Oh, teacher, I salute Thee - Shambhavi Nautiyal

I salute all the teachers, whether or not they have taught me, as every teacher deserves recognition and honour. I salute you because you struggle, hustle and take action just for the betterment of me, a student. I come to you to earn and attain the knowledge you have, and in this cultivated relationship of a teacher and a student, we start to play a significant role in each other’s lives. You find ways to make me understand the lessons better and be more engaged in class, so I don’t feel estranged and stuck out like a sore thumb. You are the one who decides my favourite subject, and all these efforts of yours make me admire you and look up to you after seeing your concern for me. Oh, teacher, I express my utter gratitude to you and hope that I come out as gratifying student. Your words of wisdom and encouragement make me push ahead against all odds and work harder than I did before to become worthy of a teacher like you. Please remember that we, your students, will be there for you in times of need. Oh, teacher, you make our childhood, and I promise to continue to trust what you have told me.

A teacher sheds blood, sweat and tears to ensure that her students are confident in their knowledge and are confident enough to present it. The teacher works hard only to improve the student and not to profit herself in any way. She dedicates her entire life to spreading her knowledge amongst a different set of students every year. She looks out for her students and corrects them when they are wrong. Education is what distinguishes humans from animals, and teachers are the ones who educate us, so we should respect teachers above all. Outside of the classroom, no one knows a teacher or her worth. It is the students only who genuinely know her, in light of the fact we as students should carry our teacher’s legacy because we are who we are today because of the teachers who taught us in whatever category or time.

Shambhavi Nautiyal
Ahlcon Public School

No Discover Like Self Discovery! - Oshi Singh

We all wanted superpowers as children!

We want to be like Iron Man and Spiderman. Accept it or not but we all tried the levitating spell like Hermione taught us "Wingardium Leviosa". We all used household items like props. Spatula used to be the weapon and your bathing towel, your drape and our most memorable memory was saving the world. It sure seems like a lot of fun having a superpower like if you could read minds you could  be the best person around for everyone or time travel would enable you to have a perfect life because you could just use your power and not make any mistake. This sure seems perfect and it might be if someday we could experience it right? But the show must go on because as always I differ. Not because this doesn't seem tempting enough but because we all already have superpowers and I am not talking about a power to stop time or something like that but the one inside us like MS Dhoni has for cricket, Da Vinci for Painting and Robert Downey Jr. for acting. If you think you have to be famous to find your superpower you're wrong. It can simply be anything beatboxing for someone and modelling for someone. Now some of you might be under the impression that I am just saying this cliché stuff like everyone else but I differ again.

Hypothetically if I ask you a question that would you rather have a superpower or push a mysterious button and wait for the mystery to unravel. You would probably go with superpower right? Many of us would and with this ladies and gentlemen, I prove my point. When we have something that others don't, we start feeling special and unique. In time we let that thing define ourselves. Instead of taking risks and finding our personality, we play safe and stick on to that thing. It doesn't matter if you are a great athlete or a musician what YOU will see of yourself would be just one thing that is the superpower. If you were born and brought up in a family of dancers when you grow up, you would feel that your interest is dance, but the inner truth is that it's not. Take some time alone and whatever fascinates you is YOUR interest.

If you are thinking that this is just an aimless paragraph you are reading, cooperate a little more because the paragraph is really important. It is about finding your self-worth and self-discovery. So do you really know yourself? Why should you know yourself? Are the questions you might be wondering. Well knowing yourself is what will make you unique. It will help you find yours and a if you don't know yourself how can you except people to know you and respect you? 

Knowing yourself is no else than a superpower. 

Find your values, and your interests, your temperaments. Focus on yourself, and your strengths while making your weaknesses stronger than ever and if you don't know where to start, spend some time with yourself and you shall get all the answers. After all, there's no discovery like self-discovery! 

Oshi Singh
VIII D 
Gyanshree School 

Changes In Our Lives - Nishan Karki

We must change our lives, mistakes, behaviour and bad habits. Changes are essential to our life from now on. We can be successful people in future if we start making changes in our day-to-day thoughts and work. I want to be a better person and enjoy a bright future. For this I will need to make many changes in my life going forward. I need to change my day-to-day thoughts about how ideas, behaviour, and various skills like thinking, reading, writing, listening, communication skills, etc. If I start improving myself and changing these skills I will surely have a great future ahead.

Nishan Karki

Pestalozzi Children’s Village India.

Meet and Greet with Dr Akash Khurana

At the Meet and Greet hosted on Sunday, the 29th of January, we met with Dr. Akash Khurana. It was an enriching experience for all participants. From reading the book Mentor-Morphosis to a conversation with Mr RP Devgan, it was all so exciting and wonderful! 

We discussed how to find the perfect mentor and who can be a bedrock mentor? As explained by Dr Akash, a bedrock mentor is one who believes in you more than you believe in yourself and he/she plays quite an essential role in our life. 

We all simply loved the experience and wish to meet him again, hopefully at the new My Good School Studio at Dehradun. Here is a small screengrab of our session:

Importance of bedrock mentoring - Shilpika Pandey

There is too much or too little of so many things in this world that we wish to catch in life. Our dreams, aspirations and wants make us put our hands into a jar full of innumerable  options but when we get stuck at what to really pick, we falter and are unable to choose and thus come at a precise decision. 

The road ahead seems blurry and one wonders if at all to walk on it until someone out there clears, not the road but the vision to see it clearly and helps us walk on it with a confident gait that we realize the importance and effectiveness of that guiding hand, advisor, counsellor or a bedrock MENTOR! 

A Mentor is what each one of us needs to take the best decision, pick the right option and stay focused. But how do we know our mentors? How do we recognize them? The answer is very unadulterated.. When the student is ready, the Guru or mentor appears!

One recognizes a mentor in a kind, empathetic, non judgmental ,helpful, supporting, encouraging, motivating, positive and a wise human. A mentor is a gateway to a mentee's world of opportunities becoming correct and lifelong decisions and facilitating a successful place in life! A true mentor plants a belief, nurtures trust and backs a skill in the right direction. A mentee is forever looking for that mentor who exists but justifies his/her presence when the former is open to welcome one.

A mentor can help one find himself ,change lives and help build a nation and so MENTORING MATTERS!

Road Ahead with Sandeep Dutt

 The show first aired on 28th January 2023 at 4.30 pm on 90.0 FM.

Sandeep Dutt carries a huge legacy - Owner of Tne English Book Depot - Dehradun's Century-old bookshop - he has turned his passion for books into sharing his knowledge with the world - an author, mountaineer, Chairman of The Fabindia School as well as a School Improvement Coach with 200 podcasts in his kitty - his practical knowledge is gems for those who are seeking paths for self-improvement. Hear him on our programme Path Pradarshan as on Saturday - 28 January 2023 at 4.30 PM only on Radio Gham Chhaya at 90.0 FM #learningforward #joyoflearning #mygoodschool Radio Ghamchhaya is a Nepali Community Radio which is the first ever radio station established by the Gorkhali community, broadcasted in 3 languages, the radio station itself has a story.

Play and experience the joy of learning!

My foolish mistake - Aati Pema Tseagon

Looking back, I have made many mistakes in my life, but some stand out more than others, and even now, when I recall them, I see that although they were unintentional but still almost deliberate and foolish.

I was raised in Ladakh, where even today, children like me go to the rivers to swim even when we know it's not allowed. One day when my friends and I went to another one of these spots, I fell after slipping on a rock while crossing a stream and almost got swept away. I shook it off and continued on after reaching, I was the first to jump into the river and as soon as I did, I felt a sharp pain in my knee and saw that blood was rushing out; my friends at once helped me out of the river and took me back on the way back we met an adult who was lucky a nurse and helped me. Not being in a position to do much, I had 4 to 5 stitches on my knee by a stranger; talk about foolish!

After that, my mother found out, and I rightly got scolded for this. I have shared my foolish mistake with you and hope you enjoyed it and are inspired by me not to repeat what I have done. Thank you, and have a great day.

:)

- Aati Pema Tseagon
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Thank you dear teachers! - Rishona Chopra

Thank you so much to all the teachers of the world and especially to Mrs Geetika Chopra (Mother), Ms Apoorva, Ms Anju, Ms Monisha, Ms Sayanatnee Mishra, Ms Sunita Mehta, Ms Sukhpreet Kaur, Ms Naina, Ms Neha, Ms Tanya, Ms Deepika, Ms Divya, Ms Jyotsna, Ms Nibbrati, Ms Geetanjali, Ms Sonali, Ms Payal, Mr Sandeep, Mr Jugjiv, Mr Manoj, Mr Anoop, Mr Kartikey and Mr Satyam!

Dear gurus,

I am forever thankful to you, not just for teaching me different subjects but for being my perfect friend and supporting me. Thank you for teaching me the excellent subject of values. All of you have a significant meaning in my life. No matter what, I can never forget you because you made me what I am today and will always continue to inspire me. Thank you very much! 

For my dear mother,
I have nothing to say except that I love you very much! You are my bedrock mentor, and you mean everything to me. Thank you for being a strict and firm mother and yet being such a wonderful friend!

Thank you, dear frentor!!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

The beauty of bookshops - Rishona Chopra

                                                              When I enter a bookshop,

I see stories clinging onto shelves nonstop.

I want to look at every shelf,

Even the fantasy stories of an elf.

The environment makes me feel as if I should never leave,

Just sit down and read.

The cosy chairs,

Sad stories that shed tears.

Then I think,

I could have ordered books in a blink.

But it won't be as fun,

In the beautiful world of stories that has just begun!

"We are celebrating  years of the Bookstore and have set up a social space above the Bookstore. The Learning Forward India Foundation works to support schools and schooling with reading, writing, speaking and learning. #MyGoodSchool" - Sandeep Dutt at The English Book Depot.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School 

A brief history of our time - The English Book Depot at 100

Best is quite unreal, as better is the only way ahead! This debate about rewards, awards, and PR is never ending and will raise many hackles. The only single truth is there is no more immense exhilaration than the #JoyOfLearning - reading, writing and speaking.

Back from the Hyderabad Literary Festival, I am convinced that stories alone make us, and we are a story! We had storytellers, booksellers, librarians, artists, activists, sponsors and young people. A beautiful milieu to spread the joy of reading. Books in print, digital form, oral rendition and choreography. We are celebrating 100 💯 years of the Bookstore and have set up a social space above the Bookstore. The Learning Forward India Foundation works to support schools and schooling with reading, writing, speaking and learning. 

#MyGoodSchool My Good School - above The English Book Depot at Dehradun, visit this social space when you visit the city next city.

A brief history of our time

100 Years of The English Book Depot, opened at Ferozepur in 1923, moved to Dehradun post partition of India to finally call it curtains down at Ferozepur in 1989 when we exited. The place was then filled in by one of our long-serving stalwarts at the bookshop Sh Kewal Ji, who decided to run it for his family and livelihood as Kewal Book Depot at the exact location.

Message from respected Lila Dhar Dewan to Sandeep Dutt.

Your eldest uncle and my eldest cousin, the late Sh. Rattan Lal and I had decided to open our book shops in Dehradun and Pathankot, respectively. So we both selected books for our shops in 1948 from The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt on the same day. Both the parcels were booked by train the next day. My younger brother Radha Krishna had joined Army and, as such, was to stay far away from us. I would name my shop The English Book Depot as that would have benefited me financially. However, I sacrificed my financial benefits by calling my shop Krishna Book Depot so that his name remained with us throughout our lives.

Late L. Narain Dass, the founder of The English Book Depot, was a native of Jampur District Dera Gazi Khan, situated in the southwest end of Punjab (now in Pakistan) on the other bank of river  Sindh. A vegetarian wearing a simple dress of kameez pyjamas and enjoying a simple life. He was fond of taking fruits. Always baskets full of various kinds of fruits were there in his house. He was not only the founder of The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt and ran the shop to earn but made it a training centre in BOOK TRADE. He used to call youth from his native town and get a room on hire for their stay. He stood guaranty with the hotel for payment of their bills for the food taken by the trainees.

There was a small sale of school textbooks only at that time. Very few Indians read other kinds of books, such as novels etc. The customers of general types of books in English language only were British soldiers stationed at various cantonments all over India. Hence scope and demand for bookshops to sell such kinds of books were in Cantonments only.

Late Lala Narain Dass Ji used to select a cantonment for his trainee. He should have done so to earn money permanently from them by importing books from the U.K. to supply those to bookshops. But he was providing them with the supplier's addresses. He stood as a guarantee with the suppliers for the payment of their dues. Thus natives of Jampur spread all over India and established their bookshops. Later, such shops were opened in cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur etc.

All of them are financially sound and enjoying respectful life in their cities. The members of the third generation of the founders of those shops are running all those bookshops. I am skipping names of towns and cantonments for want of space. I was his last student learning book trade under him at his shop. Not only that. He kept me in his house, showering his (and my Massi jee) blessings, love and affection at par with their children. I opened my shop at Pathankot in December 1948 when The English Book Depot at Dehradun was also opened.

I knew Massan ji resigned from his Govt job in Lahore and founded The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt in 1923. However, I need to find out the name of the book depot. He learnt the art of book trade and got addresses of suppliers of these in U. K. as I needed help finding the name of any bookshop in North India during those days. He during his later age engaged himself in the service of humanity through Arya Samaj. He was honoured as the permanent President of Arya Samaj Ferozepur Cantt and Manager of Arya School Ferozepur Cantt. Smt Snehlata has been the humane face of the bookshop for over 50 years.

Shri Narain Dass had another quality and far-sightedness. He ensured Jampuri booksellers were financially sound and enjoyed a monopoly in his business at his station. He did not allow his trainees to open his bookshop in Cantonment, where a Jampuri was already running his bookshop. I felt proud of being one of the Jampuri running their bookshops in Cantonments all over India. I used to tell Army officers who were liable to be transferred to some other Cantonments someday by telling them that I could make them an astrologer. Please visit a bookshop in that Cantonment. Ask the owner to show his palm to you. On having a look at it, tell him the following. The owner of this shop is a Jampuri. He received his training in this trade at The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantonments. The owner of the shop would give you a surprising look!

Courtesy Lila Dhar Dewan, my father Dev Dutt's first cousin, has showered his immense blessing on us.

The writer Sandeep Dutt is an author, School Improvement Coach and third generation at The English Book Depot.

Best Bookstore Of 2023 by Food4Thought Foundation at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.