students were also encouraged to become good social humans by making the judicious use of resources, scoring high grades by studying sincerely, leading the mass by being proactive and many more such messages were conveyed in daily assembly with the help of audio visual tools. Everyday a presentation was projected to impart the values of Patriotism in daily life. To enhance the social domain of the students, social well-being and life skills were experienced through stage decoration.

The National level Patriotism was elaborated through the presentation and stage performance in creative assembly.
In order to pay a tribute to the freedom fighters our Nation, creative assembly of Shivam House was designed with the small skit having a combination of dance and drama depicting the life and sacrifice of freedom fighters from Mangal Pandey to Mahatma Gandhi. The Junior group students were dressed up such that they represented all the national symbols of India. They walked up one by one and conveyed the meaning and importance of all the national symbols of India. The importance and significance of National Flag and National Anthem were addressed to by the students.
The success of the week is not all the things mentioned above, it was just an exposure to the students but the real success is that students themselves got involved in all the activities starting from the preparation to the last presentation. The ultimate idea, of celebrating the week, acquired its meaningful shape when boys were in tears while watching the play on freedom fighters.
Let us be United, let us be Atmiya and let India flourish with all it has.
Written by: Chirag Sir