1 |Mody School Weekly

Exploring the Wilderness in the Guide Camp We were very disappointed when we got to know that we will miss our Annual Guide and Scouts Camp which was scheduled for October. Many of us were to clear our second and final stages but when Mr. Kailash Saini, our guide master announced that it had been rescheduled, our happiness knew no bounds.

For us in Class 10, it would be our last opportunity to clear the examination and add another feather to our caps.

The 5 day camp with a unit of 15 students led by Prache Bansal and yours truly started on 16th November in the scout and guide training headquarters, Lakshmangarh. The opening was marked by a lot of pomp and show and also by meeting our mates from other groups. We took up the cause of rendering service to society and thus also participated in an event to spread awareness about

Ayurveda medicine to combat swine flu. Our mornings usually began with a yoga class and regular exercises, after which, we cooked our food and cleaned our utensils, rooms and tents. Every morning, we hoisted our flag and paid our respects to the nation. We also had our usual lectures on First Aid, Pioneering, Knot Art, Guide History, etc. Suddenly, on the third day we were informed that a talent hunt competition was going to be organized by the Rajasthan government and the government of India; we geared ourselves up and enthusiastically participated in the Group & Solo Song, Group Dance and Debate categories respectively. In the group dance category, we stood 2nd and 3rd in debate and Solo song respectively. The topic for the debate competition was 'Youth Power' and the time span was up to 4 minutes. The topic was given spontaneously. In the group Song category, the hall echoed with verses of Ekal Geet, our School theme song.

The Guide organization is a worldwide association which started in India in 1911 under British rule. Its main emphasis is on globalization and elimination of all the discriminatory practices. It also grooms boys and girls alike to be compassionate about God's creation and nature. We also learnt that the hands that serve are the most beautiful. It also propagates the words of Gandhiji by recognizing dignity of labor."Everyone must be his own scavenger”. We also went for hiking in the rural parts of the town and explored them as well as the new us, encored by new values and ethics. The camp ended on 20 November 2017, with heavy hearts, we had to bid goodbye but with smiles and tears on our face.

The entire guiding team thanks our beloved Cobra Man, Mr. Kailash Saini, for providing us with such an opportunity. We will relish this experience forever in our hearts. Finally, in the words of Martin Luther King, the three pledges of the Guide teaches us "All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." - Priti Narayan, X

Established in 1989

Mody School Weekly Chattering Mynahs

4th December, 2017 | Issue No. 037

1. Exploring the

Wilderness in the

Guide Camp

2. RS in Pilani; Why Me?;

Dreams…

3. A Precious Gift; No one

but You

4. Wildlife Corner,

Farewell

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. (Albert Einstein)

2 |Mody School Weekly

A ROUND SQUARE IN PILANI I, along with five delegates– Rudrakshi, Pavitra, Yastika, Mahek and Anchal escorted by Mrs. Kavita Sharma

attended the Birla Public School, Pilani Round Square Conference which was held between 19th to 21st

November 2017. Based on the IDEALS six barazzas were organized where each barazza showcased its

thoughts on the topic “… can make a difference”. On 19th Treasure hunt took place where we were

provided with a map and certain clues through which we could reach the required destination imminent by

the opening ceremony where Mr. Sanjeev KR Lohia influenced all of us by his innovative thinking. We also

had our first barazza session that day. The afternoon was followed up by the Bonfire where people

displayed their talents and spent their leisure time by singing and dancing. On 20th after the barazza

session we spent the whole day with adventure activities such as the Rock climbing, zip lining, earth

balling, zobing, etc. We were also given a situation where we were trapped in a forest and we had to do

certain tasks by the provided materials. In the evening we went to the BITS, Pilani and had a heartfelt meal.

On the last day we had the closing ceremony and a keynote speech by Mr. Ankur Dhama who thrilled us by

his experiences and his will power. We also had the cultural evening followed by the Principal’s dinner at

The Mandawa Fort. This experience not only helped us interact with people around us but also made us

look at the world with different perspective. I am highly grateful to the student council and the

management who had always been supportive and helpful. Thus, I would like to end up by saying that this

Round Square Conference made a difference! -Kamayani Solanki, XI Sci

WHY ME? Life has a strange way of sneaking up on us. The

question is what do we do when life gives us a wakeup

call. Many times life sends us signals and our natural

hesitation or inner voice, holds us back. We all admire

those who came before us to take leaps of faith when

life opened a door.

When somebody pulls off a success, people are quick

to call it luck. I disagree. My dad has always said,

“There is an extremely fine line between thinking

about it and doing it”. Sounds like a daily soap right,

when I was young didn’t knew the prestige of these

words, but now I get it. When life sends you signals,

do you say “Why me?” or “Why not me?”

That voice inside your head always stops you. We over

think and overanalyze decisions. We fear failure and

what people will think if we fail. You must put a stop to

that style of thinking. I have been there and we have

all been there. Risks must be taken to succeed. We

must take chances and leaps of faith. The path will not

be clear and we will face obstacles we cannot see.

Failure will always be a possibility. Who cares? Go for

it.

I almost fell victim to the “why me” voice in my head

every now and then. Where are the guts to take a

chance and go for it? Why not me? I told myself I can

do this and the real me was born.

–Radha Agarwal, IX

DREAMS..? We all dream but why don’t we remember our

dreams? it is a question asked by every one of

us but no one has the answer to the question.

But we do. Dreams are basically a movie

playing in our mind while we sleep but

seriously, dreams are a series of images,

thoughts and ideas that occur in our mind

involuntary while we sleep. There are a lot of

theories on why we can’t remember our

dreams; one of them is that the neuro-

chemicals of our brain are very different

during sleep from when we are awake. The

other theory is that we don’t pay attention to

our dreams or we are not able to while we

sleep so whenever we wake up, we are not

able to remember anything. Researchers used

around 200 subjects with sleeping disorders

and asked them if they remembered their

dreams of last night. Most of them said no but

all showed signs of dreaming. We could also

be forgetting our dreams as our alarm clock

jolts us out of them, skipping us out of that

half-asleep state where we may have

remembered them. So, let us throw those

alarm clocks in the dustbin and try to

remember our dreams and sleep till noon!

Ishita and Diksha, IX

3 |Mody School Weekly

A PRECIOUS GIFT It was a gift too precious to me

When I held it with excitement

My eyes followed it with astonishment

My hands embraced its cover with a flame of love

in mind

And received it from a human kind.......

Unfenced it with a tear and a smile.....

It was a weapon of my life…

He gifted me a weapon which I use day in and day

out,

To take a stand in this competitive world...

It gives me the strength to unfold my latent desires

It aids me to fight against the storm

And inspires me to illuminate each and every soul

It was a gift too precious to me,

And will stay with me till Judgment Day!

It rests here, right near my heart in my pocket

forever and ever

It rests here, near my heart

It was a gift of a pen

Given by my creator with hope and blessings on my

forehead

It was a gift too precious;

For an author, it is the oxygen to survive and an

elixir of life!

Yes, it was a gift too precious to me

It was a gift of pen by the creator of my life

- Daksha Solanki, XI

Arts

BENDING IT RIGHT! I am extremely happy to inform you all that 8 of us, that is, Hema Yadav, Kanchan Yadav, Shrishti Sharma, Khushi

Pachar, Ananya Kedia, Prachi Bansal, Tanisha Agarwal and I participated in the YOGA IPSC 2017 at MAYO

COLLEGE AJMER, RAJASTHAN and put up an excellent performance in the U-14 and U-19 categories. 8 girls took

part in ATHLETICS YOGA and Hema Yadav participating in RHYTHMIC YOGA secured the 3rd position. We faced

very tough competition among the nine schools who were also participating in the event. Yoga is as much an

exercise of the body as it is controlling the mind. When we perform yoga, we use our powers of concentration

and combine it with balancing our arms and legs. Under the guidance of our teachers, we have learnt how to

use this technique. It has helped us in other ways also.

Our journey began on the 2nd of October early in the morning. We reached Mayo College three hours later. We

all enjoyed a lot and got to learn many new things. We also made new friends there. Our greeting everyone

with ‘Namaskar’ was much appreciated by the teachers of other schools. We made many memories and left on

the 5th of October to arrive back at Mody again. It had been a great trip. - Aasee Maheshwari, IX

NO ONE, BUT YOU There in the crowd you stand,

With a candle in your hand.

You’re raging at what happened last night,

How justice again went blind.

You’re appalled at the state of the nation,

How the daily newspaper leads to frustration.

You contemplate how humanity has gone astray,

How elites take the poor for their prey.

You want to grow up and bring a change,

Say that our fate isn’t decided by our body or our

name.

But then

Who was it, I saw laughing at the poor in his rags

Who was it I saw, flaunting the Chanel bags

Who was it I heard objectifying the girl, who

walked past

Who was it, mocking the boy who’s mentally harassed?

Who was it I saw ‘eeked’ at the homosexuals in the bus

And when it came to compromises, who was it creating the fuss?

When I could take it no more I turned around to

see, Who is this person spewing venom with such

glee? Well! I was shell shocked at what I saw,

The person standing here couldn’t put up this show!

As I turned, hypocrisy blew me through, Because it was no one--no one, but you!

-Gurjashan Kaur, IB 1

4 |Mody School Weekly

INDIAN WOLF SNAKE

Indian Wolf Snake (Lycodon Aulicus) is a species of non-

venomous snake found all over India. Slender-bodied and

smooth-scaled, its flattened head is slightly broader near

the neck; it has a broad snout and its eyes are entirely

black. It has very attractive colouring with a glossy gray,

brown or black upper body usually with 10-20 narrow white

or yellow bands that fork on its sides. The neck very often

has a whitish or yellowish collar. The Indian wolf snake is strictly nocturnal by nature and is found curled up in and around caves, wells, stone piles,

hollow of trees and often in houses. Adults eat gecko s and insects. The female lays 5 to 7 eggs in the rainy season. They are shy, alert and more aggressive than other wolf snakes. On being provoked, they initially try to escape and later coil themselves into a ball to hide its head under itself. In a violent mood, it throws its whole body into a loose coil on the ground and tries to bite. It also inflicts repeated bites on bare-handling. Some people feel threatened by these maneuvers and are more prone to killing it than avoiding it. They often confuse with and identify it with venomous species such as the common krait. People frequently consider it a variety of krait and immediately pass a death sentence on it! Indian wolf snake is a beautiful creature of nature and quite harmless. I entreat all not to kill it and save it to keep our environment diverse and vibrant. - Kailash Saini, sainikailashchand78@gmail.com

FAREWELL, Mr. DINESH ‘DHRUV’ SHARMA We bid goodbye to one of the most sincere and committed members of the faculty

this week. Mr. Dinesh Sharma or ‘Dhruv’ as he liked to call himself, joined Mody

School 10 years ago and was known for his meticulous style of working and his

strong Gandhian values. No Gandhi Jayanti function would pass without him

extolling the virtues of Gandhi and entreating the young audience to imbibe them in

their own lives. Although a Mathematics teacher, he could hold his own as a

vehement debater, with his hard-hitting arguments and facts. He was a wonderful

worker with a remarkable temper for being ‘organised’ in all that he did. His serene,

unflappable demeanour will be missed by us all. There was an unhurried pace to the way he walked down

the corridors, a slight smile always on his face. That’s how we’ll remember him. All the best, Mr. Dhruv, for

everything that the future holds for you!

Online Edition: http://www.modyschool.ac.in/weekly.html

Editor-in-chief: Ms. Bhavini Sharma (chiefeditor@modyschool.ac.in), Senior Editors: Ms. Harleen Kaur, Ms. Prache Bansal, Ms. Vidushi

Srivastava, (seditor@modyschool.ac.in), Junior Editor: Ms. Ishita Oganja, Ms. Samriddhi Agarwal, Ms. Radha Agarwal

(jeditor@modyschool.ac.in), Senior Correspondent: Ms. Nandini Begwani (scorrespondent@modyschool.ac.in), Junior Correspondent:

Ms. Khushi Jindal, Ms. Anjali Singh (jcorrespondent@modyschool.ac.in), Cartoon Artists & Photographers: Ms. Unnati Singh, Ms. Janvi

Saxena, Ms. Mansi Lakhotia (artists@modyschool.ac.in)

Production Manager: Ms. Meeta Sharma (principal@modyschool.ac.in) Assistant Managers: Ms. Sujata Bhatt,

(sujatabhatt@modyschool.ac.in), Technical Assistant and Webmaster: Ramesh Jangir (rameshjangir@modyschool.ac.in)

WILDLIFE CORNER

GLOBETROTTING IN 80 WORDS Since Independence, there has been significant progress in India: women and Dalits are less exploited and less discriminated against than at any time in the past 5,000 years: Ramachandra Guha; With the aim of contacting alien life, astronomers have sent a radio message to a neighbouring star system — one of the closest known to contain a potentially habitable planet; Artifacts from Egyptian Pharoah King Tut’s

tomb are going on a 10-city international tour next year; Turning around impoverished schools, one step at a time- Prince Charles backs new education bond for India.