Secretary's Report 2002-03

Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture has been a centre for cultural activities since long. Artists from various disciplines have congregated at the Institute at different times to perform and to teach. A home away from home for them, they have not only enriched the lives of the people at the Institute but have come away enriched themselves. At the Institute, cultural activities are seen not only as means of self-expression but also of expressing God in life - a vibrant, colourful adoration of God.

The Institute regularly organizes attractive cultural programmes. Eminent artists of Kolkata and elsewhere offer solo or group performances quite often.

Shakti Centre

Out cultural unit, offering classes in music ,dance and painting had 410 students. The dance and music classes are being conducted by well-known artists, such as Kalyani Roy(Sitar), Amar Laha(Piano), Shanti Bose(Dance), Roma Mondal(Rabindra Sangeet), Swastika Mukherjee(Devotional songs), Santwana Roy Choudhuri (Recitation) etc. This unit organizes various cultural programmes and workshops. Following are some of the activities that were organized by the unit during the year. There are about 20 teachers and staff imparting training to the aspirants.

New classes including Synthesizer, Recitation and Mohiniattam were introduced and quite a number of students took admission.

On 18.November.2002, Shakti Centre staged their annual programme under the direction of eminent singer Smt. Swastika Mukherjee. Students of the Centre presented a spectacular show on that date.

On 19.January.2003 in the morning, Shakti Centre presented a cultural programme by students.

The Sanjukta Panigrahi Memorial Dance Competition, Madhuri Mukherjee Memorial Devotional Songs Competition and Maya Mitra Instrumental Music Competition were held on 25th and 26th January,2003.Around 200 competitors took part. These were a grand success.

Language Classes

The Institute runs language classes in French and English. The French class, continuing for over 25 years, has met with widespread acclaim. More than 30 students on an average per month have attended the French class in the last academic session.

"English for Young Learners" offered by Cambridge University met with considerable success.

Spoken English classes were conducted as before. An average of 25 students per month attended this class.

Yoga classes

Yoga classes are being conducted by Bishwasri Monotosh Roy. Enthusiasm for participation in the Yoga classes continues unabated. The student strength in the past year has been around 60 on an average per month. Classes are held once a week (Wednesday)

Library

Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture has a well-stocked library with books on Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The Library is functioning smoothly. Apart from The Mother's and Sri Aurobindo's works, books on religion, literature, philosophy, serve as background reading for a better understanding of Sri Aurobindo's writings.

Estimated total of these books is more than 7400. The Library has been given a new look for more readers' convenience. Library now remains open the whole day without any break.

There is a good collection of reference books and a number of rare books. One qualified librarian and two associates see to the efficient running of the library.

The Library has around 400 members on its roll with an average of 30 members visiting the library daily. The Library remains open from 9 AM to 7 PM daily thru Monday to Saturday.

Publications, Books and Journals

Basudhara has been given a face-lift and is now published twice a year on 21st February and 15th August.

The Institute published, "Samasamoiker Chokhey Sri Aurobindo", written by Prithwindra Nath Mukherjee, committed by Joyadi to the author and a memorial volume on Joyadi herself, with anecdotal accounts and tributes from people of many walks of life. An excellent review by Subhas Ghosal on "Samasamoiker Chokhey Sri Aurobindo" was published by Ananda Bazar Patrika.

The Future Foundation School is recognized as a premier educational institution in Kolkata and consistently secures good results in both ICSE and ISC examination year after year. Medium of instruction is English.

The Future Foundation School (Classes I To XII)

The results of the Entrance Examinations taken by the ISC students were as follows:-

• 8 students succeeded in the Joint Entrance Examination, West Bengal

Others have been granted admission in various prestigious colleges in Kolkata, Delhi, Pune and Bangalore

School Activities

Men Sana in Corpore Sano - a healthy mind in a healthy body, a maxim this school sincerely believes in and tries to implement. Thus we see our school lay equal stress on academics and co-curricular activities. This year our students participated in many competitions, both Inter School and Intra School.

Award Winners

Awards in Art

The Future Foundation School put up an outstanding performance in Art during 2002-2003.

Art competition organized by Travel and Tourism department - Sounak Nag of IV B won the First prize in Group A and Arnab Das of XI A won the Third prize in Group B.

Art competition organized by Don Bosco School - Debanjalee Chakraborty of VI B won the Third prize.

Art competition organzied by WWF during World Wildlife Week - Anushree Saha of IIB won the First prize.

Twenty-one students participated in the HT (PACE) Drawing competition at Don Bosco School and were awarded Merit Certificates.

Award in Computer

District-level Computer Fair organized by BITM - Rahul Dutta and Debtanoy Laha of VIII B won the First prize.

Awards in Sports

State-level  Swimming Meet - Sourojit Ghosh Dasitdar of Class VIII B won a Gold Medal in 50 metres back-stroke, 50 metres breast-stroke and 200 metres free-style.

Awards in Dance and Music

Annual Fest organized by Hartley's School - students of Class VI B won the First prize for Creative Dance.

Awards in Quiz

A.K. Ghosh Memorial School organized a Quiz Competition - Students of Classes III and IV won the Third prize.

Arko Adhikary and Kaushik Suresh of Class IX participated in the Bornvita Quiz contest which was telecast on ZEE TV.

Awards in Elocution, Essay etc

On 8.Feb.2003, students participated in the Elocution Contest organized by Ramkrishna Mission Vidalaya, Narendrapur and won prizes.

Awards for Excellence

The Future Foundation School was awarded a Certificate of Merit in the Better Kolkata Contest,2002 organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce

Activities, Participation and Interaction

Interaction

In June the teachers organized a fortnight-long programme on 'Nutrition' starting with a Staff Meeting followed by monitoring of children's food intake. The guardians and students were then given a feedback indicating shortfalls in the students' diet.

The students of Classes IX and XII were delighted to have had the opportunity to meet and hear Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen on 20.Aug.2002.

Scholastic India took the initiative to bring over Prof. Vishwanathan as part of its reading programme. The Professor enthralled students and teachers with his expressive reading of "Rip Van Winkle" and other stories.

Sports

Soumya Shubra, Debaditya Dasgupta, Soumik Guha and Dwaipayan Sinha of Class VIII participated in the Inter School Table Tennis Competition held at Don Bosco School on 22.Aug.2003.

Excitement ran high during the Inter-House Kho-Kho and Volleyball matches held on 26th and 27th September. White House won the maximum points in both these sporting events. Annual Sports Day was held on 20th December at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium.

This programme started with a drill-display and march-past by the students.There was no lack of enthusiasm on the grounds that day. The children cheered whole-heartedly for the houses they supported. Blue House emerged as the victors but everybody had a good time.

Dance and Music  

Inter-House Instrumental and Vocal Music Competitions were held on 26th and 27th September respectively. Green House was ahead in both these competitions. Inter-House Dance Competition was held on 30.Sep.2002. White House emerged as the winner in this competition.

Social Activities  

As a part of the SUPW assignment, the students of Class XI interacted with the underprivileged children of Atma Vikas school, run by a N.G.O. The students had collected clothes, bags and sweets to hand over to the children. They also organized games in which the children participated enthusiastically. 

School students donated a fairly large number of warm clothes to Share House Foundation for distribution to poor children. School students collected around Rs 31000/- amongst themselves and handed over the amount to a Thallasaemic child for his treatment.

Fete

School Fete on 31.Aug.2002 was observed with much gaiety. It was our founder, Shri Pradyot Kumar Bhattacharya's Birth Anniversary.

Fest

Nirvana, our School fest was held on 09-10.Nov.2002. Events ranged from Mock Parliament, Street Plays, Eastern and Western Vocals, Creative Writing, Creative Dance , T-shirt painting and Tongue-twisters. The fest was inaugurated by Shri Arjun Chakraborty. Shri Debajyoti Mishra, Shri Shakti Thakur, Smt. Sohini Haldar, Smt. Alokananda Roy and Smt. Rupa Rajbongshi were some of the eminent personalities who came to judge the events.

Council Programme

On 11-12.Nov.2002, students from Classes VII to XII attended the AAT-2002 conducted by the Council of Indian School Certificate Examination.

Career Counselling

In May, 2002 students of Class X, XI and XII attended a workshop on Career Counselling organized by Institute of Career Studies, Lucknow, in the school premises. 

Career counselling for the students of Class IX and XI was done successfully in association with the Institute of Career studies, Lucknow in January and February, 2003.

Co-curricular Activities

Saturday school is being continued with focus on Co-curricular activities from Class III-IX (options are Western vocal, Synthesizer, Photography, Clay modelling, Public speaking, Chess and Quiz).

Project Method of Teaching

Integrated Project Method of Teaching - Project Work, an important part of our curriculum is meticulously planned. The child gains new insights and a deeper knowledge of the given topic which encompasses various subjects. The topic given to Class I was 'Transport' and 'Animal Homes'. Class II learnt about 'Water' and 'Time'. Class III learnt about 'Land and Water forms'. Class IV researched the details of 'Means of Communication' and V and VI became more aware of 'Nature'. The project work for senior classes is based on the syllabus.

Projects of the students from classes I-VI were displayed on 5.Oct.2002. The effort and talent of the children was greatly appreciated by the parents and guests who came to see the exhibition.

A number of Mathematics projects was undertaken by the senior students such as calculation of height of the school building by applying Similar Triangles theorems, measuring of inclination of staircases by applying Triginometry and preparation of Model of School by applying Ratio and Proportion.

Multimedia

Teaching through multimedia is being carried on in a major way, from Class I to V with the help of SchoolNet (a constituent of IL&FS)

Newsletter

School newsletter is being published every quarter.

Scholarships

Means scholarships are offered to deserving students.

Seminars and Workshops

On 6.May.2002, teachers participated in a workshop on Wetlands at SCERT Hall conducted by WWF.

On June 22, 23 and 24th, 2002, a workshop for teachers was conducted by Shri Sraddhalu Ranade of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry.

On 29.Aug.2002, Teachers' Improvement Programme was conducted in the school premises

On 16.Oct.2002, a workshop on discipline for the teachers was organized.

On 16t.Nov.2002, a workshop on stress management for adolescents was conducted by Mrs Devi Kar, Principal, Modern High School for girls, Kolkata. Students of Class VI, VII and VIII attended the Hindi Drama Workshop at St. Xavier's Collegiate School.

On 26.Feb.2003, students of Class II, III, IV, V and VI participated in the Art Workshop at Appejay House.

School Library

The Future Foundation School has a well-stocked library with books on all subjects including on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. There is a huge collection of reference books and a good number of text-books. The library is functioning smoothly. One qualified librarian is there to oversee the efficient running of the library. Estimated total of these books is more than 4000. Library now remains open beyond school hours also.

Special Honours for the School

Mr Francis Fanthome, Chief Executive and Secretary of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations praised the school when interviewed by the Statesman regarding ICSE and ISC results. He said that results of The Future Foundation School had been exceptionally good.

Principal of The Future Foundation was nominated as a Member of the Standing Committee on Examinations by the Council of Indian Certificate of School Examinations. He has also been entrusted by the Council for preparing a programme for Comprehensive Training for In-Service High School Teachers.

Principal of The Future Foundation was elected Secretary of the Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate, West Bengal Chapter.

Principal of The Future Foundation has been appointed by the Council of Indian Certificate of School Examinations as Inspector of Schools for schools seeking affiliation to the Council

Two Senior School teachers, Mrs Anasua Chakraborty and Mrs Bula Paul were invited by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations as faculty for a Teachers' Training programme for Computer Science teachers of ISC and ICSE classes at the Council Office in Kolkata.

New addition to School Infrastructure

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Shri Shyamal Mukherjee, the 'Joya Mitter Memorial Block', was inaugurated on 24.Apr.2002 by Dr Gobindo Gopal Mukherjee in the presence of Dr Nemai Sadhan Bose, Dr Sankar Sen, Dr Phulorenu Guha and Dr Amalendu De.

As a result of this the best part of one wing of the ground floor has become Activity Space. A Junior School Library has been created. The new floor now houses a revamped Physics Laboratory, Audio-visual Room, School Library, Art room and some class rooms.

It was a similar effort that led to the commissioning of a lift on 24. Nov.2002 by our Rector, Mr. D. P. Chatterjea.

Founded in 1979, HEALTH and HEALING - the medical unit of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture aims at offering an Integral Health Programme in addition to consultation for economically under-privileged people.

Medical Consultation

Medical consultation by eminent doctors is provided at heavily subsidized rates. This is virtually in all key areas of allopathic medicine.

The number of patients treated or attended to in different sections is as follows:

Patients have come to the medical unit on outpatient basis for consultation and advice. Further treatment has been given to patients in dental and to a limited extent, in ENT.

Medical Camps

Four Medical camps were conducted in different disciplines with professional assistance of the doctors of this Institute at different times of the year. This also included one medical camp conducted at our Garia Centre.

A free Medical camp was organized at the Institute on 12.May.2002 in disciplines such as EYE, ENT, SKIN, EYE-EXERCISE and DENTAL. 74 patients consulted the doctors and received advice.

Free camp on CARDIOLOGY, ORTHOPAEDIC , GENERAL , SKIN, GYNAECOLOGY AND PEDIATRICS was conducted by eminent doctors of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture on 1.Dec.2002. Total number of patients was 101.

A free medical camp was organized at the Institute on 5.Jan.2003 in disciplines like EYE, ENT, SKIN, GENERAL MEDICINE and DENTAL. 125 patients consulted the doctors and received advice.

A free medical camp was organized at our Garia Centre on 17.Jan.2003. 141 patients were examined and given advice in disciplines such as EYE, SKIN, DENTAL, GENERAL MEDICINE, CARDIOLOGY.

Medical check-up of students

Medical check-up pf students continued during the year.

Hepatitis B injection

Hepatitis B injection - Biovac camp was organized for students of The Future Foundation School in collaboration with Wockhardt Ltd. About 30 students attended the camp. 1st, 2nd and 3rd doses were administered in Dec 2002, January 2003 and February 2003 respectively.

New services / Doctors

Four new doctors joined the medical unit during the year. They include Dr Devasis Ghosh in General Medicine cum Gynaecology, Dr B.T. Paul in Orthopaedic, Dr Maitreyee Banerjee in General Medicine cum Cardiology, Dr B. K. Chatterjee in General Surgery cum Urology. In addition Dr Arif Hussain, General Practitioner, joined our Boral Centre and is treating patients there.

New Instruments added

The following new instruments were added during the year:

Scalar Machine in Dental

Refrigerator

Ophthalmoscope (Heinz B200)

X-Ray View Box

Tonometer(Schit3)

Weight Machine

Baby Scaling Machine

Seminars

Seminars were periodically held to generate awareness among students, teachers and guardians about deadly but preventable diseases like Hepatitis B, Thalassemia etc.

A Seminar was conducted on 'DOG-BITES' in June 2002 in collaboration with AVENIS, Internal and external doctors participated in the Seminar.

Workshops

Clinical Psychologist and student counselor Dr Sharmila Basu held workshops on common class-room problems like DYSLEXIA where proper ways to deal with the problems were also suggested.

Class for good eyesight

An instructor with special training from the School of Perfect Eyesight in Pondicherry, gives special classes in eyesight improvement every Sunday morning. Remarkable results have been achieved especially with myopia cases.

Shakti Gym

Shakti Gym, a wing of Medical Unit has been revamped and generated great interest among the teachers and staff of the institution, fitness lovers and people of the neighbourhood. Present strength is more than 40 members.

Progress Report

Annotations of the main points of the volume number 1: "Charges against Sri Aurobindo and 33 other accused" was completed. A brief biographical narrative of the 34 revolutionaries was prepared.

Sri Aurobindo Parichay Gallery

A son-et-lumiere exposition on the life with particular reference to the Indian Freedom Movement in the 21st century. Authentic arms and ammunition have been replicated, the cell in Presidency Jail and Alipore Courtroom have been recreated in a rare historical account that promises to transport the viewer into an epoch of patriotism, valour and sacrifice for the Motherland. This is a must-see for all lovers of history and those who want to know more about the Indian freedom struggle. It remains open every day from 3 - 6 PM.

Collective Meditation

Collective Meditation is arranged around Sri Aurobindo's Shrine twice daily.

Special Meditation

On Mahastami, Bijoya Dashami, Laxmi Puja, Kali Puja & Saraswati Puja and 21st February, 24th April, 15th August, 17th November, 20th November, 24th November, 5th December and 9th December.

Acknowledgement

The Institute conveys its heartfelt thanks to all individuals who directly or indirectly help in the efficient running of the various activities by actions and prayers.

Finally, it is The Mother, our Permanent President, who has the ultimate responsibility. May we be faithful.