Camp 2011 Camp Purple, Mukteshwar Camp Purple, Mukteshwar Camp Purple, Mukteshwar Camp Purple, Mukteshwar Camp Purple, MukteshwarFifty kilometers from Nainital, Camp Purple is perched 4 kilometers fromMukteshwar on the Mukteshwar ridge

in the Sargakhet village. Mukteshwarliterally means ‘Abode of Shiva’ and at7290 feet. is one of the highest ridges incentral Himalayas. The camp issurrounded by apple and peach orchardsand its name is inspired by the colourwhich blends perfectly with nature asthe sun sets over the snow coveredmountains. This was the destination forthe class X camp. The campsite wasbeautiful with a great scenic view of thevalley it overlooked. There was abasketball court, a common area thatwas used for bonfires at night and various tents settled at distances from eachother with names of the peaks and glaciers in the Mukteshwar region. On the veryfirst day we were made to do a small treasure hunt and were sent to the neighbouringareas to look for clues. After enjoying the bonfire, we slept like babies that night.Early the next morning we got ready for a trip to a waterfall that was situatedclose-by. I think this was the most memorable moment of camp this year. It was

long downhill trek to this particular spot, but it was worth it. The water was freezing cold and all 58 of us had a dipin this wonderful stream. The water fell from a 15-foot cliff, which we used as a slide and had amazing fun with. Oneincident, which we will all cherish, was when Mr. Kakkar tried the rockslide, hit the water and not knowing how toswim, came up gasping for breath and tried clinging on to whatever he could find. Unfortunately his findings cameout to be Tejas Sharma, who was dragged underwater and given quite the time trying to save Mr. Kakkar. Whenevening arrived, we practiced rappelling and rock climbing for the following day, which led us to discover a cavewhich was completely dark and emerged from the other side, which was pretty interesting.

The following day we headed out towards Mukteshwar to intake a seriesof activities, which included complex rock climbing, rappelling andjumaring. Out of these the most fascinating was rock climbing since themoment you started climbing the given cliff face you looked down 100feet, which was really bizarre and completely terrorizing. Personally,my hands and feet started shaking. That night the teachers and instructorshad planned to scare us, by inviting a babaji who would make us levitate.Even though they tried hard, they really failed at frightening all of us,because we knew all along how fake this whole act was.On our last day, we woke up really early to watch a beautiful sunrise

that took place rightabove the Himadari snowcapped mountain range.It was a spectacular siteand a wonderful way tobegin the day. Later thatday we visited the quaintSargakhet village thatwas spread across 100acres of land and wasvery close to Mukteshwar.We visited households ofthe village, ate lunch

cooked by the families and helped them with whatever work wasneeded. It was a great experience and an amazing opportunity to visita remote village and learn about how life was conducted there.

Abhiveer Arjun, 10

SCHOOL WATCH

T O D A YT O D A YT O D A YT O D A YT O D A YApril, 2011

Alaknanda Expedition 2011How long does it take from being starry eyed junior to a senior getting ready to go white water rafting on the

Alaknanda rafting expedition? The moment was sooner than we thought; we had barely found our feet in class

12 after bidding farewell to our seniors and giving our first exams when camp was just around the corner. Like

any other, the trip was not sans flaws! Some were separated on the train, some were homesick, many were

unwell and last but not the least, we were asked to stuff our luggage into a quarter of its size and carry only the

bare necessities in a flimsy polythene bag that tore by the end of the expedition . Despite all these imperfections,

even a critic would find it hard to scorn about the fabulous time we spent together at our last camp.

We started rafting on the very first day after a tiring 17 hour journey. Our antics started in the first 5

minutes when Vikrant Puri fell into the water in his party attire the minute he got on to his raft- this was

definitely going to be a camp to remember. There weren’t many rapids on the first day but our good

humoured guides kept the euphoria alive by starting water fights and teaching us rafting chants-

“Chwa Chwa Chicken Chwa” and “Yo Ala Phurkhee Yo!”

We reached the beach camp where we received the

news that we had to pack just ONE change of clothes

into a plastic bag for the next 3 days. We awoke early the

next morning and scrambled around desperately wondering

what these ‘bare necessities’ were, packing practically everything

in sight.

Finally, we were all packed and ready to set out on Day One of the expedit ion.

By the end of it, we all were drenched- whether it was by jumping into the

water, getting pushed in or being splashed into oblivion. On the s e c o n d

day, one raft nearly capsized on something that wasn’t a rapid at all and was even

more petrifying than Daniel’s Dip (highly overrated- none of us even got wet!) The n i g h t s

thereafter were spent under rafts supported by

paddles and rope, covered by tarpaulin sheets. The weather w a s

amazing and we fell asleep snug in our sleeping bags to awake to the

beautiful scenery of the river and the mountains. Getting ready in the

morning was an expedition in itself- brushing our teeth in the freezing

river water and running to grab a spot where the water was ‘clean’. That

night our batch indulged in a game of Dizzy Sticks till 11pm which left

everyone in rather high spirits. Then came the last day with the most

anticipated rapids, The Wall (which was entirely worth it- 3 rafts capsized

completely), Three Blind Mice and Roller Coaster. We were especially

impressed by the classy names of some rapids (beginning with Tee-Off,

followed by hitting Golfcourse and wrapped up at Clubhouse). The feel of

floating in the water along with the current and all our batch mates was

something we knew we’d never experience again and we definitely made

the most of it. However, our experience would have been incomplete without our guides Vishal, Dhruv, Pawan,

Anil, Pappu, Santosh, Baba and Titu aka ‘Green Sir’, who

lovingly called us all losers when we failed to splash him. The

train journeys deserve a story of their own but let’s just say

that we made some new friends and conversed with some

friendly members of the Indian population. The best five days

ended too soon and it was only when we entered the gates of

Vasant Valley that we realized it had been our LAST camp. It

was a landmark trip for a landmark batch and will be etched

in all our memories forever along with the distant echoes of

“Forward PADol” and the sound of the waves against the

rocks- the best and last camp of the batch of 2012.

Juhi Bahl & Pallavi Saini, 12

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Five days of over heated, non-stop fun,

The interminable fiesta had just begun!

Playing volleyball under the open skies of Dudhwa,

Exhilarating, sun drenched day with no flaw.

Our safari commenced from the river Suheli,

Anxiously I wondered where this would lead,

When we unexpectedly got stranded in our jeep!

Prancing towards the tranquil river,

Splash, splash, splash, drenched, we danced the day, away

Camp Syatt This year’s camp was adventurous; there’s no other way to put it. We had 7 kilometer treks along some of the most scenic landscapes we had ever seen. The activities were challenging and well planned, stretching our bodies to its limit. Body surfing in an irrigation canal and cooking our own food by the river were the highlights of this camp. For our entertainment, a volleyball net was pitched on the campsite, which we enjoyed immensely. The campsite was built in a valley and needless to say our surroundings were green and breathtaking. LOL moment: Finding the trek in the forest a little tedious, the majority of us started showing signs of disinterest. Noticing this attitude, the instructor was angered by our misbehaviour and asked which one of us wanted to leave the group and go straight to the river which was our final destination. With one swift movement, most of us got up and walked off in the direction of the river. From changing in the wilderness after our refreshing swim in the river to posing for pictures in the jeep with our hair flying, we had, to sum it up, an experience of fun, adventure and excitement. Aakanksha Jadhav & Mallika Kishore, 9

Camp Kalsi, Dak PatharBest moment: Going rafting. Unlike the previous years,this year many of ourclassmates fell offtheir rafts! Therewas one rapid,Clubhouse, inwhich all therafts gotstuck. It was atrial gettingout of the rapidand later veryamusing watching the othersstruggle.

Worst moments: Waking up repeatedly at nightbecause our tent kept shaking in the wind. Even afterbarely getting any rest we still had to wake up at sixthirty in the morning to the sound of a shrill yet loudbell. Immediately we were bustled out of our cozy bedsinto the cold morning air.

Scariest moment: Our first night as a whole was veryscary. Some of our classmates created a rumor that theysaw a ghost in a white saree near the bathrooms. Ourhighly gullible batch was terrified and many were eventoo scared to go near the bathroom!

Happiest moment: Getting to drink a glass of Pepsiafter two long days. Even though the nature wasamazing, we were all terribly missing civilization and sosomething as common as Pepsi really lifted our moods.

Loudest moment: Watching India beat Australia in thequarter-finals of the ICC world cup from the middle ofpractically nowhere. Everyone started screaming andquite a few lost their voices. Many still haven’t got themback.

In all, Camp Kalsi was awesome and we’re pretty surethat all sixth graders going next year will find it amazing.

Ashraya Harish and Ananya Jagoorie, 7

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 3

The mandate of that day was exclusively fun and play! In

the midst of a rhino and tiger reserve,

We watched the electrifying cricket match, heightened

emotions preserved,

To our greatest joy we saw India’s victory, it much deserved!

The ‘campathon’ was diverse and fun,

Boy! Did we run!

Scores of activities exhausted we were, when we were done!

In Swahili, ‘hello’ is Jambo,

In Spanish, ‘wool’ is Lana, in the land of Mambo,

For me, Jambolana meant absolute and pure fun!

Gurbani Kohli, 8

“A beautiful beach with crystal clear water.

Kids playing volleyball or sitting and

making sand castles. Clean tents lined up

in neat rows and adventurous fresh air all

around”-Ashna Sethi, 6

Jumping into the Ganges!It was our first morning at the Shivpuri beach camp. Our group, ‘The Tigers’ was

all set to go rafting when our instructor told us that we would be kayaking instead.

Within ten minutes we all were geared up in our shorts and t- shirts

and the kayaks were ready. First we were taught how to use the

kayaking oar and then we got to try it out. After I finished my turn

on the kayak I saw Divij standing on the big safety raft. SPLASH!

He jumped into the water. ‘That was cool!’ I thought. I would love

to try it out. I wasted no time to get onto the raft and SPLASHED

into the cold water. I felt a rush through my spine. My heart started to

beat faster and faster. For a minute I felt as if the water was sucking

me in and I would never come back to the top. But still there was a voice

inside me wanting to do this again. JUMP- JUMP- JUMP! One by one

everyone joined us. As far as I remember, I jumped every time. With the

other people cheering us, it seemed as if I was competing with the boys. In and out

of the water, till every part of my body ached. Till I was scraped everywhere

including my face, I tried again and again. For the last time I gathered myself and

SPLISH- SPLASH-SPLOOSH! I was down in the water again. I had definitely had a blast.

It was the time of our lives. A day none of us would forget. Atleast I wouldn’t. It was

something that would go down in memory lane as the craziest day ever!

Ananya Jain, 6

haolaIhaolaIhaolaIhaolaIhaolaIAro ! yah iksanao hO GaMTI bajaa[-jaOsao hI Kaolaa ikvaaD, tao maOM icallaa[-caar Dravanao caohro doK xaNaBar tao maOM Gabara[-mauJao rMgaao sao paotvao icallaae haolaI Aa[- haolaIiFr @yaa qaa CUTI ipcakarIBaIgaa tna AaOr caunarI saarIivaiBanna rMgaao sao rMgaa AakaSa[nd`QanauYa saa huAa pkaSaSabakao nacaanao haolaI Aa[-hYa- ]llaasa va maaohbbat Aa[-\Gar Gar maoM sabanao haoilaka jalaa[-duYT haro AaOr jaItI AcCa[-imalakr galao lagaaAao gaulaala

BaUlaao JagaD,o AaOr malaala Gauijayaa KaAao

rMga lagaaAaohsato gaato sabaimala haolaI manaaAaoAsaIsa kaOr

Camp Shivpuri Quiz By Trisha Bansal, 6

Q1. What were the names of the lower 3 rapids?

a) Three Blind Mice, Mickey mouse & Butterfly

b) Initiation, Double Trouble & Hillturn

c) Bodysurfing, Butterfly & Crossfire

d) Black Money, Mickey Mouse & Hillturn

Q2. What were the 3 rope activities that we did?

a) Sloth climbing, river crossing & flying fox

b) Valley crossing, river crossing & rope climbing

c) Burma Bridge, valley crossing & flying fox

d) Rope climbing, river crossing & sloth climbing

Answers: Q1. b) Q2. c)

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Our Trip to BotanixWe left at 9:00 am from school for

Botanix. We reached around 11:00 am.

When we reached Botanix, we ate

delicious food. We went to our tents and

got our luggage. After taking some rest

and getting fresh we played games like:

football, tug of war and danced for some

time. Around 7:00 pm we had our dinner

and went to our tents. The next day we

got ready and went for a nature walk.

We saw

beautiful

t r e e s ,

p l a n t s ,

colourful

flowers,

the China Orange tree. We also saw

Humming Birds. Later, we went for a

village walk. We saw women making huts

with cow dung and people weaving

cloth. After that we had a rain dance

with sprinklers. After eating lunch we

prepared for the ‘Talent Show’. We went

for a bullock cart ride and then to see

the potter’s wheel. We also went to Dam

Damma lake-it was a long walk. Around

5:00 pm we sat around the bonfire and

presented our ‘Talent Show’. The last

day we did

m a n y

activities like

Burma Bridge,

O b s t a c l e

Course and

other team

games. We ate our lunch and left the

camp site at 3:00 pm. We reached school

at 4:00 pm. We had a fun trip!!

Ayushe Nagpal III- A

Adventure at Rajaji

National Park

Excited I woke up, nice and bright

Thought adventure camp would be a

wonderful delight!

We went for tiring nature walks,

and collected many different shaped

rocks.

Jungle safari was a lot of fun

Leopards, wild hen, elephants, sambar,

Spotted deer, bara singha &Indian rollers

were basking in the sun.

Zip Line and Mission Impossible were so

thrilling,

India’s victory over Australia was exciting

and fulfilling.

The play we did

had everyone in splits.

The whole scene was a hit.

While at the camp on all cylinders we

fired

When we reached school we were

suddenly tired!

Rohil Bahl IV- A

Camp Byasi- RishikeshAt 6:00 a.m. on March 22, the morning was

dark and cold

but filled with

many excited

voices. We

were leaving

for Camp Byasi

and eagerly

l o o k i n g

forward to the trip. The buses rolled- out

on time and we reached Cheetal Grand at

9:30 a.m. for breakfast. We finally reached

the camp site at 3:30 p.m. After a steep

descent on foot, we got to our tents. We

were hungry and a great lunch energized

us. There was a briefing about the rules and

then we were allotted our tents. Thereafter

we were given free- play time. At night we

lit a bonfire and sat around singing and

enjoying ourselves. The next morning, after

breakfast my group left for rafting. There

were four rafts ready for us. We all wore

lifejackets and helmets and took our places

in the rafts. A few of us had paddles. The

first rapid that we crossed was Initiation,

and it drenched us completely. Then we

crossed Double Trouble and Hilton without

much trouble. After lunch we went for a

dip in the river wearing lifejackets. The

water was freezing cold and we were all

shivering. Later, we had fun preparing plays

which were to be enacted by each group,

playing on the sandy beach and having hot

chocolate. Then we lit a bonfire and sat

under the clear sky, dotted with a million

stars. We managed to spot a few

constellations. Some groups performed

their plays while others watched. The next

morning, my group left for trekking. Our

guide enthusiastically told us to be ready

for a tough uphill walk. Huffing and puffing

we covered much distance and just when

we thought we had finally reached ‘uphill’,

our guide proudly announced again, “And

now BEGINS the uphill!” We all took up the

challenge and continued ahead.

We were told to beware of 'Bichhu Buti',

a weed which causes itchiness. We learnt

about the local plants and trees. On the

way back, we had to cross the river by a

boat. Our creativity was put to test as

we all got on to making sand sculptures.

Pappu Bhaiya, our rafting guide, kept us

updated with the cricket scores all

evening. There was a loud cheer as he

announced India’s victory over Australia.

Then, it was 5.30 a.m. on March 25, and

we found ourselves up with the birds. We

reached the school back at 6 p.m. It was

a great trip and I look forward to many

more in future.

Rabiya Gupta V- A

VASANT VALLEY TODAY PAGE - 5

Surjivan FarmOn Monday, the 7th March we went to

Surjivan Farm. There we saw huts, open

fields and how cowdung is used for so

m a n y

things. My

partner was

J a y d i t y a .

We saw

medic inal

plants and

had a trac-

tor ride. We rolled on the grass and

learnt to make chutni. But the most in-

teresting thing was that Jayditya and I

had a race when we were rolling on the

grass. We felt very tired. After a nice

lunch we came back to school.

Agastyaa Gupta II - C

A Mystical EncountA Mystical EncountA Mystical EncountA Mystical EncountA Mystical Encountererererer

On Tuesday, the 29th of March, the students of class 12

along with teachers and some parents had a rendezvous

with Sadhguru Juggi Vasudev. Clad in a lungi, with a long

white beard he is a mystic, visionary who amalgamates

spirituality with reality. He has attended the World Peace

Congress and World Economic Forum. It was indeed an

honour to meet him. The session varied with questions

about life, to which the guru very wittily answered, “I

dont know where the world is going, it’s spinning!” to

cricket, “If you know the result of the world cup matches,

you are a match fixer!” and finally to astrology, “I wouldn’t

advise you to read your horrorscope.” He was real,

interactive, approachable and one could really connect

to what he was saying. He believed that the human body

is the most sophisticated of machines. It is the one that

has made the cell phones, buildings and computers today.

But he also believed that no human body should rely on

someone else to start them up, rather everyone’s life

should be on self-start. Sadhguru Juggi Vasudev was a guru

with a difference and a great example of being rooted

but moving with the times.

Suvira Raj Chadha, 12

Kanha Tiger Reserve 2011

Our group of sixteen class 9 and 10 students travelled to a lodgein the world famous Kanha Wild Life Sanctuary, which isclaimed to be one of the best national parks in the country. Wewere warmly welcomed by the students of Clemson University,South Carolina, who, like us, were very perturbed about therapid decline in the tiger population and the loss of jungle habitatin our country. They presented some money for tigerconservation to the trip organizer which they had painstakinglycollected through a marathon.The next day we left for our first safari into the Kanha WildlifePark. Needless to say, the sanctuary was simply stunning! Ourjeep was welcomed by a herd of over two dozen Spotted deer(Cheetal). Several square kilometers of elephant grass wereevident throughout the park and the Sal canopy blocked themorning sun from hitting our backs. Beautiful peacocks andherds of Barasingha, Swamp deer and Sambhar were in sight.We saw both the Crested Serpent Eagle and the ChangeableHawk Eagle in the park, not to mention half a dozen Shikhras!We feasted our eyes on one of the rarest sights in the forest-agigantic, almost 2 ton, lone, male Indian Bison (locally calledthe Gaur) coming towards us. The largest Bovine species inthe world was just a meter away from our jeep!To our sheer delight, we were told that there would be anothersafari in the afternoon! During the latter half of the safari, neara murky pond, we saw a dead Sambhar deer whose head hadbeen eaten off !The guide claimed this to be a tiger’s kill andsaid the incident must have occurred barely an hour before. Sowe joined the convoy of jeeps and waited. The wait seemedendless and my heart beat rapidly. Suddenly, a young RoyalBengal tigress appeared! She was standing majestically barelya hundred feet away and seemed the least bit bothered to see somany people around. She walked with a stunningly superior airto the pond and bathed there, leaving us all spellbound. It was agood fifteen minutes later that the tigress faded into the thicket,leaving her kill for a more private time, probably dinner, whenwe all would have made ourselves scarce. Awe-struck, we wentback to Mukki Gate and drove back to the resort, hardlybelieving our good luck.

Indraneel Roy, 9

Editorial BoardAnanya Jain, Aakanksha Jadhav, Indraneel Roy, Ojasvi Goel,

Tarini Sardesdai, Aastha Kamra, Namrata Narula, Pia Kochar,Sharanya Thakur, Vasudha Dixit, Akhila Khanna, Amira Singh,

Ishan Sardesai, Rishabh Prakash, Vandita Khanna, Ramya Ahuja,Suvira Chadha, Vani Shriya, Vedika Berry

Editor: Mallika Pal

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