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Inspire to Aspire
An emagazine for children
brought to you by
Business Economics
inspired by
the vision of the SREI Foundation
Inspire to Aspire
When was India’s
National Anthem First Sung?
Famous Nobel Laureate and one of India’s greatest poets,
Rabindranath Tagore penned the lyrics for the first five
stanzas of the song, “Jana Gana Mana.”
Although this song is today sung as our anthem, do you know
that it was first sung in 1911, when India was still under British
rule? The occasion was the session of the
Indian National congressheld in Calcutta on
27th December 1911. 39 years later, on 24th
January 1950, the constituent Assembly of
India adopted the first stanza of this song as
the National Anthem of India.
India Matters
To reflect upon
Activity
Listen
to
the
complete version
of Jana Gana Mana
• Do you think it is important for
every country to have its own n a t i o n a l
anthem? Why or why not?
• Do the states of India have anthems
of their own? What is the anthem of
your state?
Useful Link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
_pt9MML4Ehs
Inspire to Aspire
Why?
Sophisticated flying machines…a near exact computation of the speed of light…
the calculation of the value of ‘Pi,’… state-of-the-art astronomical observatories…
advanced medical and surgical knowledge…sophisticated strategies of statecraft
and defense…the list goes on.
No, this is not a list of achievements or advances made y any modern “first-world”
nation. These are but a few of the remarkable achievements of Indians through the
ages.
A curiosity to discover all things Indian and a passion to inculcate in present-day
children a love for their country and a pride in its achievements in every field inspired
the creation of this emagazine, “Sparks” targeted at children between the ages of 5
and 12.
Sparks, aims at offering children a panoramic view of a diverse India, but an India that
is unified not only in the magnificence of its landscape and its culturescape, but unified
as a nation of great thinkers, reformers, artistes, artisans, scientists, doctors and
visionaries. We hope to achieve this effectively in this emagazine format which offers a
high degree of interactivity, thus making it both informative and yet entertaining.
We aim at offering our young readers a holistic and yet secular lens to understand and
appreciate the culture and value system of their country, while at the same time,
reiterating the relevance of integrating ancient and traditional knowledge systems,
with contemporary modes of living, studying and working. In other words, at a time,
when our children are strongly influenced by the west, it is our guiding mission to
open their eyes to the richness and relevance of the culture they come from so that
they learn to accept and celebrate their Indianness rather than hide it behind a
westernized façade.
What We Offer?
Sparks takes up 7 key areas of interest, namely:
1. India Matters – Small, often little known, tidbits about India and Indians based
on the 6 W’s (What, Where, Why, When, Which, Who) and 1 H (How) format of
questions and answers.
2. The Ocean of Stories (Katha Sagara) – A retelling of stories, which trigger
some reflection.
3. Ancient Wisdom (Shastra) – this section takes up common proverbs, verses,
maxims etc., from different traditions such as Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, the
Upanishads and so on, and gives a simple translation and commentary about it.
Also included are segments from the Bible, the Holy Quran and other texts, that
though are not native to India are revered by millions of Indians.
4. A Virtual Discovery of India (Bharata Darshana) – This segment introduces
the readers to nine different aspects of India as follows:
a) Culture – art and architecture traditional indoor and outdoor games
b) The environment, indigenous flora and fauna
c) Traditional spices
d) Sites of historical significance
e) Geographical land marks
f) Living artistic and cultural traditions
g) Tourist destinations
h) Cuisine
Broadly dividing the Indian subcontinent into nine distinct regions based on the
cardinal and ordinal directions, each edition of the emagazine will use a
carousel-like model to cover all parts
of India.
5. Indians We Look Up to (Mahaniya) – this section features Indians who
carved a distinct niche for themselves in different realms of activity, leaving their
inspiring footprints on the sands of time, for all to see and seek inspiration from
6. From India to the world (Gnanabhumi) – This segment presents some of
the remarkable inventions and discoveries made by pioneering Indians in diverse
fields of art, science, mathematics, literature and so on.
7. Indian Insights on Health (Arogya) – Grandma’s recipes are no mere myths
or superstitions. Their relevance and efficacy has been proved time and time
again. This segment highlights
traditional systems of medicine and their
approach to health and healing
Apart from these segments, sparks offers an activity section comprising puzzles,
word games, games of choice, crosswords and other interesting activities centred
on Indian themes. Further, we offer a space for children to express themselves
through their writings or art to inspire and give them a visible platform. In the
coming months we also hope to enlist a panel of columnists who will write
featured columns on important issues such as health, nutrition and hygiene,
spirituality, the need for value-based education and so on.
How Sparks is Different?
• In a sincere attempt to not only offer information but to also promote reflective
thinking in young minds, we have provided a special segment in every key section
featuring some questions that serve as trigger points for further reflection and/or
enquiry. We hope that this will also foster some parent-child bonding which is
sadly on the decline in this age and time when technological addictions hold
sway over young minds.
• Also provided, wherever relevant is a map indicating the region that is the topic
of discussion.
• Useful links to videos/images that are relevant to the topic discussed are also
provided in every segment.
• Further, key words in every segment have been identified and link provided to
an online dictionary to help children also develop their vocabulary of words.
• Every segment is also supplemented by an audio rendition of the content to
hold the interest of younger readers who are yet to develop reading skills.
SPARKS is a labour of love – love for this country that we belong to, love for all its
diversity and love for the melting-pot like conglomeration of culture, beliefs and
perspectives that is so uniquely and gloriously India.
Through SPARKS, we hope to give a fresh and renewed experience of Indian
National Pride – Saare Jahaan Se Acchaa…Hindustaan Hamaara…
We hope that our humble attempt to showcase this great nation, INSPIRES all our
children to ASPIRE to their highest potential, integrating the technological and
infrastructural advances offered by the west, while not forgetting their very roots
as children born of the soil of India, our very own BHARAT.
We trust that you will enjoy the SPARKS experience.
Inspire to Aspire
The SPARKS Team
Manisha Lohia, Editor-in-Chief
Nrithya Jagannathan, Contributing Editor
Umar Jaffar, Editorial Advisor
Lakshmi Balasubrahmanyam, Research Associate
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