Modern School (New Delhi)
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| The Modern School New Delhi | |
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Naimatma Balheenien Labhya
"Perfection cannot be achieved by the weak" |
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| Location | |
| Barakhamba Road New Delhi, India |
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| Coordinates | 28°37′42″N 77°13′46″E / 28.6283°N 77.2295°ECoordinates: 28°37′42″N 77°13′46″E / 28.6283°N 77.2295°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1920 |
| Founder | Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh |
| President | Major General Virender Singh, (Retd) |
| Principal | Lata Vaidyanathan |
| Faculty | 130 |
| Enrollment | 2800[when?] |
| Campus | Urban |
| Area | 27 acres (110,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | Blue |
| Nickname | "The Modernites" |
| Website | www.modernschool.net |
Modern School, commonly known as Modern, is a co-educational private school in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1920 by Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh. Modern is also referred to as the Eton of India. [1]
It is the first private school established in Delhi under the British Raj. It has a 27-acre (110,000 m2) campus on Barakhamba Road, near Connaught Place. The Junior School, also known as Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School, is located on Humayun Road. There is a sister campus in Vasant Vihar.
It has a long list of distinguished former pupils, including former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The school is headed by a Board of Trustees, who appoint the Principal (Barakhamba Road and Vasant Vihar) and the Head Master (Humayun Road). It has 15 houses in the Barakhamba branch and eight houses in the Vasant Vihar branch, each headed by a housemaster.
In 1932 there were about 125 students.[3]
[edit] History
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The words of Rabindranath Tagore are embodied in the philosophy of the founding fathers of Modern School. The Modern School was started in 1920 in Daryaganj.
The school motto is "Naimatma Balheenien Labhya" (in Sanskrit) meaning "Perfection cannot be achieved by the weak".
[edit] The beginning
Modern School was started in 1920 in a building located in Daryaganj, New Delhi. It was a mansion that belonged to Rai Bahadur Lala Sultan Singh. He donated it to the school to fulfill his son's dream of establishing a school which would combine the traditions of Indian education with modern educational techniques. Sultan Singh was a prominent businessman in British India in the early 1880s. His son, Lala Raghubir Singh, founded the school.
Lala Raghubir Singh was the spirit and the soul of the school. The primary founder, he worked for the improvement of the school and in this endeavour he teamed up with Sardar Sobha Singh. Sardar Sobha Singh was the co-founder of the school. A builder during the height of the Raj, he was involved in the construction of buildings in Delhi like Connaught Place, National Museum, Modern School, South Block and India Gate. His own two sons, Bhagwant Singh and Khushwant Singh (the noted writer) were amongst the first students of Modern School.
[edit] The crest
The crest signifies the circle of eternity crossed by the three elements in human development of body, mind and spirit, the sun shining between the triangle and the circle. Inside the triangle, there is a banyan tree to represent stability and firmness of character, the swan and the lotus represent refinement, culture and the arts which are fundamental elements of progress in life. The Sanskrit quotation, Naimatma Balheenien Labhya, the English translation of which may be, "Perfection cannot be achieved by the Weak."[4] Besides the school motto, there are four words, Truthfulness, Unselfishness, Frankness and Self-Control which guide each child in his daily life.
[edit] List of Principals
Barakhamba Road
- Kamala Bose (1920–1947)
- M.N. Kapoor (1947–1977)
- S.P. Bakhshi
- R.K. Bhatia
- Lata Vaidyanathan (2000–present)
Vasant Vihar
- Ved Vyas (1975–1985)
- K.J. Vari (1985–2000)
- Goldy Malhotra (2000–2011)
- V. Mohan (29 April 2011-17 July 2011)
- Meenakshi Sahni (2011–Present)
[edit] Sports
The football team is sponsored by Shiv-Naresh and the swimming and table tennis team by Reebok. The school has started a golf academy after the success of Shreya Ghei, an international golf player and a student of the school.
[edit] School magazine
The Sandesh (Barakhamba)and Vasant Parag (Vasant Vihar) cover events organized by the schools and features students articles, poems, jokes etc., published in English, Hindi, Sanskrit and French.
[edit] Clubs
[edit] MUN Society
Under the guidance of Mrs. Usha Nair and Mrs. Vijai Singh the Model United Nations Society members have won at MUN Conferences at the international level, winning the Best Delegation Trophy at every Conference they have been for including AIMUN, ACMUN, MUNQS, HMUN and SLMUN. The MUN Society also organized the largest International MUN Conference in Asia in 2011. Members of the society regularly take part in intra-school simulations of international bodies. The MUN Society of Modern School has formed a constitution and its aims and objectives include educating the school children about international affairs and politics.
[edit] Debating Society
Under the guidance of English department staff, Debating Society members have won debates at the city and regional level. Tournament victories include the Raghubir Singh Inter-school debate, the Pratap Singh Inter-school debate, the DPS R.K.Puram Annual Inter-school debate and the MSOSA Annual Inter-school debate.
[edit] Illuminati: The Physics Club
The Illuminati Physics Club was founded in 2007 as a means for students interested in the discipline to ask questions, share ideas, thoughts and organize events. Illuminati organises an annual inter-school physics symposium "Cyclotron".
[edit] Interact Club
With a commitment to India's less-privileged, the Modern School Interact Club was inaugurated in 1983 by the Vice President of India, Muhammad Hidayat Ullah. Among its activities have been donations to orphanages, recycling drives, anti-piracy drives and blood donation camps. The club has been awarded a certificate in recognition of its services to the community by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit.
[edit] Robotics Club
This club, founded in 2006 is a platform for students to showcase their talent in electronics and robotics. In line with its objective of involving school students with technology, the club organizes an annual robotics symposium with more than 40–50 participating schools.
[edit] SPIC MACAY
SPIC MACAY is a national society for promotion of Indian classical music and culture amongst youth. Modern School has hosted SPIC MACAY events, featuring Indian Classical Music and classical Indian dance exponents such as Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Sonal Mansingh, Sitara Devi, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Birju Maharaj.
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] Public Service
- Indira Gandhi — Former Prime Minister of India
- Priyanka Gandhi — Daughter of Rajiv Gandhi and granddaughter of Indira Gandhi
- Varun Gandhi — Politician, Grandson of Indira Gandhi
- Gopal Krishna Gandhi — Governor, West Bengal and Bihar, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi
- Sandeep Dikshit — Member of Parliament
- Arun Shourie — Journalist, Author and Politician
- Rachna Khanna — Republican candidate for S Windsor Council, USA
- Kamalesh Sharma - Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, High Commissioner of India in UK
- Air Chief Marshal S.K. Mehra — Chief of the Air Staff (India) from 1988–91
- Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lall
- Adil Chhabra — Genius
- HH Maharaja Manujendra Shah Sahib Bahadur[5] — 7th Maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal
[edit] Media
- Abhishek Bachchan - Actor
- Amjad Ali Khan — Musician, Composer
- Amaan Ali Khan — Musician, Composer
- Ayaan Ali Khan — Musician, Composer
- Amitava Kumar — Author, Critic
- Amrita Singh — Actress
- Barkha Dutt — TV journalist
- Ekta Choudhry — Miss India Universe 2009
- Gauri Khan — Producer, Model, and Wife of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan
- Karan Thapar — TV Personality
- Khushwant Singh — Author, Journalist
- Madhup Mudgal — Classical Vocalist
- Puneesh Sharma — Winner of Sarkar Ki Duniya on Real Networks hosted by Ashutosh Rana
- Shekhar Kapur — Filmmaker
- Shiv Khera — Motivational Speaker
- Siddhartha Khanna — Winner of Big Switch on UTV Bindass hosted by Genelia D'Souza,
- Siddharth Bhardwaj — VJ on MTV and Winner of MTV Splitsvilla 2
- Yamini Reddy — Kuchipudi Dancer
[edit] Medicine, Science and Technology
- Aditi Shankardass — Neuroscientist
- Deepak Puri — Chairman and Managing Director, Moser Baer
- Naresh Trehan — Surgeon, and Chairman of Medanta - The Medicity
- Shreshth Dugar — Marketing Director, DateMySchool[6]
- Shlok Jain - Founder, Whack.in[7]
[edit] Sports
- Daniel Chopra — Golfer
- Gaurav Ghei — Golfer
- Gautam Gambhir — Cricketer
- Kirti Azad — Cricketer
- Tania Sachdev — Chess Grandmaster
- Samresh Jung— Shooter
- Shiv Kapur- Golfer
[edit] Business
- Rajat Gupta — former Managing Director, McKinsey & Company,
- Gurcharan Das — former CEO, Procter and Gamble.
- Naveen Kandhari — Managing Director, Ozone Fitness and Spa
[edit] In popular culture
- Rajendra theater was used for Albert Brooks' stand-up performance sequence in the film Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.
- The radio station exteriors in the film Rang De Basanti were shot at Modern School, Barakhamba Road.
[edit] Old Modernites
Modern School Old Students Association, or MSOSA works to bring together old Modernites. MSOSA is one of the most active & vibrant alumni associations in the country today with a membership of more than 15000 members. Over the years, MSOSA has engaged in a number of cultural and sporting activities to raise funds for supporting various philanthropic activities, contributing to national causes like Kargil war relief in 1999, Gujarat earthquake in 2000, and Tsunami relief effort in 2004. The Modernites Trust was created in 1983 by MSOSA to support these charitable and philanthropic activities.
The most important and prominent activity the Trust supports is the Scholarship Programme under which free education in Modern School is provided to meritorious and needy students from the under-privileged sections of society. Since its inception, there have been over 60 beneficiaries. Currently, 18 students are studying in Modern School, Barakhamba Road under this program.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Singh, Khushwant; Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, (1995). A dream turns seventy five: the Modern School, 1920-1995. Allied Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 8170234999. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=2y2gvqv2xsEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Modern+School,+New+Delhi&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Gandhi, Indira: Anand Bhavan Memories, (Publisher/date info to be added)
- ^ "Modern School". Modern School. http://www.modernschool.net/history-daryaganj.asp. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ The History: The School Crest[dead link]
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Plummer, Willis. "DateMySchool Expands To 204 More Campuses". The Village Voice. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/06/new_york_tech_s.php. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ^ Team YS. "Whack.in – Get your daily dose of Quirkiness, Shop A whacky product everyday.". YourStory.in. http://yourstory.in/2011/12/whack-in-get-your-daily-dose-of-quirkiness-a-whacky-product-everyday/. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "Scholarship Programme". The Modernites Trust. http://www.modernitestrust.com/scholorProgramme.html. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
