Three Festivals celebrated

The 20^th of August was the day of three great occasions in Indian cultural tradition.  The Raksha Badhan, the Narali Pournima and the Sanskrit Day, were celebrated with over-whelming enthusiasm in the campus.

        Narali Pournima marks the beginning of fishing season and the fishermen who depend on the sea for a living, make an offering to the Lord Varuna.. so that they can reap bountiful fish from the sea.  In western India, Parts of Maharashtra, Gujrat and Goa, this festival is celebrated.

        Raksha Bandhan (The Bond of Protection) or Rakhi is a Hindu festival primarily observed in India which celebrates the relationship between brother (Shourya), cousins and sisters (Shreya).  This festival is observed by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.  This Occasion celebrated at the campus, threw open the gates of kinship when the unrelated boys are given the status of siblings and the girl children tied Rakhis to their wrists.   An emotional fervor was evident when the inmates of Balgram and other hostels were bound with Rakhees by the girl children.

        In a huge gathering, school children presented cultural programs on the occasion.

Independence Day Celebrated with patriotic fever:

Sagroli : sixty seventh Independence Day was celebrated here with patriotic fever. Early morning, all the students carried out a rally holding placards with different messages on Social issues such as environment protection, rural development, women empowerment, etc. The National flag was hoisted at many places in the village. At an informal get together after the ceremony, the guest speakers and the chairman reiterated the need for Team Spirit.

H.H the Dyanaraj Manik Prabhu Maharaj delivers Inspiring Benedictory Speech at Sagroli.

H.H The Dyanaraj Manik Prabhu Maharaj has graced Sagroli on the occasion of Janmashtami.  He also visited the multi purpose huge hall, the ‘Gurunath Bhavan’ lately dedicated to the children.  On this occasion, he delivered a benedictory speech for the volunteers of the institution. He advised all the volunteers to be duty conscious and manifest the values nurtured by Shri Babasheb Deshmukh through S S Mandal.

Mr. Sunil Deshmukh re-elected as Vice President of SOS Children’s Village.

Deputy Sarpanch of the village Sagroli and one of the chief executives of SSM Mr. Sunil Deshmukh is re-elected as the Vice President  of Maharashtra Balagram, SOS children’s village-Marathawada Region. S.S. Mandal has been serving the needs of the destitute orphans and supporting their health, education and rehabilitation, over the past four decades.

        “His experience as one of the Directors in S S Mandal served as a key factor in his re-election” says Mr. Rajnikant Nanci, the president- Maharashtra Balagram.

        Mr. Deshmukh re affirmed his commitment towards the destitute orphans through Balagram all over Marathawada. 

Felicitations to the senior volunteers:

   Felicitating the senior and retired volunteers, as a token of respect to the services rendered by them, has been a rich tradition of SSMandal.  On the Occasion of the inauguration of ‘Gurunath Bhavan’, the institution felicitated Mr Arvind Deshmukh, the former principal, Sainiki Vidylaya, Mr Aananddas Mahajan, Mr Khanderao Deshmukh both of who are the Trustees of SSM and Mr Khanderao Shinde, former Head Master, S C Shivaji High school. All three turned their successful sixty years of age   one recently.

        The Chief-Guest Mr Anandraj Maharaj presented them, the Benedictory Testimonials by His Highness Shri Jnanaraj Manik Prabhu Maharaj.  The occasion appeared a huge family gathering with the enthusiastic participation 0f all the  teachers, students, former students, volunteers, their kin and kith etc.

Karmayogi Babasheb’s Memorial Day observed:

The Death Anniversary of the ‘Karmayogi’ Babasaheb Deshmukh was observed on 16^th August.  An evening prayer was organized at  Chaitnya Sthal, the Babasheb’s memorial.  All the family members, villagers, teachers and students attended the programme.

        Babasaheb Deshmukh’s favourite Bhajans and prayers were recited. Some children narrated stories. Earlier, on the occasion of the anniversary, kabaddi matches were held for youth of the surrounding villages. The winners were suitably
 rewarded. 

Manoj Panchal – a former student, Donates Bicycles to the needy scholors.

Manoj has set a noble precedent by his act of philanthropy. He presented bicycles to the students of his childhood school. There are so many children in the surrounding villages around Sagroli who walk more than 8 K.M. every day to reach their school.  He has been a messiah for them when he appeared with six brand new bicycles. Those bicycles were presented on the occasion of the Independence Day.

        Manoj had completed his primary to High school education in the institution and presently enjoys an assured life with a colorful future.

        Through his own initiative, ‘We Achievers’ in Mumbai, he trains people from different sectors, to lead life with out stress, stay motivated, cheerful and enthusiastic while doing their business everyday.  He expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards his school and his teachers who shaped his life. 

Swine Flu : Prevention and Cure:

At the out set of a few victims Swine flu, found in the district, all the students in the institution were educated on the disease, its prevention, care and treatment measures.

        Dr Jayant Jakate informed that this most contagious disease spreads rapidly due to the H1N1 bacteria.  People with less resistance get infected easily and anyone who comes in contact with such a person suffers the infection.  Hence, one should avoid being at such a place.

SSM picks up the children of poor farmers:

In the villages surrounding Sagroli, the major occupation of people is the farming sector.  With inadequate daily wages the farm laborers can’t afford to send their children to schools.  Even if some parents strongly wish to educate their children, they have to give up half way, owing to their poor economic conditions.

        The SSM supports such children to continue education

Un interruptedly by providing all the study material, uniforms in- addition to the text books and mid-day meals supported by the Government Authorities.  The local businessmen at village Sagroli extend a helping hand in this noble task.  This year too, around 350 boys and girls are supported under Savitribai Phule Scholarship Scheme.  An informal distribution ceremony was organized on 29^th July at the school campus.

Agriculture Day observed by KVK:

The KVK undertook an initiative to develop standard seed of legume crops like Mung-bean in the area around Atkali where there is SSM’s agricultural land.  On the occasion of ‘Agriculture Day’ on 27^th August, The ‘Utkarsh’ variety of mung bean was sown in 30 acres of land, in presence of more than a hundred farmers.

        The subject experts of KVK Sagroli have apprised the participants of the advantages of the new variety that the yield doubles, compared to the conventional varieties like ‘Chmka mung’ seed.  Further, it was told that the proposed variety is experimentally proved to be highly resistant to pests and common diseases.

Workshop on the Spring Harvest (Rabbi Crops):

Sorghum- the cereal grain research centre, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, Vasantrao Naik Agricultural University, Parbhani, KVK and Mahabeej Seeds together organized a ‘Discussion session’ on developing quality seeds for the winter harvest of Sorghum (Jowari).  Fruitful discussions held between participants and the scientists at the occasion.  The Director, KVK Sagroli announced that they had a ready action plan to raise Sorghum in 100 acres of land in the forth coming season.  The convention discussed various issues related to harvesting and marketing the yield.

Eradication of Congress Grass using Mexican Black Bee:

Any one in little touch with the plant world is well aware of menace by the parthenium weed (known as Congress Grass), which wildly grows in the agricultural lands, severely affecting the crop production.  It can not be controlled easily.  All the research work and use of pesticides proved futile in prevention the weed.

        To address this severe issue, the KVK Sagroli, used the Mexican black bee as weed controller which feed only on the parthenium weed.  The black bees usually remain hibernated in the soil before June and rise along with the sprouting of the weed plants in monsoon.  Since the black bees feed on the weed and keep on multiplying in numbers and the weed gets completely eradicated.  The scientists suggested, around 200 bees need to be introduced per acre land to control the weed.

Tree plantation:

Shata Koti Vraksha Roopan Yojana, a comapign intended to plant more than 100 core trees in Maharashtra sponsored by the Government, is initiated  at village Sagroli. Here on 13^th July, the school students participated in tree plantation programme.  More than 2000 saplings of Jamun, Almond, Neem, Teak etc were planted.  Students were assigned to adopt a plant each and take care of it.  Good rainfall in the vicinity is an additional benefit this year.

Evening prayer:

They come, sit quiet in queue, offer prayers and learn a lot about moral values. Yes, it’s about the Students around 2000 in number, from all SSM Hostels gather on Bajrang Maidan for evening prayer every day. On noticing good changes in student’s behavior, the wardens decided to carry forward common prayer activity for this year.  Students listen to moral stories, good thoughts, news, patriotic songs, Abhangas etc.  They are the audience and one of them is the presenter.  Everything goes undisturbed since the activity is well monitored.. An observation revealed that students behave more responsible these days. 

Homage to late Shri Narendra Dhabholkar :

“Make use of your brain!” His words still echo in ears.  This is the strong message of Shri Narendra Dabholkar, who was recently shot dead in pune.  He was a crusader against superstitions and quackery.  During his awareness compaign, he had been to Sagroli many a times.  His brother Shri Devadatta Dabholkar, who was the vice chancellor of Pune University and shri shripad Dhabholkar, an agro expert had been closely associated with SSM. A heart felt homage was offered to shri Narendra Dabholkar. The Chairman Shri Deshmukh regretted the untimely death of shri Dabholkar. He announced that the next issue of The Vidya Vritta will be dedicated to the slain visionary.

Enriching Marathi Language….students share writings on facebook:

A step ahead, students of Shivaji Highschool are running a department of Marathi Language on their own.  They pen their poems, Couplets and articles then share those with their friends on face book.  Their skill has been improved remarkably. 

Our Jr. Champions fight a winning bout in Boxing:

Boxing has been favorite sport among our rural youth.  One needs to be very sharp, determined and strategic to win the boxing.  By winning matches consistently over years, our young boxers have set a winning tradition.  Lately, at District Level Boxing bouts, our energetic junior boxers knocked down all their opponents within minutes and won all the categories from 20 kg to 60 kg.  The competition was organized by the District Sports Authority, Nanded in association with the Sports Authority Pune.  The District Collector and other officials commended the winning  boys from Sainiki Vidyalaya for their matchless performance.