Balazine January 2008

Balazine January 2008
Sanjana Patil, Grade 5, CFM

Hari Om,
Balazine January 2008
… from Editor’s Desk
Welcome, to all readers of Balazine, from your guest editor, Aditya Rahalkar.
In this issue’s editorial, I would like to focus on the “power of prayer” and it’s
importance in our troubled times. War and wild fires, droughts and floods, hurricanes
and tornados are all part of the daily news on television. Weather patterns are
becoming more & more erratic. What we are witnessing is a planet in peril.
But, there is good news too. Our lives can change for the better if we pray daily,
not just for ourselves, but for others also. It is said that a sincere and deep prayer
has infinite healing power. Therefore, I am going to share with you a prayer that my
grandfather taught me. It is called Prarthana Mantra:
SwastiPrajabhyaha PariPalayantam |
Nyayyena Margena Maheem Maheeshaha ||
Go-Brahmanebhyaha Shubhamastu Nityam |
Lokaha Samstaha Sukhino Bhavantu ||
Kale Varshtu Parjanyaha | Pruthivee Sasyashalini ||
DeshoYam Kshobha Rahitam | Brahmanassantu Nirbhayaha ||
The meaning of this prayer is as follows –
May everything be well with citizens of the world.
May all the leaders lead, serve and govern in the righteous and just manner.
Let there be abundance, prosperity & peace for all mankind as well as all creatures.
May all the lokas rejoice in happiness.
May rain fall on time so that the earth has abundance of food, greenery & life
Let this land is free of want and agitation.
On such a peaceful planet may all god seeking people live without fear.
Our sages have given us this powerful & timeless prayer. Let us all chant this
prayer every day, so this beautiful earth of ours can heal.
Om Tat Sat !
In this issue ….
• Power of Prayer
• Poems & jokes
• Art galore
• If God came to my house
• Trips to India
Aditya Rahalkar, Grade 9, Session II
• Power of forgiveness
• Stories on Ganesha and Shiva Parvati
• Freedom fighters
• Shlokathon
and much more ...

Balazine January 2008
Parinita Kapoor, Grade 1, Session III Alisha Sansguiri, Grade 4, Session III
Swati Ravi, Grade 3, Session III Sahana Vathsa, Grade 5, Session III

Subha Cherukupalli, Grade 1, CFM
Do I have to wear a paavaadai?
Balazine January 2008
Do I have to wear a paavaadai?
It is not comfortable for me
Sorry mom, sorry mom
that's just my little gene
I would rather wear a salwar kameez
It would be pleasant for me.
Oh come on, oh come on,
I would be happier with glee
Salwar kameez, sparkle
paavaadai; plop
Can't I wear a salwar kameez
I won't even flop!
Devika Iyer, Grade 4, Session II
Poem in praise of Goddess Durga
Durga Devi you are so strong
You destroy demons like Mahishasur
And huge as King Kong
To let right rule over wrong
You teach us important Lessons
Of universal brotherhood
And to constantly sing love’s songs
You are our shining light and guide
To you we wholeheartedly belong
I pray your name is always on my tongue
To your bhajans I constantly sing along
To all the friends I walk among
I say keep Durga Devi in your hearts
lifelong
Ananya Narimetla, Grade 5, Session III
Subramanyam Bharatiyar
Vishruthi Ramaswamy, Grade 3, Session I

My Swamiji
You help us when we need you,
You tell us what to do.
You care, advise and teach us,
We love and respect you
You know what is best for us,
You make us strong and bright.
And because of all your teachings,
We know what's wrong and right.
You're always very happy,
And now we are too.
We learnt all we could,
And we will miss you!
Balazine January 2008
Manasa Muppirala, Grade 3, CFM
Think about it
Q. Why did the football coach go to the
bank?
A. To get his quarterback!
Q. What did the pencil say to the sharpener?
A. Stop going around and around, just get
to the point!
Q. Why are fish so smart?
A. Because they live in a school!
Q. What is a tree's worst month?
A. Sep-tim-ber!
Q. What kind of noise does a tree make?
A. bark,bark
Ganapati Bappa
Rahul Naik, Grade 1, Session III
Have you ever heard of Ganapati Bappa? Well let me tell you some things
about the famous god. Like for instance did you know that Ganapati Bappa was
once a real boy? Did you know that Ganapati Bappa has an older brother named
Kartikeya?
Do you travel in a car to move everywhere? Ganapati Bappa does too! But he
doesn’t use a car, he uses a mouse! His mouse can zoom around very, very fast.
Do you like to eat modakas? Well that just happens to be Ganapati Bappa’s favorite
food! Usually at Ganapati Bappa’s festival we serve 21 modakas to get his blessings
for good education and for getting rid of our sorrows.
I hope you have learnt a lot about the great god Ganapati Bappa!
Advait Prabhudesai, Grade 5, Session III

Balazine January 2008
Shiva - Parvati
Swetha Berana, Grade 2, Session III

Balazine January 2008
What Om means to me
Suyash Prabhugaonkar, Grade 3, Session III
Balvihar is Fun
Divya Sinha, KG, Session III

My India Trip
In the summer of 2007 I went to
India. The movie Chak De India had just
come out but we didn’t see it in the
theaters. We met my family in Bangalore,
Mumbai, and Delhi. We stopped
and met the CM Noida swamijis. They
were hilarious and we had a lot of fun!
They told us a lot of jokes – like I
should go to college.
Going to Ganga
The most difficult part was staying in a
car for 5 hours and the best part was
sitting in the waters of Ganga. The hotel
was very peaceful. It was on the
banks of the river Ganga. We had a fun
ride in the car that took us to Manasa
Devi temple on the top of the hill.
Taj Mahal
Our driver Dhoom Singh came late, so
the people who worked at the hotel had
to call him over the PA system. Those
people wore turbans and had elf-like
shoes that curl up at the toes. My
What would I do if God came to
my house?
If God came to my house I would
first welcome him inside. I would wash
his feet, wipe them and give him something
to eat. Next I would play the violin
for him, sing a song and touch his
feet. I would thank him for coming to
my own house and ask him what I could
do for him. I would ask him to play Air
Hockey with me, play foosball with me,
Balazine January 2008
brother can imitate that in a very funny
way. Did you know that no one actually
lived in Taj Mahal? Only love lived in
that place.
Mathura-Vrindavan
We visited Mathura and saw the jail cell
that Krishna was born in. He was born
more than 5000 years ago! The cell
does not look old. The place was very
crowded with people and I could barley
see the platform! In Vrindavan Sw. Purushottamji
took us to Krishna’s temple.
The scariest part was when he left my
hand in that crowd. Then all of a sudden
out of nowhere Purushottamji came
back and grabbed my hand. I didn’t
know who had caught my hand and I was
worried for safety reasons.
I had a great time in India for 2-3
weeks. I hope you also enjoy when you
go there.
Tanvee Asundi, Grade 3, Session I
tell me stories, and play board games. I
would ask him to eat some food with me.
I would then ask him to bless me with
happiness, smartness, bravery, powers,
and a good family. I would ask him what
his favorite game was. I would ask him
to sleep over and stay with me for the
rest of my life. If he couldn’t then I
would ask him if I could go to heaven
with him
Jayaram Rajagopalan,
Grade 4, Session II

Balazine January 2008
Rithvik Ramesh, Grade 1, Session III Krithika Ramesh, Grade 1, Session III
Hanuman
Pranav Chandran, Grade 3, Session III

My Upanayanam in India
This summer my brother and I went to
India to get our upanayanam done.
First we had to travel from Chennai to
Tapovanam which is near Thiruvannamalai
in Tamilnadu.
The
next day we
took our bath
and were
dressed in
nice silk dhotis
and a garland
around
our neck.
There were
more than 11
scholars who
chanted the
Rudram 11
times to
bless the water in the kumbhams that
were set in the middle. Boy, I thought
we learnt a lot of shlokas as part of the
Shlokathon program, but these guys
were amazing! Later, all the family and
friends gathered outside around my
brother and me and poured water from
the kumbhams on us while everyone
cheered!
The next day was the actual day of
the upanayanam. We woke up really
early and the first thing that we had to
do was Kumarabhojanam. This means
breakfast with a friend on big banana
leaves! Then our heads were shaved except
for a small tuft of hair at the top.
My mom explained that this symbolizes
giving up all worldly attachments except
Balazine January 2008
for the guru during the student life.
I was asked to accept my grandpa
(who performed my upanayanam) as my
guru. We got to wear the sacred thread
across the shoulder. We sat on our
guru's lap and did the homam. We
washed our guru's feet and promised to
follow his teachings. We got our
panchapatram and uddharani (the small
cup and spoon to do sandhyavandanam
every day). Then the priest put a big
dhoti above our heads (my grandpa,
grandma, me and himself) and did the
Gayatri mantropadesam. This was the
initiation into the Gayatri mantra. We
went outside and looked at the sun god
through our fingers. Everyone congratulated
us and blessed us.
Then we went around and asked
for bhiksha in the most traditional way
from all the ladies in the hall signifying
that we will take alms everyday as a
student. From then on we have been
doing our sandhyavanadanam at least
twice every day.
I feel truly blessed to have got my
upanayanam done. I thank God and my
parents that I had this opportunity. I
like doing my sandhyavandanam as it
helps me calm down and I have learnt a
lot of mantras. I don't understand all
the mantras but I believe in them and
feel that they will help me and protect
me. I want to thank you all for allowing
me to share my experience with you.
Sriram Rajagopalan,
Grade 4, Session II

Power to Forgive
Mother Nature always forgives.
When we litter our coke cans or pollute
by driving she forgives even without
apologies.
This article will tell you why Mother
Nature forgives and how we can make
her less sorrowful and thank all those
who take these simple steps to let this
great shelter be a place where we can
live.
This great almighty forgives when humans
dirty her body. It’s just like you
wanting to keep your body clean so you
don’t fall sick. It’s important to keep
Mother Nature’s body healthy because
our well-being depends on her.
When we watch those cartoons that
contain living things with special powers
I feel that we shouldn’t have to go to
the T.V. We just have to look out the
window and see how nature reacts when
Balazine January 2008
Deepalaya
some disrespectful person throws his
pastry bag out of his fuel gushing
truck.
Here are some ways that we can keep
earth healthy and clean. If you don’t do
these things in your house, today is a
great day to start. Recycling is a great
way to give back to Earth. If you have
troubles remembering what to recycle
just remember, “If you can rip it you
can recycle it”. Reusing is also a very
easy task. All you have to do is reuse
plastic water bottles, paper lunch bags
etc.
So next time you litter on the floor or
put something you can rip in the trash
think about what you did to Mother Nature
and think about her power to forgive.
Aekta Mouli, Grade 5, Session III
Sharada Krishnagiri, KG, Session II

Lal Bahadur Shastri
Shastriji was a great leader. He
made the decision to be a freedom
fighter to
stop the
British
from ruling
India after
he graduated
from
college.
Shastriji
wanted to
solve problems
to
make life
fair for everyone. It took a long time;
he even had to go to jail 4-5 times to
make his dream come true.
One of the problems while India
was in war was food crisis. Shastriji
said fast one day of the week and all
the food that you save will become
someone else’s meal!
His motto was Jai jawan! Jai
kisaan! It meant respect the soldier and
the farmer as they work hard to feed
the people of this country and also keep
them safe!
Balazine January 2008
Two great leaders
Jhansi ki Rani
Jhansi ki Rani was a freedom
fighter and
was called the
brave queen
who never
gave up her
kingdom to
the British.
The British
were very
strong but
Jhansi ki Rani
was brave
hearted and
did not give up
so easily. She
even trained women to fight, heal the
wounded and fix the fort. But the British
had huge cannons and blew up the
fort. She adopted a son but the British
wouldn’t let her so she gave her son to
her friend and went to war.
She loved art and reading. She had
a giant library in her palace that had
millions of books for people to read. Today
we remember Jhansi ki Rani for her
braveness and courage.
If you don’t give up, you will succeed
in whatever you are doing.
Arjun Menta,
Grade 4, Session I

Balazine January 2008
The Greedy Queen
Priyanka Potturi, Grade 5, Session III

Balazine January 2008
What we do ...
Shruthika Ponchamally, Grade 5, Session III

Hari Om!
Shlokathon
The Shlokathon program is a unique
program which allows students to memorize
and test on a compilation of various
shlokas. Although I was unable to understand
the significance of the shlokas I
was chanting, I recently realized the
benefits available to students who participate
within the Shlokathon program.
Students enjoy a better memorization
capacity, exposure to the Indian cultures
religious prayers, and a stronger development
of linguistic capacity. After I
completed the program, I was allotted a
position to teach one of 5 sections of
Shlokathon classes to new students enrolling
in the program. From my experience
in teaching I have learnt that patience
truly is a virtue.
Many of the children were slightly
struggling in the beginning but all of the
students are now saying the shlokas with
proper tone, rhythm, tune, and pronunciation.
It is a rewarding experience
to watch your students excelling
at the subject you teach. Teaching also
allowed me to experience the power of
authority which is not as “cool” as one
would think. Being in charge involves responsibility
and perfection. A teacher
has to show responsibility towards
his/her teaching, lessons, students, parents,
and co-teachers. The program
has helped me become a more responsible
individual.
Overall, teaching Shlokathon has
been educational, enjoyable, and an exceptional
experience. I would recommend
all students to enjoy the opportu-
Balazine January 2008
nity they have by enrolling in the Shlokathon
program.
Jayashree Rajagopalan,
Grade 12, Session I
Why I think the Mahabharata is
real
1. Dwaraka, the submerged city in the
Mahabharata, was discovered in
1983 by ASI
(Archaeological
Survey of India)
and MAU ( Marine
Archeological
Unit). They found
many artifacts
mentioned in the
Mahabharata such as, deity
statues, columns, and many weapons.
2. The Greek historian Megasthenes
has stated that Chandragupta
Maurya was the 138 King in the lineage
of Shri Krishna. This means
that Shri Krishna did exist in the
bygone era and that Mahabharata
did really occur.
3. A number of dynasties with their
lineage of kings have been presented
in the work. More than 50
kings from King Barhi to the Pandava
Kings have been recorded.
4. Kedarnath and Badrinath were temples
originally made by the Pandava
Princes.
5. And in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh,
There are five Shiva lingams made
by the Pandava Princes when they
were in exile.
Sricharan Navaluri,
Grade 6, Session I

Japa mala in Senior Year
A month ago, Swamiji instructed
some of the high school students on the
use of japa malas, giving each one of us
our own. In the following class, Pankaj
uncle dared the 12th graders to try japa
for five minutes a day, promising that
the practice would help us maintain focus
during the school week. Because I
count myself among the many teens
whose classes are characterized by
chaos, I took up uncle’s challenge.
Generally, except for the homework,
tests, and studying, I really love school.
The topics are intriguing, I have a lot of
respect for teachers, and hanging out
with friends is always fun. But there is
one class that I never look forward too:
Spanish V. Every day I dread going into
that class and for fifty minutes the endurance
of my eyelids is tested as I
fight to stay awake. Sometimes I even
wonder if the teacher purposely reads in
monotone for its hypnotic effect on students.
On one Monday as I was walking to
Spanish class when Abirami noticed that
I was wearing the japa mala that Swamiji
had handed out to us. Because I was
at the time complaining about Spanish,
Abi suggested doing japa in class to stay
awake. When I asked her if she was serious,
Abirami responded that Sra.
Smith (our teacher) would never see me.
Knowing that this was true, I told Abi
that I would try to get away with it. So
five minutes into class, while pretending
to count the syllables in a Chilean poem,
Balazine January 2008
I did four rounds of japa. I was amazed
at how quickly I was able to complete
the rounds. The silent environment of
my Spanish class, something I had previously
thought to be soporific, facilitated
my meditative needs. For the rest of
the week, I set aside about ten minutes
of every Spanish class to complete five
rounds of japa.
In the beginning, I took the challenge as
a joke; just to see if I would be able to
escape Sra. Smith’s attention. But in
the middle of the second day, I detected
that my mind started to clear
after japa. Because japa is so attention
intensive, focusing on Spanish after a
few rounds became markedly easier.
Soon after, Abirami brought in her japa
mala to Spanish and a few of my other
friends in the class borrowed my japa
mala after I was done. I also began to
use brainstorming techniques I learned
at Balavihar to think about how I could
lessen my abhorrence of Spanish. After
a few days of japa in Spanish class, I
was able to stay awake for the entire
period, something that had never previously
occurred.
High school is a lot of work, a lot of fun,
and probably one of the most hectic periods
in a teenager’s life. Especially in
12th grade, when inaction seems an action
and graduation day appears elusive.
I am glad that my fellow seniors and I
have been able to apply the concepts
learned at Saaket.
Niharika Mallepally,
Grade 12, Session I