MONTHLY BULLETIN OF CITY MONTESSORI SCHOOL, LUCKNOW, INDIA

Personality Development

CMS creates a better future for all children by maximising
their opportunities through quality education and initiatives for unity and development.

To be despatched between 17-20 of each month

January 2019

CMS Republic Day Tableau to be based on the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th Birth Anniversary
“Aisa Mastishk Banao Jaisa tha Bapu Ka, Aisa Adarsh Apanao, Jaisa tha Gandhi Ka”

ऐसा मस्तिष्क बनाओ जैसा था बापू का, ऐसा आदर्श अपनाओ जैसा था गाँधी का!



This year, City Montessori School will be taking out a unique educational tableau on the occasion of Republic Day, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The tableau is aptly titled “Aisa Mastishk Banao Jaisa Tha Bapu Ka, Jaisa Tha Gandhi Ka” (Minds must be created which are like Mahatma Gandhi, whom we lovingly call Bapu, and is expected to be the star attraction at this year's Parade. Through this tableau, CMS children will be calling upon the people of the world to imbibe the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and follow the path of Tyag (self-sacrifice), Satya (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence) for a bright and happy future of humanity.

In the front portion of the tableau, the three monkeys are shown sitting before Mahatma Gandhi and giving the message, (1) Hear no evil (2) See no evil & (3) Speak no evil. "The statue of the Mahatma is shown beside this, delivering the message in these lines of the songs, "Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye, peer parayi jaane re," "Raghupati Raaghav Raja Ram, Patita Pavan Sita Ram, Eishwar Allah tere naam,Sab ko sanmati de Bhagwan." Mahatma Gandhi was a pious and truthful who felt inspired and his actions were guided by the saints and seers of all the religions of the world. He imbibed in his being the ideals of Lord Ram, the philosophy and justice of Lord Krishna, the principle of equality of the enlightened soul of Lord Buddha, the compassion and love of Jesus, the teaching of brotherhood of Mohammed, the spirit of true service of Nanak and the belief in unity of mankind preached by Baha'u'llah, and all these avatars are depicted in the magnificent jhanki as coming from the same One God with their special messages and missions to meet the exigencies of the age, emancipate the fortunes of mankind and purge the earth of all evils.

The second part of the tableau shows the religious places of different religions under one single roof- Mandir, Masjid, Church, Gurudwara, Baudh Vihar, and Baha'i temple. Children in colourful dresses representing the unity in diversity are seen dancing together on the song, “Aisa Mastishk Banao Jaisa Tha Bapu Ka, Jaisa Tha Gandhi Ka.” It is indeed a matter of pride for every Indian to be a part of this song and inspire others to live up to the ideals of Bapu.

Mahatma Gandhi's Charkha (Spinning Wheel) not only stands for self-sufficiency in essential items and use of swadeshi or things made in one's own country, it is also a symbol of the world as one unit and the progressive development of mankind as the Charkha or Wheel of Progress goes round and round. The rear end of the Tableau shows the Charkha being used by Mahatma Gandhi.

The three monkeys are again shown giving the message - See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. The United Nations has realized the importance of spreading the ideals of truth, self-sacrifice and non-violence that Gandhiji preached and in the year 2007 declared Gandhi Jayanti, 2nd October, as the International Day of Non-Violence. Mahatma Gandhi said, "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children." Today, when the world is facing the wrath of Mother Nature manifested in disaster and global warming and the frightening threat of nuclear wars and hatred and perennial animosity between nations, the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi will bring solace to heal the world of all detestable probabilities that hinder peace and prosperity.

इस वर्ष सिटी मोन्टेसरी स्कूल द्वारा गणतन्त्र दिवस की परेड में 26 जनवरी, 2019 को ‘ऐसा मस्तिष्क बनाओ, जैसा था बापू का, जैसा था गाँधी का’ का संदेश देती हुई झाँकी प्रस्तुत की जा रही है। इस झाँकी के माध्यम से सी.एम.एस. के बच्चे सारी दुनियाँ के लोगों से महात्मा गाँधी के सत्य, अहिंसा आदि महत्वपूर्ण विचारों को अपनाने तथा उनके बताये हुए रास्ते पर चलने का आवाह्न कर रहें हैं।

इस झाँकी के प्रथम भाग में महात्मा गाँधी के सामने तीन बंदरों को महात्मा गाँधी के तीन महत्वपूर्ण विचारों- (1) बुरा मत सुनो, (2) बुरा मत कहो और (3) बुरा मत देखो का संदेश देते हुए दिखाया गया है। इसके बगल में बैष्णवजन तो तेने कहिये जे पीर पराई जाने रे, तथा रघुपति राघव राजाराम, पतित पावन सीताराम! ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरो नाम, सब को सन्मति दे भगवान!! का संदेश देते हुए महात्मा गाँधी जी की प्रतिमा को दिखाया गया है। महात्मा गाँधी जी की इस प्रतिमा के ठीक ऊपर एक ही परमपिता परमात्मा की ओर से युग-युग में भेजे गये अवतारों राम, श्रीकृष्ण, महात्मा बुद्ध , ईसा मसीह, मोहम्मद साहब, गुरू नानक देव तथा बहाउल्लाह को उस युग की आवश्यकता के अनुरूप दी गई मर्यादा, न्याय, सम्यक ज्ञान, करूणा, भाईचारा, त्याग और हृदय की एकता का संदेश देते हुए दिखाया गया है।

इस झाँकी के द्वितीय भाग में विभिन्नता में एकता प्रदर्शित करते हुए एक ही छत के नीचे मंदिर, मस्जिद, गिरजाघर, गुरुद्रारा, बौद्ध विहार , बहाई मंदिर आदि विभिन्न पूजा स्थल दिखाये गये हैं, जो यह संदेश दे रहा है कि सभी धर्मों का स्रोत एक ही परमपिता परमात्मा है। इसी छत के नीचे सी.एम.एस. के बच्चे ‘‘ऐसा मस्तिष्क बनाओ, जैसा था बापू का, जैसा था गाँधी का’’ गाने पर नृत्य प्रस्तुत कर रहें है।

झाँकी के तृतीय भाग में एक बच्चे को महात्मा गाँधी के रूप में चरखा चलाते हुए दिखाया गया है जो कि एकता का प्रतीक है। इस भाग में बैठे हुए अन्य बच्चे महात्मा गाँधी के ‘वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्’ तथा ‘जय जगत्’ का संदेश देते हुए बच्चे दिखाये गये हैं, जो यह संदेश दे रहें हैं कि महात्मा गाँधी के विचारों एवं आदर्शों को अपनाकर आज सारे विश्व में एकता एवं शांति की स्थापना की जा सकती है।

झाँकी के चैथे भाग में एक बार पुनः महात्मा गाँधी की प्रतिमा तथा उस प्रतिमा के सामने तीन बंदरों को महात्मा गाँधी के तीन महत्वपूर्ण विचारों - (1) बुरा मत सुनो, (2) बुरा मत कहो और (3) बुरा मत देखो का संदेश देते हुए दिखाया गया है।

अहिंसा की नीति के जरिये विश्व भर में शांति के संदेश को बढ़ावा देने के महात्मा गाँधी के योगदान को स्वीकारने के लिए ही ‘संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ’ ने 2007 में महात्मा गाँधी के जन्मदिवस 2 अक्टूबर को विश्व भर में प्रतिवर्ष ‘अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय अहिंसा दिवस’ के रूप में मनाने का निर्णय लिया।

इस प्रकार महात्मा गाँधी के 150वीं जयन्ती पर सिटी मोन्टेसरी स्कूल, लखनऊ द्वारा गणतंत्र दिवस के अवसर पर 26 जनवरी, 2019 को द्वारा निकाली जाने वाली यह झाँकी भारत के साथ ही विश्व के सभी बच्चों को बचपन से ही महात्मा गाँधी के महान विचारों एवं आदर्शों पर चलकर सारे देश एवं विश्व में एकता एवं शांति की स्थापना के लिए प्रेरित कर रही है।

From the President's Pen...

Prof. Geeta Kingdon President
Dear Parents,

December has been a month of frenetic activity as CMS campuses packed in a lot of work, from pre-board exams of classes X and XII, to giant international events such the ISCPL (by the CMS Kanpur Road campus), IYMC (by CMS Gomti Nagar Campus I), and Eureka (CMS Anand Nagar campus), mothers’ days, career counselling sessions by visiting representatives of leading universities of India and abroad, model class presentations, exam preparation technique workshops by psychological counsellors from Fortis Hospital Delhi, two-day conference for the animators of the Junior Youth Empowerment Programme, our pupils’ participation in national sports competitions, multifarious environmental activities in all campuses as part of the Air Pollution Day etc., etc.

One salient achievement in December that I am delighted to report on is the very pleasing results of our students in the music exams of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). This was the maiden year of our participation in these exams and I am absolutely thrilled to say that we obtained 19 distinctions and 9 Merits in the ABRSM Music Theory exam at various grade levels from 1 to 5. In the practical exam, we again got a bumper crop of 10 distinctions in Violin, 19 distinctions in Singing, 9 merits in Violin, 1 merit in Piano and 6 merits in Singing. Hot on the heels of a wonderful music concert by these talented musicians in mid-December, there was a 5-day music workshop in late December, where the young CMS violinists honed their technique and prepared the Pachelbel Canon, a beautiful piece (by the baroque German composer Johann Pachelbel) which is popularly played at weddings. The CMS musicians now look forward to the ABRSM High Scorers’ concert in late January. We wish them luck!

CISV International Criss-Cross Village Camp begins at CMS

Participants of CISV ‘Criss-Cross Village’ Camp

CMS is hosting the 26th Children's International Summer Village Camp from 28 December 2018 to 24 January 2019. Here children from 14 countries are living under one roof for a month and imbibing the qualities of brotherhood, world unity and world peace, cooperation, friendship and global understanding etc. The children hail from Brazil, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Sweden, Thailand, Norway, Spain and India and are aged 11-12 years along with their adult leaders. Besides, the junior counsellors, aged 16-17 years are also participating in the camp acting as intermediaries between the children and the adults.

CMS Founder Dr Jagdish Gandhi honoured with Fr J. Maurus National Award for Innovation in Education

Dr Jagdish Gandhi receiving the Fr. J. Maurus Award

It was a moment of sheer delight and great pride for the CMS Family when our Founder-Manager was conferred with the Fr J. Maurus National Award for Innovation in Education. The award ceremony was held in Mumbai on 10 December 2018. This Award was instituted by the Society of St Paul on the occasion of the 55th Birth Anniversary of The Teenager Today, founded by Fr J. Maurus in November 1963.

Establishing the Award at a specially convened gathering at the Alberione Hall, Bandra, (Mumbai) Fr Varghese Gnalian, Provincial, India-Nigeria Province of the Society of St Paul, the publisher of The Teenager Today, said, “We are extremely happy to establish this Award in memory of Fr J. Maurus, a pioneering member of the Society of St Paul, an educator par excellence, a great visionary, an innovator and a prolific writer who has to his credit over 125 books, and to confer the 1st Award on Dr Jagdish Gandhi, the Founder-Manager of City Montessori Schools.”

The Award consists of Rs 25,000/- in cash, and a citation. The Award was jointly presented to Dr Gandhi by Most Rev. John Rodrigues, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bombay, Rev. Fr Varghese Gnalian, the Provincial Superior, and Dr Snehal Pinto, Director, Ryan International Group of Institutions, Mumbai.

On behalf of all the world's 2.5 billion children and generations yet to be born, CMS Founder Dr Jagdish Gandhi has sent a letter to the US President Donald Trump to call a meeting of sovereign nations of the world to initiate the formation of a World Parliament and unite the world and to establish Peace on Earth. Read full letter on page 2 (and on page 3 in Hindi)