By Radhika Nagrath
HARIDWAR, 19 Sep: The three day long ‘Swarn Pankh’ golden jubilee festival of Delhi Public School Ranipur concluded with launch of the books written by the 25 budding authors, thought leadership conclave, theatre presentations, dance ballets, literary walk and patriotic melodramas. The fest marks 50 years of Delhi Public School Ranipur started in 1977 with the first batch of 30 students. Having grown to the strength of 7000 today, the school has come a long way in creating a progressive society and the nation. The festival was inaugurated by Padma Bhushan awardee VK Shunglu, chairman DPS society, Abhinav Kumar IPS, DG Intelligence, Dr Anupam Jagga, Principal DPS Ranipur, Ranjan Kumar, Executive Director BHEL and concluded in the presence of chief secretary of Uttarakhand, Anand Bardhan IAS.
Anand Bardhan, Chief Secretary said, “In the very name Swarn Akshar, 2026 Swarn means it is precious and Akshar means words which express ideas, imagination and power of the human mind. It is a remarkable milestone of any institution coming for 50 long years. Institution is built not by classrooms but by people, students, teachers. “
He added that in technological age of today soaked with artificial intelligence, literature is important. Information available around is not knowledge. Literature teaches us to ask questions, it enhances our knowledge so this literary festival is very important, he said. In Uttarakhand Himalayas, folk traditions remind us .
He goaded the students to read beyond syllabus. He lauded the efforts of the teachers who contributed in the growth of the school. For making Viksit Bharat, the students of DPS are prepared. Every student must answer to himself, ” What did I learn contribute and whom did I help.” He asked the students to be modern but not disconnected with our roots.
During the inaugural function, VK Shunglu congratulated the host school saying, “The institutions are long-lived, the heads may keep on changing. The institution does not have any one leader, the leadership of an institution is chosen by the society.” He added that the rising influence of Artificial Intelligence cautions us that it must be used with caution only to alleviate illnesses of the society.”
Mayur Dixit, district magistrate along with his wife Pragya Dixit congratulated the principal DPS Ranipur for the completion of 50 years of the school.
Chief finance officer BHEL Rajesh Kumar Dwivedi presided as the Guest of honour during the concluding ceremony.
Former Ranji trophy player and motivational speaker Padamjeet Sehrawat motivated the students and teachers with his famous quotes. He said, “The roasted corn was priced double than the raw corn. Everyone had to burn themselves through hard work to meet success.” Through his musical talkshala, he mesmerized the audience. A combination of eight Indian traditional dance styles ranging from Kathak, Kuchipudi and others, the students won the hearts of the audience. The event celebrated the richness of India’ s poetic traditions through humour, satire, patriotism, philosophy and social commentary.
The principal of the host school Dr Anupam Jagga deliberated on the purpose of holding literary festivals during Golden Jubilee celebrations, “Through this literary festival, childrens’ art of reading books, the power of thinking and writing skills were honed. The festival gave a golden chance to the students to listen to eminent personalities from spiritual, literary, theatre, administration and political domains.” The festival provides the students and audiences an opportunity to experience the power of spoken poetry and interact with some of the country’s most coveted poetic voices, he added. Three challenges face the society today – Climate change, Artificial Intelligence and drug addiction,” said Abhinav Kumar IPS. He said DPS students will definitely emerge as good cyber citizens.
Orchestra presentations by students on diverse musical instruments won the hearts of the audience. A documentary curated by the students on the achievements of the school and the legacy of Delhi Public School was appreciated.
