At age as young as 4, little rural kids of small village Ghugg in Jalandhar district demonstrated their English spelling abilityat try-outs held within the school.

In a spelling contest named ‘Spell-bee’, teams were setup into 4 houses i.e.  Ajay, Abhay, Amul & Atul House, two kids were paired in each house;they  were thrown a volley of words where the first one to correctly spell the given word would gain a point.

Team Abhay Houses weep the board in round one for Spell-Bee with a splendid 45 point score followed by Amul, Atulat 2^nd& 3^rd  with  decent 42 & 40 whilst Ajay House took the weak spot with only 30.

Round 2 saw an incredible comeback by Ajay House, moving 2 steps up from its last position to becoming the 2^nd fastest Spell-beewith final score of 44, whilst House Amul won the title of be the Fastest Spell-bee of the Academy by maintaining its consistent scoring through the second round where House Abhay took all the bashing, crashing all the way from top to finish the last as House Atul managed to retain its 3^rd position of round one by being quickest at the final two questions.

The winners alongside the participants were presented with different prizes; the event witnessed a great sportsmanship coming forth from these young rural kids who looked perfect future challengers for mainstream competitions.

~ Ramandeep Singh,
~ New Delhi, 11th Sep ’13

Reports about massive celebrations across different Akal Academies on the occasion of Pratham Prakash Utsav of  Sri Guru Granth Sahib kept coming in all through the last week.

Akal Academy, Village Ellenabad, celebrated this day with full gusto, where young students coming from classes 2^nd to 5^th devoutly prepared and performed Kirtan, Kavitas, Dharmic Choreography, Dharmic Geets to contribute towards the celebrations at the school. Fifteen Akhand Path Sahibs were observed at the Academy and its Samapti Bhog happened on the same day. It’s incredible to find so much enthusiasm prevailing among the young rural kids of villages, which was unimaginable, thanks to the efforts of Principal Sukhjeet Kaur who was personally looking after all details.

Reverence for these young kids & their serene spirit!

~ Deeksha Singh,
~ New Delhi, 10th Sep ’13

At the yearly fair of Fatehgarh Sahib, popularly known as “Jodh Mela” of “Chote Sahibzade” amongst locals, Gurmannat Kaur, a nursery student from Majri Akal Academy stole the show; the carnival hosted a creative stage performance competition for young children where participants from across 129 Akal Academies competed amongst several children to showcase their creativity & talent.

There were speeches, debates & several other stage performances signifying the spirit & caliber of young kids. The profound speech delivered by young Gurmannat Kaur professing the importance of hair was observed as the most exquisite. Along with highlighting references from ‘Gurbani,’ she surprised everyone with her strong & mature words of satire over the trending self-obsessive lifestyle that is keeping the youth at bay from the path of spirituality.

Although Akal Academy at Ambala (Majiri) is just a year old, the first prize in the competition be speaks well for the aptitude & competency, the school is fostering its children with.

Want to contribute for a cause? Share a smile with the rural kids here – www.DeedaDay.in

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 7th Sep ’13

Just 12 kms through rural winding roads from the GT Road near Ambala, stands a modest yet proud institution at village Majri; that has turned many a heads. The Kalgidhar Trust’s Akal Academy Majri, Ambala has set a new benchmark by reaching strength of 400+ students within first year of its inception. The Majri rural school is also one of the youngest & first amongst all 129 academies to have reached this record figure; having brought so many rural & under-privileged rural children to school in its debut year. The school runs on value-based education system which is unique & first of its kind in the rural education sector in India. The Trust has embarked upon an aggressive target of setting up 500 such schools, covering almost every remote village in North India by 2020.

The Akal Academygroup of Schools since its inception in 1986 until now, has grown from a single class room School to 129 rural Schools spread over five North Indian states andhas been a fore-runner to impart quality education that focuses on transforming a child’s personality, not only academically but also, spiritually.

The beaming Principal – Ms. Satinder Kaur, added “Such love shown by the parents and the trust imposed on us motivates us to step ahead and do the unsaid to bring a positive change in the lives of the rural kids.”

Want to do your bit? Pick a child and sponsor his/her study here – (www.DeedaDay.in)

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 6th Sep ’13

As a part of their learning, students of Akal Academy, Dhanal Kalan woke up to nature’s beckoningand celebrated Van-Mahostav in high spirits. To spread awareness and to do their bit in bring a positive change, students, teachers and the staff members of the rural school together planted more than a hundred saplings.

Van-Mahotsav, observed through the months of July-August across the Nation, helps spread awareness amongst people about the harm caused by the cutting down of trees whilst explicating the importance of trees through exhibiting demonstrations & planting of saplings.

The event was organized in association with volunteers from Rotary Club Jalandhar Central.

As a matter of fact; 79 students from Jalandhar city travel each day to study at AA DhanalKalan, situated in a village.

Reverse Brain Drain, eh!

~ Deeksha Singh,
~ New Delhi, 6th Sep ’13

For a second time in the month of August, the Divine wave of ‘Amrit Sanchar’ continues its spiritual transformation spree, serving even more beings than the previous serve of 81 kids & parents at Akal Academy, Tibber last week.

In the mass initiation ceremony held at Akal Academy, village Bhariyal Lehri, Gurdaspur, a blessed group of 161 young Sikh kids received the shower of Almighty’s “Khande Da Pahul” following the traditional rites through ‘Panj Pyaras” as professed by the ‘The Kalgidhar’,  Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself. Literally, Amrit is combination of two words i.e. ‘Am-Mrit’. ‘Marit’ means death-mortality and Am-Mrit means immortal, which never dies.

The event was organized in the light of  a value-based education system followed by Akal Academies where the focus upon instilling human values amongst children alongwith modern education is considered as an integral part of schooling and where students belonging to Sikh faith are dutifully prepared over time to take on ‘Amrit’ & lead a life of a true learner while others learn to relate to Sikhism as an epitome of all religions.

Student across Akal Academies, irrespective of their faith, culture or religion are inculcated with spiritual & humanistic values by relating to universal teachings from respective religions and they are taught to diligently follow their own religions with complete respect and tolerance for other religions. They go hand in hand with Sri Guru Granth Sahib, with a vision to promote peace & oneness.

~ Ramandeep Singh
~ New Delhi, 3rd Sep 2013

Blissful Students & Teachers at all Akal Academies celebrated the divine ‘Pehla Prakash Utsav of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji’ over the last weekend. The pious day was observed with devotional programs including Shabad Kirtan, Path Recitation & Akhand Paths at several academies.

At Akal Academy Muktsar, the celebrations were carried with religious fervor & excitementwhere two Akhand Path Sahibs were performed and organized by students on 31st Aug that concluded today. The students & teachers together recited the sacred Salok Mehla 9 followed by Shabad Kirtan performance & Ardas by students at the Darbar Sahib located at the Academy.

Amid devotional programs the Principal, Ms. Symbolpreet Kaur addressed the students with key facts regarding history & importance of Guru Sahib Ji upon which a quiz was also organized later wherein students of 10+2 participated with immense interest.

The Principal congratulated the students by sharing her mind “It is heart-warming to see my students performing Akhand Path Sahibs with full discipline and zeal. This truly is our offering on this pious day”.

~ Ramandeep Singh, Student
~ New Delhi, 2nd Sep 2013

The Akal Academy at Majri, Ambala has set another example of dynamic nurturing of its students at a recent event held at Gurdwara Machonda, Ambala where all Akal Academy participants received mementoes as accolades from the members of the Gurdwara.

Students of primary level presented ‘Dhadi Vaar’ and sang ‘Shabads’ over harmonium & table. Amid this great exhibition of talent, the performance of a class-I boy from this rural school, played ‘Tabla’ and was well appreciated by the audience. A Nursery student Manjot Singh remained the star of the show for his fluent narration of ‘Kavita’ i.e. a poem, & ‘Mool Mantra’ recitation. A multitude of pupils participated from their respective schools to evince their expertise and flair for Gurbani.

 ~Deeksha Singh
~New Delhi, 31st Aug 2013