Invitation for Pūrṇapramati Utsava 2013

Dhanvatari Jayanti : Educating about various medicinal plants

Dhanvanthri Jayanthi celebration at Purnapramati Pre-primary on 12-12-2012 The event started by 9:30 am, with a welcome speech by Uma, the guests were Sri Jayanna, an Ayurvedic doctor from Sawana Durga and parents of an M2 child Aadith L. As a part of the theme of the year-WATER, the theme for this event was ‘Samudra’ the Ocean. The program was started by lighting the lamp by guest, principal and children. Children sung an invocation ‘Shakthi Sahitha Ganapatim’. Our Sanskrit teacher Muralidhar spoke about the significance of the day and narrated the story Samudhra Manthana and Dhanvanthri’s birth. Children recited a shloka on Dhanvanthri. Children enacted the skit of “Sagarollanghana” and “Sanjeevini Parvatha”. There was a dance representing the ocean ‘Bangara Neera Kadalachegeec Hegide’ a poem by    Da Ra Bendre. Then the guest addressed the children, showed them different plants and explained the medicinal uses of these plants. An informal vote of thanks was given by Uma. Dhanvanthri Jayanthi celebration at Purnapramati Primary on 12-12-2012 Dhanvantari jayanthi of this year celebrated on 12th Dec excellently exemplified the integration of Indian traditional, indigenous and the modern knowledge systems that has been the sole focus of Purnapramati. It was a one and a half hour program with a very versatile guest Sri Jayanna, a dweller of Savanadurga forests. The program began with the lighting of lamp by the guest. Anantanna then guided the children chant a shloka on Lord Dhanvantari. Our principal introduced the guest to the children. Sri Jayanna then addressed the children and the teachers educating about numerous medicinal plants, their appliances and their botanical and ethnic kannada names. Some of them are listed here: Tulasi – A medicine for cold, caugh and fever, Ondelaga – A medicine for Jaundice, Amrutaballi(Tinospora Cordifolia) – A medicine for Jaundice and Diabetes, Tincher – An applicant for wounds, Dodda patre(coleus amboinicus) – A medicine to improve digestion, loLe sara(Alovera , Kumari) – A skin smoothner, Madhunashini(Gymnema Sylvestre) – A popular medicine for diabetes, Nelabevu(Andrographis panikulata) – A drug for snake bites, Kakke kayi – A medicine for jaundice, Majjige beru or ashadi beru or halavu makkala tayi – A medicine to improve mother’s milk, Bevina chekke(Neem tree’s peel ) – A medicine for joint pain, Belada hannu(wood apple) – A popularly used fruit to make juice which is also an excellent medicine for heart problems. Sri Jayanna also quoted a few methods of making medicines at home using the parts of popular plants like mango, bilva, etc. He also warned the gathering of the fake enterprise of medicine in the present day and insisted upon self cultivation. He also shared the experience of saving himself from fatal condition of severe appendicitis through self medication using bilva patre and dieting. Concluding his talk, Sri Jayanna gave a call to the children and the teachers to conserve the neglected herbal families like the very sparsely found(only in 8 districts in Karnataka) Makliberu . His gave the slogan ULISI  BELESI  BALASI. Very much inspired by the guest the children and the team members of Purnapramati together swore to foster at least two of the introduced plants from the very day. Accordingly all the children were given with two plants to take home and the teachers with five each. For more photos click here

Rock Climbing & Rappling

ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣ ಕಲಿಕೆಯ ತಾಣವಾದ ನಮ್ಮ ಪೂರ್ಣಪ್ರಮತಿ ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಹೊಸತೊಂದು ವಿದ್ಯೆಯ ಕಲಿಕೆಗೆ ವೇದಿಕೆ ಸಜ್ಜುಗೊಳಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. 4 ಮತ್ತು 5ನೇ ತರಗತಿಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ “Up You Go” ಎಂಬ  rock climbing ಮತ್ತು rapplingನ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಪಠ್ಯಭಾಗವಿರುವುದರಿಂದ, ಅದರ ಪ್ರಾಯೋಗಿಕ ಅನುಭವವೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಆಗಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಉದ್ದೇಶದಿಂದ, ದಿನಾಂಕ 17-11-2012ರಂದು ಕನಕಪುರದ ಬಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ತುರುಹಳ್ಳಿ ಎಂಬಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಲಾಗಿತ್ತು.ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಂದ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ದೂರವಲ್ಲದ ತುರುಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಬೆಟ್ಟ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ದೊಡ್ಡ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಬಂಡೆಗಳು ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಕಾಡು. ಇಷ್ಟು ಸಾಕಾಗಿತ್ತು, ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿಂದ ಕುಣಿದಾಡಲು. ನಾವು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಮತ್ತು ಅಧ್ಯಾಪಕರು ಒಟ್ಟು 30ಮಂದಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ 6.30ಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊರಟು ತುರುಹಳ್ಳಿಗೆ ಹೋದೆವು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗೆ ಬಂಡೆ ಹತ್ತುವ ಮತ್ತು ಇಳಿಯುವುದರ ತರಬೇತಿ ನೀಡುವ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ ಪರ್ವತಾರೋಹಣದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಪುಣರಾದ 6ಮಂದಿಯ ಒಂದು ತಂಡ ಸಜ್ಜಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆ ತಂಡದ ಹೆಸರು “ಡ್ರ್ಯಾಕೊ”. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗಿನ ಉಪಹಾರವನ್ನು ಮುಗಿಸಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಎರಡು ಗುಂಪುಗಳನ್ನಾಗಿ ವಿಂಗಡಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. ಒಂದು ಗುಂಪಿಗೆ Rock climbingನ  ತರಬೇತಿ, ಹಾಗೂ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಗುಂಪಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆಯ (Nature Walk) ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. ನಮಗೆ ತರಬೇತಿ ನೀಡಲು ಬಂದವರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂದೀಪ್ ಎಂಬವರು Rock climbingನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಒಂದು ಗುಂಪಿಗೆ ವಿವರಣೆ ನೀಡಿದರು. ಹತ್ತುವಾಗ ಏನೇನು ತೊಂದರೆಯಾಗಬಹುದು? ಅನುಸರಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ನಿಯಮಗಳೇನು? ಯಾವರೀತಿಯ ಉಡುಗೆ ತೊಡಬೇಕು? ಪಾದರಕ್ಷೆಗಳು ಯಾವರೀತಿ ಇರಬೇಕು? ಎಂಬ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ಉಳಿಯದಂತೆ ವಿವರಿಸಿದರು. ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ತಂಡವನ್ನು ಮುನಿ ಮತ್ತು ರೋಹನ್ ಎಂಬವರು ಪ್ರಕೃತಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಕಾಡಿನ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋದರು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಬಂಡೆಗೂ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಹೆಸರಿಡಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಯಾರು ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಹತ್ತುತ್ತಾರೋ ಅವರೇ ಆ ಬಂಡೆಗೆ ನಾಮಕರಣ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಸಂದೀಪ್ ಅವರು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿಸಿ, “ನರ್ಸರಿ” ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನ ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಲು ಕಲಿಸಿದರು. ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ ಸುರಕ್ಷತೆಯ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಸೊಂಟಕ್ಕೆ ಹಗ್ಗ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ನರ್ಸರಿ ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಲು ಕಲಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಕ್ಕಳೂ ಬಹಳ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿಂದ ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿದರು. ಅತ್ತ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಹೋದ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಆ ಕಾಡಿನ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಮುನಿರಾಜು ಅವರಿಂದ ಅನೇಕ ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡರು. ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವ ಔಷಧೀಯ ಸಸ್ಯಗಳು, ಕಾಡು ಹೂಗಳು, ಅನೇಕ ಪಶು-ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳು, ಕಾಡು ಹಂದಿಗಳು ಮಲಗುವ ಜಾಗ ಇನ್ನೂ ಅನೇಕ ಕುತೂಹಲಕಾರಿ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಈ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆಯಿಂದ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಂಡರು. ನಂತರ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ಬಂದ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಬಂಡೆ ಹತ್ತಲು ಉತ್ಸುಕರಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ನರ್ಸರಿ ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಅದಾಗಲೇ ಹತ್ತಿ ಏನೋ ಕಲಿತ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಮಕ್ಕಳು, ಪ್ರಕೃತಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಹೊರಟರು. ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಕಂಡ ಅಧ್ಯಾಪಕರು ತಮಗಾದ ಆಯಾಸವನ್ನು ಮರೆತು ಅವರೊಡನೆ ಹೊರಟರು. ಹೀಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಎರಡೂ ತಂಡಗಳು ಪ್ರಕೃತಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ನರ್ಸರಿ ಬಂಡೆ ಹತ್ತುವುದನ್ನು ಬಹಳ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿಂದ ಮುಗಿಸಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಮ್ಮ ತರಬೇತುದಾರರಾದ ಸಂದೀಪ್‌ರವರು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಹತ್ತುವಂತೆ ತಿಳಿಸಿದರು. ಆ ಬಂಡೆಯ ಹೆಸರು “ಪಿ.ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ. ಬಂಡೆ”. ಆ ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಸೊಂಟಕ್ಕೆ ಹಗ್ಗ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳದೆ, ಕೇವಲ ನಮ್ಮ ಕೈಗಳ ಸಹಾಯದಿಂದ ಹತ್ತಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಇದು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಕಷ್ಟವಾಗಬಹುದೆಂದು ನಾವು ಭಾವಿಸಿದೆವು. ಆದರೆ ಅದಾಗಲೇ ಒಂದು ಬಂಡೆ ಹತ್ತಿ ಅನುಭವ ಪಡೆದಿದ್ದ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಈ ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನೂ ಬಹು ಸುಲಭವಾಗಿ ಹತ್ತಿದರು. ಕೆಲವು ಅಧ್ಯಾಪಕರೂ ಹತ್ತುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ನಂತರ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಭೋಜನ ಮುಗಿಸಿದೆವು. ಭೊಜನ ಮುಗಿದ ಮೆಲೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ರೋಚಕವಾದ ಬಂಡೆ ಇಳಿಯುವ (rappling) ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ. ಸೊಂಟಕ್ಕೆ ಹಗ್ಗ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಸುಮಾರು ೪೦ಅಡಿಗಳಷ್ಟು ಎತ್ತರದ ಬಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ಇಳಿಯುವುದನ್ನು ನಮಗೆ ಕಲಿಸಲು ಡ್ರ್ಯಾಕೊ ತಂಡ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಸಿದ್ಧತೆಗಳನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು. ಮೇಲಿಂದ ಕೆಳಗೆ ಹಗ್ಗವನ್ನು ಬಿಡುತ್ತಾ ಇಳಿಯುವುದು ಬಹುಸುಲಭ ಎಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿದ್ದ ನಮಗೆ, ಬಂಡೆ ಹತ್ತಿ ಮೇಲಿಂದ ಕೆಳಗೆ ನೋಡುವಾಗಲೇ ಭಯ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಭಯ ಪಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡರಾದರೂ, ನಂತರ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ನಿರ್ಭಯರಾಗಿ ಇಳಿದರು. ನಿಜವಾದ ಧೈರ್ಯವೋ ಅಥವಾ  ಮಕ್ಕಳೇ ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಸಲೀಸಾಗಿ ಇಳಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಾವು ಹೆದರಿದರೆ ನಾಚಿಕೆಗೀಡಾಗಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ಭಾವನೆಯೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ ನಾವೂ ಕೂಡ ಬಂಡೆ ಇಳಿಯುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಮುಗಿಸಿ, ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಏನೋ ಸಾಧಿಸಿದ ಭಾವನೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೆವು. ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗೆ ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತರಬೇತಿ ನೀಡಿದ ಡ್ರ್ಯಾಕೋ ತಂಡೆಕ್ಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಸೇರಿ ಧನ್ಯವಾದ ಹೇಳಿದರು. ನಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಉತ್ಸಾಹ, ಧೈರ್ಯ, ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಕಂಡ ಅವರೂ ಬಹಳ ಖುಷಿಪಟ್ಟರು, ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬರುವಂತೆ ತಿಳಿಸಿದರು. ಸುಮಾರು 3.30 ಘಂಟೆಯ  ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಬಂದೆವು. ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಪಾಠದ ನೆಪದಿಂದ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಬಂಡೆ ಹತ್ತುವ ಮತ್ತು ಇಳಿಯುವ ಹೊಸ ಅನುಭವದ ಸವಿಯನ್ನು ಸವಿಯುವಂತಾಯಿತು. For more photos click here

Vana Pooja celebration at Purnapramati Pre-primary

 27-11-2012 and 28-11-2012 On 27th November 2012, children were taken to Swami Vivekananda Park in Girinagar. They were made to leave the school by 9:30 Am; children were taken in 4 batches of 24 – 26 children in each van accompanied by 1 or 2 teachers and attendents. Children were taken around the park and made to sit there for some time.  They were briefed about the significance of growing trees and preserving environment. They were made to recite a shloka on trees.. Then children were let to play for some time in the play area of the park and were taken back  to school by 11 Am. On 28th, the cultural event started by 9:30 am, with a welcome speech by Prathima, the guest was  Mrs.Shylaja,  parent of an M2 child Suryabhan. The program was started by lighting the lamp by guest, principal and children. Children sung an invocation ‘Kereya neeranu kerege chelli’. Murali anna spoke about the story of Gajendra Moksha and children recited the shloka of gajendra moksha. Children enacted the skit of Gajendra Moksha. Then there was a dance drama based on the Pancha Tantra story of  honest mongoose and its owner. Children were explained about  the significance of the day by Sowmya and by Principal. Vote of thanks was given by Prathima.

Kumudvati River Rejuvenation Initiative

Report on Kumudvati Yatra For the current academic year (2012-13)the theme of our school is “River as Life”. Intending to work on this, Purnapramati organized a field trip to Kambala village on the foothills of Shivaaganga, the birth place of Kumudvati which is one of the main tributaries of river Kaveri on Friday, the 11th August, 2012. The attendees included the guests Dr Rajendra Singh, the water man of India, Sri Lingaraju, Dr Radhakrishna Bhadti, Mr Srinivasa(NASA), faculty from IIMB and IISc, teachers, team members, children of Purnapramati and parents of a few children. We boarded the bus at 6.40 am near primary campus and reached Vishvaradhya Gramantara Prouda Shale, the government school of Kambala. Cool and pleasant atmosphere of Kambala, stage well set for the planned programmes, presented the air of welcome. The events began with the Gangapooja by the guests and the principals of Pramati and Kambala government school. Sri Srinidhi welcomed the gathering.  Pramatians then enacted the skit “Hosa Chiguru Hale Beru” which conveyed the deteriorated state of knowledge and harmony with nature and society in the present times. It also exhibited Dr.Rajendra Singh’s struggle and success in rejuvenating seven dried up rivers of Rajasthan. Dr Singh then addressed the gathering enlightening about the issues of water bodies in India and the remedial measures that need to be necessarily taken by the people. He expressed his pleasure in taking part in the programme and assured the audience that there would always be his support and guidance for any of such water rejuvenation activity. This was followed by Sri Lingaraju’s speech on Shivaganga hills, the Kumudvati river, its origin, issues and remedies. The session ended with the famous song ILidu baa taayi for which the Kambala school teachers also joined with their voices. The whole gathering was catered with delicious breakfast before we left for our next programme, desilting the Kalyani which is close to the school. The inspired villagers signed up in masses with pick axes and trays. At about 1.00 pm we proceeded towards one of the springs of Kumudvati where Sri Lingaraju educated Pramatians about the formation of a river through a number of such tiny springs. Dr Singh and other elders then lead the children to plant saplings at a nearby place in the hill. In the next leg of our program,we moved about 20 km from Shivaganga hills to Sri Gopal Navele’s farm house where we had our lunch.  Some of the local people and farmers had assembled for a small programme  organized to create an awareness about the condition of Kumudvati river. Sri Rajendra Singh and Dr Lingaraju  addressed the gathering. Inspired by them, the youth who had assembled there vowed to work seriously on the rejuvenation of Kumudvati and conservation of nature. Our children also enacted a small play on Godavari river written and directed by students of 4th grade. The programme ended with group photo session of the gathering with Sri Rajendra Singh and other guests. By about 5:30 pm we left the place and reached Bangalore at 7:30 pm.

Gurupurnima – Relevance of Dhaumya-Upamanyu today

ದಿನಾಂಕ ೩.à³­.೨೦೧೨ ರ ಮಂಗಳವಾರ, ಆಶಾಢ ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮೆಯ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಪೂರ್ಣಪ್ರಮತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುರು ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮಾದಿನವನ್ನಾಗಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. ಶ್ರೀ ವೇದ ವ್ಯಾಸರ ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾಯಿತು. ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗಷ್ಟೆ ಮಾನಸ ಸರೋವರದಯಾತ್ರೆಯನ್ನು ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ಬಂದ, ರಬ್ಬರ್ ಉದ್ಯಮಿಗಳಾದ, ಶ್ರೀಮಾನ್  ಮಣೂರ್ ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್  ಮತ್ತು ಕುಟುಂಬದವರು ಅತಿಥಿಗಳಾಗಿ  ಆಗಮಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ೪ನೇ ತರಗತಿಯ ವಿದ್ಯಾಶ್ರೀ ಗುರು ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮೆಯ ಮಹತ್ವವನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿದಳು. ನಂತರ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಗುರುಗಳ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಹಾಡಿದರು.  ಗುರುಮಹಿಮೆಯನ್ನು ಸಾರುವ ಮಹಾಭಾರತದ ಉಪಮನ್ಯುವಿನ ಕಥೆಯ ನಾಟಕವನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಅತಿಥಿಗಳಾದ ಮಣೂರ್ ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ ರವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ  ಈ ಶಾಲೆ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಗಳಿಸುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಶಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಭಗವಂತನ  ಅನುಗ್ರಹ ಆಗಲಿ ಎಂದು ಹಾರೈಸಿದರು. ನಂತರ ಶಾಲೆಯ ಸಂಗೀತ ಅಧ್ಯಾಪಕರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಜೇಂದ್ರರವರು ಗುರುವಿನ ಗುಲಾಮನಾಗುವ ತನಕ ಎಂಬ ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಂದ ಹಾಡಿಸಿದರು. ಶಾಂತಿ ಮಂತ್ರದೊಂದಿಗೆ  ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ  ಮಂಗಳ ಹಾಡಲಾಯಿತು.                                     Gurupurnima was celebrated on 3rd June 2012, Ashadapurnima, Tuesday at Purnapramati’s primary campus. Sri Manur Venktesh Pai, an industrialist involved in rubber factory graced the occasion along with his family. The program commenced with a prayer to Bhagavan Sri Vedavyasa by the 1st graders. This was followed by a short speech on the significance of the occasion by Vidyasree of 4th grade. 5th grade children then sang a devotional song on guru. A short drama conveying the importance of gurubhakti was then enacted by 4th graders. Sri Venkatesh Pai addressed the gathering with his hearty wishes for Purnapramati’s progress. “Guruvuna Gulaamanaaguva tanaka” was sung by all in the school.  The programme ended with a brief vote of thanks by Rohit of 4th grade. Some of the photo picks are here.

Bhagirati Jayanti – A climb to Shivaganga hill

The academic year 2012-13 was scheduled to start on 30th May. This year May 30th also coincided with the auspicious ‘Bhageerathi jayanti’ (or the water day), which is celebrated on jyestha Shukla dashami. With a view of starting the new academic year with a bang, Purnapramati decided to take its students on a short excursion cum field visit to Shivaganga hills. It was 7:15 am, by the time all the excited students, teachers and parents boarded and settled down in the bus. Our journey to the famous Shivaganga hills started at 7:30am. Shiva Ganga is a hill about 50 km from Bangalore. It’s a pretty tall hill with two temples, one close to the foot of the hill and another uphill! These two shrines are dedicated to Lord Gangeshwara and Goddess Honnadevi. The water here is considered as holy as river Ganga from Kashi. The hill top is about 1370 mts above sea level.   Bus reached the foot of the hill by 8:15am. On arriving, groups were assigned. Each teacher and an adult/parent were given the responsibility of four to five students. Specific instructions to be followed throughout the climb were given by Meena akka and Srinivasa anna. It was close to 8:30 by the time the actual ascend started. The children did not take more than an hour to reach ‘Olakalu theertha’. We had our breakfast/fruit break here. Though children were given an option to stop here if they wanted to, not a single child opted for it. They wanted more adventure! Steps cut on the rock and steel railings along the path guided us to the top of the hill. Another 45 minutes risk-filled ascend brought us close to the ‘Shantala drop’. Not many people manage to endure the climb till this point. Except for one child who felt a little uneasy in between, all the other 45 children dared to climb to the top. The view and the cool breeze at the top was breath taking! A small educative session was arranged at this point. It was started with the Purnapramati song. After that, Vikram anna gave a brief history behind ‘Bhageerathi jayanti’. The children were told that this was the day that Ganga, being pleased by Bhageeratha’s austerity descended to the Earth from Heaven. Bhageeratha, striving for the betterment of his ancestors, brought the Ganga to Earth. On the first day of this fortnight, Ganga flowed as a small stream and grew to a large river by the tenth day. After this, Sri. Pradeep Simhachar taught the kids a shloka about Ganga. Rajendra anna with his ever enchanting voice sang Dr. Da.Ra. Bhendre’s famous number “ilidhu baa thaaye ilidhu baa”. Later, Srinidhi anna educated children about the journey of the two rivers Arkavathi and Kumudvati from its birth till it reaches river Kaveri. He also talked about the specialty about the rock at Shivaganga, as it absorbs rain water, rather than just letting it flow on it. It was quarter to three when we had our lunch and started descending. Getting down the hill was also equally risky. On our way down, a visit was made to ‘Patala ganga’, a natural spring. By the time we reached the foot of the hill, everybody was thoroughly exhausted. Our journey back to Bangalore started by 5pm. Healthy sprout snacks with fruits were served in between to regain the lost energy. We reached Purnapramati at 6:15pm. Parents were eagerly waiting to receive their kids. Thus ended our memorable visit to Shivaganga.     For More photos- Click here