Source: THE New Indian Express
Nine-year-old Aarav Lad has come far in his journey as a pianist, having started out at the age of five, he has already won big at his first international competition.
Lad, a city-based student, was one of 120 competitors in the fifth International Music of the World contest. According to his parents, Ankita and Kapil Lad, Lad has always been an avid pianist from early on.
“He has always had a penchant for playing the piano, we got Aarav a 32-key mini piano when he was four, he started learning formally at the age of five and has been learning ever since. Whatever activity Aarav picks up, he completely immerses himself in it and does it with a lot of focus. Right from the beginning, he leaned towards the western classical genre which has a large piano repertoire and finds a lot of pleasure in learning new and challenging classical pieces. Over time, his repertoire has grown in complexity,” Ankita says.
Competitors came from over 24 countries across the world, with Lad competing with solo pianists from the US, Russia, China, Canada and Germany. On March 18, he found that he had won second place in the Piano Solo category in his age group 9 to 11, being one of the youngest to bag the prize. He was the only Indian in the age group to win. “It feels very good to have won. It’s my first competition and it’s nice that I was able to win. My favourite composers are Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven and Liszt. While I play classical compositions, I hope to create my own in the future,” he says.
Lad is currently being trained by prolific Belarussian concert pianists Natallia Kapylova and Liudmila Drazhnik. “We are incredibly proud of him. He has grown immensely with his current teachers. It may be too early to say, but when asked, he says he would want to be both a pianist and a mathematician! We would be happy for him to follow whichever path he chooses,” Ankita says.
In the meantime, Lad has also shown a penchant for academics as well. “When Aarav is not playing piano, he’s usually listening to classical music. He also enjoys solving Rubik’s cubes and has participated and won in many competitions, he can solve the 3×3 cube in 10-11 seconds and the 2×2 in 3-4 seconds. He learnt when he was 6 and can solve 14-15 different types of cubes. He also loves Math, Physics and space, and has done well in many Indian and International Math Olympiads,” Ankita says.
Source: THE Hans India
In an effort to promote fitness and environmental consciousness among school children, Ekya Schools, as a part of the second edition of the Winter Trek Chapter organized a plogging and trekking activity for its students. A total of 750 students participated from grade 1 to PUC 2 during both the winter trek chapters. It was a fun, fitness and awareness activity which was designed to teach children the responsibility of conserving nature. The trekking cum plogging drive was conducted under the guidance of experts at a popular picnic spot Shivagange, a few kilometres away from namma Bengaluru.
The Plogging trek saw a total of 140 students from grades 5 to 8 participate in the second edition of the winter trek chapter. With 40 extra large and 5 XXL bags, children collected 235 to 250 kg of single-use plastic bottles with bottle caps. The initiative left Shivagange 5 per cent cleaner than what it was before.The event began with a brief introduction to the concept of plogging and trekking, followed by warm-up exercises to prepare the students for the activity. The students were then divided into groups and were given gloves and garbage bags to collect litter while trekking. The route of the trek was carefully selected to ensure that it was challenging enough for the students but not too difficult.
The entire outbound learning trip was a huge success, with the students thoroughly enjoying the experience. They not only got to exercise and explore the outdoors but also learnt the importance of keeping their surroundings clean. The main highlight was the children giving a strong message to the tourists and locals of Shivagange and surrounding places of taking responsibility for their actions and doing their bit of keeping the environment clean.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr.Tristha Ramamurthy, Founder of Ekya Schools and Provost, CMR University said, "We aspire to make our children aware, compassionate and engaged. The Plogging trek gave them the right opportunity to become aware of their surroundings and engage in sustainability and conservation along with inculcating values such as teamwork, responsibility, and respect for the environment. We encourage our students to continue such activities with their family and peers to help spread awareness about the importance of keeping our surroundings clean and become responsible citizens."
The activity of plogging involves picking up litter while jogging or walking. Trekking, on the other hand, is a form of hiking that involves walking through natural terrain. The combination of these two activities not only promotes physical fitness but also instils in children the importance of taking care of the environment and doing their bit to conserve nature. This activity not only helps promote physical fitness and environmental consciousness but also teaches children the value of teamwork, as they worked together to collect the litter.
The event was organised in collaboration with plogging experts, who provided guidance and support throughout the planning process. It is so alarming to see this much plastic waste despite a ban imposed on plastic. The activity has helped us to create and spread awareness about the importance of protecting our environment and saving our planet from manmade destruction.
Educating a woman transforms communities and societies. It eventually leads to greater gender parity, increased political participation, and economic growth for the nation. Education empowers women with the necessary skills, knowledge, and tools to make informed decisions, secure higher wages, and achieve better health outcomes.
When we think about the dedication of all the women we work with, we cannot help but envision the possibilities that would emerge if we continued to support and celebrate women's accomplishments.
BARRIERS TO ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION
"Despite the longstanding goal of enhancing educational opportunities for girls and women, particularly in the context of female empowerment, the barriers to accessing quality education often prevent women from entering the workforce," said Dr Tristha Ramamurthy, Founder, Ekya Schools.
"The path to education for women and girls is fraught with numerous obstacles, such as gender discrimination and stereotypes, insufficient infrastructure, early marriage, a shortage of female educators, and various safety concerns," she further added.
TECHNOLOGY GIVING WOMEN THE BOOST
New technology tools are benefiting women entrepreneurs in a multitude of ways. Technology plays a crucial role in connecting women to the markets and facilitating resources for their inclusive growth in the business landscape.
"Backing women’s abilities and their leadership leads to innovation. With the advent of edtech technologies, women are no longer deterred to be active participants in learning and development programmers," said Yogita Tulsiani, Director and Co-founder, iXceed Solutions.
"With technology tools, women entrepreneurs are benefiting from the accessibility of adopting new processes, technologies, and models that can fuel their business growth," she added.
WOMEN TOWARDS CREATIVE DIGITAL FUTURE
On International Women's Day 2023, we strongly believe that digitisation has the potential to bridge the gap and create a more inclusive society.
"The theme of DigitALL is a timely reminder that women have an equal right to access digital resources and participate in the digital economy. We need to ensure that women from all walks of life are given the necessary training and opportunities to harness the full potential of digital technology," said Kavita Desai, Head - Corporate Communications and CSR, at Covestro India.
"Let us strive towards building a society where every woman can benefit from digitisation and realize her aspirations," she added.
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