When students recite words of wisdom: One rhyme at a time

Ancient religious and mythological texts contain within them the elixir of wisdom accumulated through centuries of lived experience. These texts not only guide humans through tough terrain in the modern world but also remind everybody of the importance of building a healthy society together.

To inculcate moral values in students and spread the message of an ideal
society, the Jan Kalyan Sanstha, an organisation that annually organises a Shloka and Chaupai Recitation Competition for school students with the objective of building moral values, promoting cultural and traditional values among children. Students from various age groups recite Chaupais from the Ramayana and Shlokas from the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.

This year the competition was held at Apeejay School, Faridabad (Sector 14) on October 20.  

The participants were divided into four categories. Category one comprised
students from class 1-3, the second category constituted class 4-5 students. The third category included class 6-8 students and the fourth comprised class 9-12 students. Each participant was given a time-frame of 3-5 minutes for recitation.
As many as eight students from Apeejay Svran Global School participated in the competition and brought laurels to the school by securing a leading position.
At the school level, Tanmay Sharma of class 3 secured the first prize in category one of the Shloka recitation competition. In category 3 of Shloka recitation, Vidya Purbey of class six bagged the first position.  
At the zonal level, class 4 student Kartik Bhatia won the first position in the Chaupai recitation in category 3. In category 3 of Chaupai recitation, class 6 student Manthan Taneja secured the first position. Class 9 student Anshita Bhattacharya bagged the first position in category four of the Chaupai recitation competition. Aarna Sharma of class 5 won the first position in Shloka recitation competition in category two.
At the district level, Dhruv Pandit, student of class 2 won the first position in category 1 of the Chaupai recitation competition. He recited the celebrated Chaupai in which Lord Hanuman spots Lord Ram wandering in the forest and asks him: “Mridul manohar sundar gaata, sahan duseh dan aatap baata. Ki tumaha teeni dev muh kou, Nar narayan ki tumaha dou” (“You whose body is so glorious and tender yet are wandering in the forests in such a scorching heat, are you the holy trinity itself or are you the holy spirit manifested in the shape of man”)
Shaurya Arora of class 7 secured the first position in category three of the Shloka recitation competition.  He recited two shlokas from the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. He began with Shloka 7 of chapter 5 “Yoga-yukto viśhuddhātmā vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ, Sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā kurvann api na lipyate” (The karma yogis who are of purified intellect and who control the mind and the senses are able to see the soul of all souls in every living being. Though performing all kinds of actions, they are never entangled.)
He also went on to recite verse 11 of chapter 5 “Kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api, Yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śhuddhaye” (The yogis while giving up attachment perform actions with their body, senses, mind and intellect only for the purpose of self-purification.)

“It is important that the students are taught positive behaviour in a consistent and systematic way through such competitions. Recitation of shlokas and chaupai expand the memory power, develop cognitive skills, intrinsic motivation and also lead to better mental and physical health.”

-Ms Deepika Arora, Principal, Apeejay Svran Global School