Celebrating Success at the Virmani Public School, Roop Nagar, Delhi

When I was invited to the Annual Day Function of the Virmani Public School, Roop Nagar by Mr. Anil Virmani, Chairman of the Virmani Education Trust, I simply had to accept it! I started my career in education as an employee of the trust nearly 29 years ago when I joined the Dhanpatmal Virmani Sr. Secondary School at Roop Nagar, Delhi. Both the Dhanpatmal Virmani Sr. Sec. School and the Virmani Public School (both sister schools) have been close to my heart since they nurtured me during my formative years as a teacher of English.

What I noticed when I visited the Vrimani Public School on the 17th of February was a total transformation, it has become a model of what an ideal public school should look like and what aspiring schools should look up to.

The colour decor of the classrooms was light and pleasing, the display boards were bursting with loads of exemplars of student work, a swanky and well-designed computer lab, and a pleasing and spacious library, all grabbed my attention! All the classrooms had a small metal placard mentioning the name of each member of the trust as a tribute to each member's contribution to the pursuit of education. All of these changes are the fruits of the efforts of  Mr Amitav Virmani, the Manager of the school, and of course the CEO of Education Alliance!

Dr Rekha Sharma, the Principal of the Virmani Public School oversaw the flow of events very efficiently. Her professional approach and growth mindset attitude have, without doubt also contributed to the school's transformation.

I was particularly impressed by how well-groomed our student guides were as they took Avtar Singh (the HOS of the Dhanpatmal Virmani Senior Secondary School) and me on a tour of the classrooms, labs and library. The students who were presenting their displays spoke fluent English and were confident in their approach.

It was simply amazing to see how one of the oldest schools in Roop Nagar has transformed itself, breaking out of the cobwebs of time and typical stereotypes that affect educational institutions, especially government-aided schools! It is truly a model and an example of how out-of-the-box thinking, rational policies, the System's approach and some effort can create models of excellence.

And the best of all was the release of a book titled, 'Tiny Tales, Big Dreams' by students of class 6 A of the Virmani Public School. Students of the class were encouraged to write stories on characters in the lessons they had read in English. In his address to the gathering, Mr Amitav Virmani attributed the success of the school to the positivity of the teachers and the 8 'Cs'. The eight Cs according to him needed for success include: Courage, Curiosity, Creativity, Critical thinking, Consciousness, Collaboration, and Consistency.

At the 37th Surajkund International Crafts Fair

This time like in the previous years, February was a month we looked forward to eagerly since it is the month when the Surajkund Crafts Fair takes place. The Crafts Fair offers an extravaganza of handicraft items from all over the world; it offers a glimpse into all the cultures of different countries, through their dresses and dances.

I spotted the man whose photograph I have posted below from the African continent wearing a cap crowned with Porcupine quills. He graciously smiled at me even as I photographed him. It is amazing how positive most of the participants at the fair were!

The little girl whose photograph I have poster below was selling decorative bells. She looked particularly confident as she helped her parents!

I have been photographing the man on the left in the photograph below for the past five years and although time has passed, he doesn't seem to have changed a lot. His companion, however, was missing this year.

These Russian dolls were very nicely done. The Russian stall has offered traditional Russian Dolls that are evocative of the culture of that country.

Turkish lanterns have been a big crowd puller over the last few years at the Surajkund Crafts Fair. This year too, there was a crowd at the stall.

The two girls, in the photograph below whom I initially thought to be from Mongolia but later told me that they were from Kyrgistan were glad to be photographed.

The African dancers blazed the stage with their power-packed performances. No wonder they are so energetic and dynamic! Climbing on to to of her dance partners and yet maintaining balance was indeed nothing short of a dynamic performance for the girl!

At the Fair, this time, I took a few photographs of painters at the group show of 35 artists at a painting workshop a few of which I am gladly sharing.

Adventures of a Wildlife Photographer

Last Sunday, when I decided to visit the Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon after a hiatus of about a couple of months, I did not expect the weather to turn for the worse, nor was I aware of a funny encounter I would be having with an Asian Golden Jackal! What had started as a clear morning, at about 5:30 a.m. would become a foggy overcast morning by the time I reached the National Park at 7:00 a.m. After about 25 minutes into my sojourn, it began to drizzle. 

At first, it was the odd sound of raindrops striking the water's surface in the different ponds and pools, and then it really started to pour! Fortunately, I could pack my camera into its case and stand close to the forked trunks of a tree. I was on the track that runs around the park and was literally berating myself for having decided to visit the Park on such a dull morning. In the middle of my thoughts, a sixth sense alerted me to the presence of something, and turning round, I looked through the fork of the tree, and saw to my surprise a young Asian Golden Jackal trotting towards me! I wonder who was more shocked, the Jackal or me! Anyway, the moment the Jackal spotted me, he stopped abruptly and then dashed back the way he had come! I, for one thing, wished I had my camera out and ready, but then one cannot be ready enough when shooting in the wild!

But then that encounter with the Jackal was not the last one and when the rain lessened a bit, I retreated down the path for a hundred meters or so and then stood under another tree with my back to the trunk. This time too, I was alerted by my sixth sense that something was approaching me. Looking beyond the tree trunk I spotted the same Jackal, this time approaching me down a parallel path in a depression. This time the Jackal looked at me fearlessly, even as he turned his head towards me as he passed me. I literally wanted to stamp my feet in frustration as I was helpless, my camera was in its case, it was raining and I was soggy wet. The Jackal, however, was having a grand time, trotting along in the rain. I could imagine the springiness in its feet! The best shots are the missed shots, and they can only be etched in your mind and not in your camera. That, I guess is what drives people to visit the wild, it is not the capture of an image on a digital device, but the experience of being in the wild. I could smell the scents of the mustard flowers wafting in from a plantation nearby and of course the sounds of the wilderness.

The rewards of patience, can, however, exceed expectations at times as I was about to realize. After it stopped raining, the skies opened sporadically as the clouds covered and uncovered the sun and it was during these moments that I was able to spot the Greylag Geese wading in the shallows, rooting for succulent titbits underwater. There were moments when they were literally spotlighted by the beams of the sun as and when they were allowed to pass through the clouds. It was a joy to spot the Northern Shoveller Ducks nesting on huge mounds of dried grass in groups of four or five of them. One particular scene was that of a pair of Shoveller Ducks dozing, with one of them with one eye open looking at me from the distance. What was striking was to see that one eye burning like a beacon in the misty morning!

By the time I returned home, my bike was coated with a thick layer of mud, and my shoes weighed a ton from the mud sticking to it. I was, however, happy with what I had been able to capture despite the bad weather. The moral of the story? Well, I guess, one needs to persevere in one's goal for the the and not let one's negative thoughts ruin the prospects. Moreover, one only sometimes gets good photographs of wild animals and birds in the wild, what matters though is the experience of being connected to nature. A fleeting glance at a wild animal should spice your day.

These photographs might not win accolades, but then they do describe an experience that is genuine and authentic. I have rarely found the best conditions for taking photographs at the Sultanpur National Park for the very reason that the fog and lighting conditions during the winter months are really bad. Nevertheless, I guess my visit to the the Sultanpur National Park on a foggy, rainy day was with it!