Al Saad Indian School, Al Ain launches Bhavans Master Class in connection with World Book Day

“Every child is a master in his own creativity and there is no master greater than a child.” A day marking the inaugural ceremony of Bhavans Master Class and launching of Bhavans Reading Challenge was convened on Zoom platform by Al Saad Indian School, Al Ain at 5.30 PM on Monday, 26th April 2021.

The Bhavans Master Class is a unique initiative of Al Saad Indian School, Al Ain – a school under the aegis of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Middle East. The Master Class series is aimed at exposing the children to an arena of opportunities to interact with experts from various walks of life from far and wide. Thus, preparing them with various leadership competences to become global citizens. The inaugural session of this novel venture was titled “ Why do we need books in our lives ? ” The session also aimed at launching the first initiative of the English Department of the school for this academic year named “ Bhavans Reading Challenge – 2021 ” which bedrocks on enriching children’s reading and imaginative skills. The key note behind the entire session was to reinforce the importance of reading as a hobby and a step further as a skill that would help students become better at academics. As is Bhavans motto – learning is a lifelong and continuous process that must be enjoyed beyond books and beyond classrooms even.

The programme commenced with the great vigour and enthusiasm of children from grade 1 to 5. It was chaired by a distinguished personality, Ms. Shweta Ganesh Kumar - a voracious reader, renowned author and a writing mentor. She has also worked as a journalist in the early part of her career. Ms. Shweta now lives in New Yok with her husband and 2 children. The programme started with the UAE National Anthem, followed by Quran recitation by Mr. Salman, faculty of the Arabic department and a lovely welcome address by Ms. Nakshathra, a student from Grade 5 A.

The chief guest began her session with a telling of a story. She read ‘Cities of Stories’ by Rukmini Banerji. After telling the story, to highlight the importance of reading books, she talked about “Why do we need books in our lives?” The significant points she emphasized in her speech were:

· Books help us do time travel.

· Books reveal the past, help us understand the present and make us ready for the future.

· Books don’t care who we are and how we are.

· Books help us build a bond with our family and even grandparents.

· Books help us understand how we should be and how we should not.

· Books help us understand other people’s stories, lives and culture.

· Books can be our best friends that give us valuable lessons and experiences.

· Reading is a lifelong habit and can be a constant companion. Age no bar.

Ms. Shweta explained to children the different genres of books that are available for children. She told them they could read stories of dinosaurs, stories of kings and queens, stories on science and stories of space, magic lands, faraway lands, of fantasies or realities, of cities of villages, of famous people, of common people. She narrated stories and experiences from her childhood to connect with the children. The story of the boy who would not take bath because of which a potato tree grew from behind his ears brought a chuckle to the charmed audience. Devadath Ratheesh of Grade 4B, owner of a practical and scientific mind asked if it was even possible, while Gautham Krishna identified the book as Lazy Rahul.

During the interactive session with the guest, children shared their favourite books by displaying them on the screen. The children appreciated the story telling session and loved interacting with the speaker. Excitement was the key mood of the evening.

Ms. Shweta concluded by telling the children that they were so lucky and blessed to go to a school that supported them in so many different ways. She hoped that children remained grateful. She thanked the parents of the 90 plus children who attended the session for letting them sit for an evening session. She thanked the little ones for their patient listening and asked them to enjoy their books and hoped that all of them became better readers. She wished the school and the students a great reading journey.

At the end of her session, she also launched the ‘Bhavans Reading Challenge- 2021’. Ms. Divya Rajesh Ramachandran, Director of Bhavans Middle East shared the flyer of Bhavans Reading Challenge with the children and explained briefly the key highlights of the programme.

The programme ended with the concluding thought from Dr. Bhavna Gupta, Principal of Bhavans Al Saad Indian School, Al Ain. She expressed happiness at realising that so many of the children were excited and enthusiastic readers. She thanked the parents for the encouragement and support extended to the children and for the wonderful initiation they have provided to their children to the world of books. Dr. Bhavna expressed hope that at the end of the reading challenge, more children would love the world of books and embrace it with self motivation rather than it being a chore or just another task forced to complete.