The Osiris - Newsletter First Issue

ISSUE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2021 The Osiris αναβίωση και έκφραση In this Edition: DEARTH AND THE RISE: FROM DOCUMENTARIES THE POETIC HEART, WITH LOVE A report by Nisha Sriram on Qissa Mahathi Sathish reports on Umeed Ka, the the Slam Poetry event, Film Making Event Rise. POTENTIAL DOOMSDAY THE FLAMBOYANCE OF THE ASHES Kashvi Srinivasan writes about Ayushman Dubey reports Nupur Bahadur’s words on waste on “Tajdeed: From Ashes water management. to Art”.

Letters from the Editors The Osiris, meaning 'Revival Through Expression' is the theme for this newsletter. We hope to not only explore the theme with abundant amounts of creativity and skill, but to also do so via different languages in the true spirit of international mindedness. We hope that the journalists have enjoyed working on different formats of writing as they report on the various events. As for the readers, we are sure that you will experience a great deal of astonishment as you see their efforts transcribed onto paper, or, in this case, a PDF. Saachi Bharadwaj Aarushi G. Heads Media and Publications PAGE 1

KEEPING UP WITH THE CORE TEAM These individuals have displayed exemplary responsibility, skill, heart and perseverance over the course of this last month, and we are forever grateful for the work that has been done by them. We’d like to thank them for their undying fidelity, constant support, and invaluable dedication with which they have brought this summit to fruition. This is one such honest yet lively interview that we held with the core team members. 1. How many hours per day did the We fully acknowledge the summit planning take up for each of you, challenges of tech-related work for a and do you resent it for the same? completely virtual event, and we sincerely apologise for disturbing The summit planning took up around your opera rehearsals to burden you thirty hours per day. Yes, there weren’t with unnecessary work. enough hours in the day for us to plan sufficiently. It’s hard to say whether we 3. Is there any drama among the resent it or not, because while it took up so core members that you would like much of our time, it also opened our eyes to disclose to the public? to the beauty of event planning and management. Although there were times Let’s just say that if you read our when we were at each others’ necks, we group chats, you’d feel like you were learned how to be more open-minded and reading a script for a Hindi TV appreciative towards each others’ opinions. show. We absolutely hated working with each other and just couldn’t 2. Do you have any passive aggressive stand being in the vicinity of each remarks for those who didn't put in as other. Oh, and the staybacks were a much effort for the summit planning as whole different level of torture. You others did? should’ve seen us, we were sitting in different corners of the room. We have no passive aggressive remarks for But all jokes aside, working in this anybody because we totally understand group of 7 talented people has given that it takes one month to staple papers us hope for our future CAS and make 3-slide PPTs. endeavors. PAGE 2

THE CORE TEAM TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: ARYAMAN JOSHI, NYSSA PAGE 3 GUPTA, STUTI KRISHNAGIRI AND KSHTIJ LUTHRA BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: HIMMAT SINGH, VEDA MALHOTRA AND HEMIL PATEL

RISING FROM HIS PAGE 2 ASHES - STRONGER THAN EVER MAJOR D. P. SINGH AND HIS INSPIRING STORY Meet our keynote speaker for HIXS Annual Summit - The Phoenix 20210 - Major DP Singh! Major Devender Pal Singh is a 48 years old Indian Army war veteran. Injured in active operations in 1999, he was brought in a very critical condition to the hospital. He survived with 100% disabilities and rose to claim many accolades to his name by converting his shortcoming into his strengths. He is a true representation of a Pheonix. Instead of putting his life on hold due to his disabilities, he showed tenacity and is now India's First Blade Runner. It is an honour to have had him as a keynote speaker with us for this event.

MEET OUR EXPERTS MEET OUR EXPERT MEET OUR EXPERT Ms. Ishadrita Lahiri Ramesh Jayaraman PANEL DISCUSSION FILM MAKING Ms Ishadrita Lahiri with her RAsaiseiscaaaHtddaefhsmnntttoexxoilnnnpaioaluarlcecdimlrpppmcdddessuonmcidnevieluarwopgtcvtodrmeemeiuloetlgbrnciemcsisshjelereniddlaasiihterolxdnneoeaaotsinkufebtuscincngarsatootJsteahteeegnareyaadraoclmis.itrsrysthmnwtanabiesahtiHdoaseripinl.hdyrttanfsnebinedhhteaatdvvortnyotcmaeenhfsilfwotheehseohinlltetiaahdonlsvtetoa,remtinshlaraftoneaacndwefraicdlitevvenaoildpisiuoi.sdmuvredrinemwsdtmlduosHcaesismihennddirtohcueoentpotesiunCagoenacueohhsirihpnnctatwkctohiiieiias-ytesterpnenosvpaiacrdosdrnnrdgoorlysraarneoetcfout.urldsnjehfesnaaaaaasiehrgritoottHotcnnnnnnethetharuorotssdddddddhaayfsesyeslte. extensive experience as the multimedia journal is a principal correspondent at the Quint for the last three years where she single- handedly managed reporting in West Bengal and Eastern India. Her works cover a multitude of topics ranging from environment, politics, gender, policy to social issues. She is an alumna of St Stephens College and has also worked with NDTV and various digital platforms since 2015. MEET OUR EXPERT MEET OUR EXPERT Sushanta Guha C.V. Sush Pratiti Ganatra ART FILM MAKING Sushanta Guha has participated in An innovative and competent many important shows like Annual marketing and communications Exhibitions at Birla Academy professional, Pratiti Ganatra is a Calcutta, Chitra Kala Parishad writer and editor with experience Bangalore, AIFCS New Delhi, of managing literature festivals, Bharat Bhavan Bhopal, and sports events, overseeing the layout several group shows in India and and content of an online magazine abroad. He has been honored by and leading a team of writers. She The National Cultural scholarship has been working as a coordinator and junior Fellowship from The and programmer at the Tata Steel Government of India. He has been Kolkata Literary Meet and its felicitated with National Academy ancillary literature festivals in Award from Lalit Kala Akademi Bhubaneswar and Ranchi since and AIFACS Awards from Delhi, 2017. and his works have been held in many galleries. PAGE 3

MEET OUR EXPERTS MEET OUR EXPERT MEET OUR EXPERT Mr. Sahil Bhattad Somrita Urni Ganguly FILM MAKING FILM MAKING On September 29, Mr. Sahil Somrita Urni Ganguly is a Bhattad will be giving the talk professor, award-winning poet and from Paani Foundation. Sahil is literary translator. She was a the Head of School Programme Fulbright Doctoral Research and other online workshops and Fellow at Brown University, and is trainings at Paani Foundation. an alumna of the University of Attached, please find his East Anglia’s International photograph. He has a rich Literary Translation and Creative experience in designing programmes Writing Summer School. She is for students, as well as interacting currently Head of the Department with them. Since 2018, of English, Maharaja Manindra environmental workshops and Chandra College, University of programmes led by him, have Calcutta, and co-founder of The reached almost 70,000 students. Writing Programme. MEET OUR EXPERT MEET OUR EXPERT Dr Vishesh Rawat Niketa Bakshi BUSINESS & ECONOMICS SEL hEDasFaMaaAAmppItilBHaracNniuhonerurnsgwnakosunucaremecodtaebetddrsaseow.cgirfnaur“iilhcgmerMkeuManscikotbmLlRsndsas,VseieenenseesEeheeit”BtessesafrtiledtasiIsadseoinxuicnir2s.Acmndndoilnoihlekc0dnutaam&egnweahayepelb2teclrsalspttsSaargrv1ribyhiinpSoPnoMaeo.inonveoy&randfsvesmcllggHfatupsopukiiie,RanltnpRwesteeIsP4eeeleeEIwcrd,manrramiesdhlmnmlwstewedt.sysSxduoSeDhtdcau”oalbfienacaddaiohifliairdsneetkltlrtiaeeaoelnerligiibedaelc.pnsrapapeaoy,lieplTnntasnsrDgroe2mimh“iodceefndnOA0ngeRTaesrSraagiasa2ir.2LlscIeeitdrogwol0reig1hgarekpepCanudRee&.auharaalisernpezpyteeeaelsrtsdttoutyvenacntraeidsiHiwHviaitneangnetreia5nneeneaiaorriyrgltegTi+dld0dnngnyertsessst,l.,, Niketa comes with 10 years of experience in the field of Social Emotional Learning, Non-violent Communication and Mindfulness. She has worked with children of ages 7 to 16 and adults as well. She combines the practices of SEL, Mindfulness, Non-violent communication, Science of happiness, Trauma-Informed care and resiliency practices to provide holistic development to individuals. Her expertise lies in creating safe spaces for individuals to discover, share and learn, to hear and to be deeply heard and gain experience in tangible skills that promote holistic well being. She has worked at Teach for India, wherein she taught financially under-resourced children for 2 years and then went on to coach and mentor more teachers. PAGE 4

MEET OUR EXPERTS MEET OUR EXPERT MEET OUR EXPERT Payal Kapoor Sanjeevani Jain SEL SEL A Hotel Management graduate tacysdMSoCToaMwgpdpcSiwfhnuhoearforeripaaeeieouhrddrgrpuopacuAerslprnnAtrpselrawiiptli.cskrijjrbgolrovhaoitonfoeemitiesnancmrietpriinee,hainhis,caiadapezvvtsynicanatadoMtlyttnuaaihlagdhpeetotygahnnrte.sriuua,ue(bSilad,iiodmmlonss,CcalytatiainddeossinschanWapsnPmvvphsmi,oehsljann,dcrMiereeloCeebncssiooolePeaytoielggnacviTehnnilispenialyrahennsaaysMdnum)cisanIlc2cabnfndg.o.sotmneh0renuaigonoahenrihdnoo1rsncnAdgemtPeeipliia4griisacuoa,nrdmdarntootk.gchgnoiuuUtslgdtmiouijlfitacdcneoCseneicsgTnavasdthidungiihrsliietcwlher1toeoavasidorsnM4vlirnidsres,dotieoseafwrawbn0h6nuyaiuurrAhisltciea0i0renaigslitta3oae&tnstyritl+d+hlhhan2fyctoselte,l, from the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering MEET OUR EXPERT Technology, Hyderabad, Payal worked at the Front desk at the Sheetal Agarwal then Krishna Oberoi before she lost her sight and hearing ability SEL to a cerebral attack in 1992. Sheetal is a Sociologist/Social anthropologist by training, She now works with Merquri lecturer by profession and a big Clown at heart. She is the Medica, which specializes in founder of Clownselors. medical emergency, disaster She started medical clowning in Delhi in July 2016 and has preparedness equipment, and first- received enormous support and appreciation from hospital aid kits. Training people in basic authorities, Health Ministry as well as people around. She is a first-aid and CPR is part of her TEDx Speaker and a motivational speaker. She has received new profile. many awards for her work. MEET OUR EXPERT MEET OUR EXPERT Tanushree Sangma Saumya Choudhury SEL SLAM POETRY Saumya Choudhury,the Director of Delhi Poetry Slam has Tanushree Sangma is an been a passionate organizer of literary and community development for over 7 years. She has created a multi- Expressive Arts Based Therapist disciplinary artist residency centre in New Delhi offering access to poetry workshops,and has also partnered with & Psychologist at Department of acclaimed institutions to conduct interactive mentorship programs. She has organized performance poetry tours in Mental Health & Behavioural India with renowned international poets such as Easterine Kire, Just Jamaal The Poet, Alok-Vaid Menon, Sciences, Fortis Healthcare. She Melizarani,etc. Since 2017, Saumya has expanded the grants and awards bestowed by Delhi Poetry Slam to unrecognized has done her Masters in Psychology poets by serving as a chair of Wingword Poetry Competition. Her vision is to expose the Indian youth to global literary from University of Delhi and is a influences, so that they can learn and exchange knowledge in the field of creative writing and slam poetry. UNESCO-CID certified PAGE 5 practitioner. As a part of the Fortis National Mental Health Program, she conducts life skills and mental health webinars and workshops with students, parents and teachers for schools, colleges and organisations, facilitates art based therapy lives on media platforms for wellbeing among the youth and has been actively engaged in online webinars and platforms for advocating awareness on mental health.

MEET OUR EXPERTS MEET OUR EXPERT MEET OUR EXPERT Binoda Jha Vikramjeet Sinha SEL THEATRE Binoda's engagement with the field Vikramjeet Sinha is an Arts based of education spans for almost three therapist and an Arts based decades.He was initiated into the Educator and Dramatist , He has field at the Mirambika Research 20 years of work experience in the Centre for Integral Education and social development sector and he Human Values, Sri Aurobindo works for arts for Psycho-social Ashram, Delhi. He has worked change. He has directed over 25 with both alternative school plays in schools, colleges and in systems and mainstream schools, Festivals. It is an honour to be school in rural and urban contexts. have him with us. Binoda's skills and knowledge range from an in-depth MEET OUR EXPERT understanding of mathematics in the early years to craft to music to Dr. Vinod Chacko a sensitive understanding of young children's social-emotional STEM development. As a facilitator, he offers diverse and rich learning Dr. Vinod Chacko is currently a experiences to the learners. physics teacher with Heritage International Xperiential Learning MEET OUR EXPERT School. He has extensive experience in teaching and is an expert in his Dr. Nupur Bahadur field. He has done his Ph.D in Physics(Effect of anisotropy on the STEM spectral characteristics of one- dimensional porous silicon photonic Dr. Nupur Bahadur is the Vice- crystal microcavity for optical Chairman, International Water sensing applications). He has also Association (IWA)-India National done Masters in Physics from [IIT Executive Committee; Programme Roorkee] and Masters in Committee Member of Singapore Technology (Applied Optics) from International Water Week (SIWW) [IIT Delhi]. He has published 2 2021 and 2022. She obtained Ph.D. in major research articles in Chemistry from IIT Roorkee in 2005 international journals with good working in the area of Photocatalysis impact factor. He has a total for pollution abatement. teaching experience of 17 years She is Inventor of TERI’s novel including 3 years of international technology called TERI Advanced exposure. Oxidation Technology (TADOX®) to treat Municipal Sewage and highly PAGE 6 polluting Industrial Wastewater. She has six Indian Patents filed and registered Trademark to her credit and have high impact research publications in International Journals and also she is recipient of Innovation and Technology Development Awards including Design & Manufacturing Technologies for 'Make in India'.

\" LOOKING AT THE GLASS AS HALF FULL RATHER THAN HALF EMPTY. THAT WAY, DESPAIR TAKES A BACK SEAT.\" Ms Jyothi Thyagarajan, our esteemed senior academic head, has been an integral part of event planning, and has helped us every step of the way. Here is a short Q & A, touching on the event and her thoughts on it. 1. The Phoenix is a metaphor for different things in the lives of different people, what is its significance in your life? For me, it symbolises optimism and hope. Looking at the glass as half full rather than half empty. That way, despair takes a back seat. 2. If you were a student who was applying to the summit activities, which activity would you apply to and why? A difficult question to answer…. I would have opted for Panel Discussion, Slam Poetry or Art in that order. Although I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, I have always felt inclined towards art and what it can convey. 3. Regarding Panel discussions, currently the world is faced with so many critical situations that looking at these through multiple lenses would be challenging and exciting, as also hearing how different people are looking at these. Slam poetry is very personal and I see it as an outlet to convey one’s deepest thoughts and feelings. Moreover, the rendition allows you to show your emotion, thereby making it very powerful. 4. The Pandemic taught us pain, resilience, recovery, and loss, and it is safe to say that everybody lived entirely different lives for almost a year, which gave them unexpected learnings. What is the one thing you learnt during the pandemic, that you wish you could teach to others? Cant say that I feel I can teach anybody, that would be presumptuous,, but yes, I learnt that I can enjoy cooking, which I had thought was a complete No No!! I also dabbled a bit with classical dance, which I liked but again, not enough to teach anyone. PAGE 7

DAY ONE TODAY'S REPORTS Read through the proceedings of today's events that occured in each of the activity groups!

THE OPENING CEREMONY The Opening ceremony of the Phoenix - the HIXS Annual Summit 2021, commenced with an auspicious lamp-lighting to seek the blessings of Saraswati- the goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom, and nature. After extending a warm welcome to the dignitaries and all the participating schools, we were addressed by our keynote speaker, Major D P Singh. His thought-provoking words ensured a triumphant start to this summit. Being a student-led event, everyone witnessed the melodious touch by the HIXS students singing and performing a powerful dance recital. Later on, all committee heads briefed the gathering about the activities and introduced their expert speakers. The event schedule for the coming three days was then shared and we closed the zestful opening ceremony! PAGE 9

FILMMAKING किस्सा उम्मीद का-उम्मीद बेहतर कल की सिमरन ओबरॉए द्वारा ‘क़िस्सा उम्मीद का ' पर प्रस्तुत की गई रिपोर्ट - HIXS 'द फ़ीनिक्स समिट' के ‘किस्सा उम्मीद का’ के प्रथम दिन का आरंभ उभरते फिल्म निर्माताओं की पर्यावरणीय समूह 'पानी फाउंडेशन' के महत्त्वपूर्ण सदस्य साहिल भट्टड़ से मुलाकात से किया गया, जिसका उद्देश्य था ‘जल संरक्षण’ | श्री भट्टड़ ने कार्यक्रम की शुरुआत दुनिया में पानी के महत्त्व के समझाते हुए की | उन्होंने एक वीडियो दिखाई जिसमें महाराष्ट्र के उन ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों को दिखाया गया जो उनकी संस्था द्वारा प्रेरित और सशक्त हुए हैं । उन्होंने अपनी संस्था की नीति समझाई | उनकी संस्था द्वारा नागरिकों को जल प्रबंधन के विज्ञान के लिए प्रशिक्षण दिया जाता है| यहाँ जानने योग्य बात यह है कि धन व संसाधनों को आवश्यकता होने के बावजूद भी यह संस्था इस कार्य के लिए किसी को पैसा नहीं देती है |प्रति वर्ष मई १ अंतरराष्ट्रीय श्रम दिवस (जिसे महाराष्ट्र दिवस भी कहा जाता है) के उपलक्ष्य में यह संस्था ‘महा श्रमदान नामक’ कार्यक्रम का आयोजन करती है. जिसमें शहर के लोग स्वयंसेवी के रूप में गाँव के लोग के साथ चार घंटे काम करते हैं| ये स्वयंसेवी श्रमदान के साथ - साथ गांवों के लोग को पानी उपलब्ध करवाने में सहायता करते हैं | एक छात्रा द्वारा प्रश्न पूछे जाने पर श्री भट्टड़ ने ‘जल-पर्यावरण- गृह संबंधी (पानी ईकोस प्लनेटीर्स) कार्यशाला' के बारे में बताया। ५-८ के बीच कक्षाओं के छात्रों के लिए, ४ दिन की कार्यशाला जो धरती की इतिहास, जलवायु परिवर्तन, प्राकृ तिक संसाधनों की शक्ति और मनुष्य की वातावरण में भूमिका के बारे में जानकारी देती है। श्री भट्टड़ ने बच्चों को इस कार्यशाला का भाग होने के लिए प्रोत्साहित किया। चर्चा के अंत में श्री साहिल भट्टड़जी ने छात्रों को संबोधित करते हुए कहा, \"अपने कमरे के आसपास देखो, आपकी मेज़, आपके तकनीकी यंत्र….और सोचो इसे बनाने के लिए कितना पानी के इस्तेमाल हुआ हैं, सिर्फ पैसे नहीं।” यह विषय फिल्म निर्माता के लिए बहुत ही ज्ञानवर्धन से भरपूर रहा क्योकिं निर्देशात्मक फिल्में उन महत्त्वपूर्ण तरीकों में से एक हैं जिससे हम लोग विषय को गहराई से सीखते हैं | आगामी दिवस के अतिथि वक्ता श्री रमेश जयरामन जी ने श्री भट्टड़ जी का आभार प्रकट करते हुए कहा, \"यह मेरा सौभाग्य है कि आज मैं इस कार्यक्रम में आया और आपको सुनने का अवसर मिला |आपने कल की चर्चा के लिए संदर्भ स्थापित कर दिया |मैं कल इसे ही छात्रों के साथ आगे लेकर जाऊँ गा |” प्रस्तुति के बाद छात्रों ने पर्यावरण से सम्बंधित विषयों पर विचार- विमर्श किया जिसपर वे आने वाले दिनों पर कार्य करेंगे| बेहतर कल की उम्मीद में PAGE 10

QISSA UMEED KA DEARTH AND DOCUMENTARIES: RISING UP, WITH FILM-MAKING A report by Nisha Sriram on the Film-Making Event of the HIXS Summit - CHIREC International School Every year, Heritage International Xperiential School (HIXS) hosts a summit which is attended by students from international schools all over the world. This year, the Summit’s theme was 'The Phoenix' which was in recognition of how students needed to face the on-going pandemic: How they needed to stay tough, vigilant, and strong; how they needed to rise like a phoenix from the ashes; how they needed to reinvent and adapt themselves to the New Normal. About 500 students attended Day 1 of the Summit. After the Opening Ceremony, in which there were performances by students from HIXS, the attendees went to their respective events. One such event was the Film- Making activity, ‘Qissa Umeed Ka’. In the first session of this event, a guest speaker from Paani Foundation, Mr. Sahil Bhattad showed the students a documentary about water scarcity. “I think the way this ties in with the theme is that the problems we’re facing today are daunting,” he said, referring to water scarcity and contamination. “But we created them - so we can solve them. One of the most important ways we impart learning is through films, so that fits in conveniently with the purpose of the Film-Making committee. Once communication is achieved, no problem is too big to fix.” Dr. Ritu Sharma, the Head of the Film-Making Committee, agreed with this, adding, “Films are a powerful tool to create awareness.” After a quick, interactive Q&A with Mr. Sahil, the students were told to share their reflections on the documentary. Kabir Tandon said he learned that everything that is human-made requires water. Furthermore, he said he learned about the different ways people are trying to save water. Overall, the session was received with a lot of positive feedback. It was deemed “insightful” and “organized”. Shivika Yalamanchili, a student, claimed that she enjoyed it a lot, and that though she was unsure of what was to come next, she was looking forward to it. The session seemed to spark unity and inventiveness in its attendees. “If we work together as a team, we can solve any problem,” a student concluded. PAGE 11

STEM POTENTIAL DOOMSDAY: WASTEWATER TREATMENTS AND THEIR UNSEEN REPERCUSSIONS Kashvi Srinivasan writes about Nupur Bahadur’s words on waste water management - Oakridge International School On the 29th of September, Ms. Nupur Bahadur spoke about how current wastewater treatments pose a threat to the environment, and about TERI Advanced Oxidation Technology (TADOX) at the STEM event, at the Phoenix Summit. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2005, and has been working in photocatalysis for pollution abatement. She has also had her research published in international journals and has won awards for innovation and technology development. Ms.Bahadur was invited to the summit to talk to young learners about TADOX and its implications. “We have to understand the gaps and challenges. Only then will we be able to solve any problem,” said Ms. Bahadur. She then began explaining her journey with TADOX, starting with the problem of current wastewater treatment methods and moving forward to what TADOX does. Her words gave rise to a series of questions from the intrigued students. PAGE 12

“One week, there was a series of newspaper articles on polluted rivers,” she told the students while explaining what ignited her passion. TADOX, inspired by Ms. Bahadur’s passion for chemistry and the environment, is an advanced oxidation nanotechnology approach that could help achieve Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and enhance treated water-reuse efficiency in a much more sustainable, affordable, and resource and energy-efficient manner. Ms. Bahadur educated the students on her solution to an existing problem to inspire them to create a solution in a post apocalyptic world. The students developed an understanding of how passion and effort can lead to success. The esteemed speaker left the event after narrating to students her journey with wastewater management, inspiring them to do the same. PAGE 13

DOOMSDAY: NANOTECHNOLOGY AND THE APOCALYPTIC WORLD Subah Goyal covers the first session of STEM - Doomsday, on September 29th, 2021 - DPS International The activities in STEM were headed by Hityejit Singh Gujral and Avyukta Srikrishna, along with Mr Gyanesh Kumar (Co-Host), Mrs Rohini Jain (Co-Host), and Tia Doshi. Two guest lectures took place: One by the senior scientist Dr. Nupur Bahadur who spoke about her journey with water sanitisation, and the other by Mr. Vinod Chacko, a physics teacher with over 17 years of experience. The session was related to Nanotechnology and all its wonders. Soon after, the participants were given a task- a scenario of a post-apocalyptic world, in which students designed a model to help bring back the world with the help of adequate AI, healthcare, shelter, climate change control, sustainable energy, and genetic engineering. The criterions being research and analysis, understanding of stem concepts and applying them to the scenarios , innovation , model viability and use of resources. PAGE 14

There were three groups of students between grades 6th to 8th, and three groups of students between grades 9th to 12th. After collecting research, the groups were required to design a product. The information was given to the journalist by the host Hiteyjit Singh Gujral, and a participant Aditri Nakul. The covered event was the first session out of 3, and was held with about 30 participants in total, ranging from students, teachers, hosts and guest speakers. The participants were excited to see the brainchild of their peers and their creativity on the given topic. PAGE 15

SLAM POETRY The Rise: From the Poetic Heart, With Love. Mahathi Sathish reports on the Slam Poetry event, Rise. - Lalaji Memorial Omega International School The task at hand was simple. Participants Her spoken poem began with the line, of Rise were to write a poem on the topic “As the sun goes down, the quietness ‘I want to be’. They were assisted with the makes all my thoughts hurt”. Diya ended special guidance of expert Saumya her poem with the very line that Chaudary, who would mark the first steps resonated in the mindful silence - “I want in honing their skills and refining their to be me.”. craft. The second session saw poems Arushi Chatterjee kickstarted the influx of performed by Vandita Cheema, Abhinav poetic performances with her piece on ‘I Sood, Saisha Sehrawat and Bir Nimit want to be’; she states,“I am enough. Me is Singh. Apart from the ones recited aloud, enough. And I don’t have to prove myself the journalists read through messages of to the world”. Following Arushi, was Avira “hope, fear and pain” scribbled onto the Bhatt. Avira’s poem highlighted the chat. Excerpts from chat include constant need for approval in today’s Devyani’s wish to “run through the society. She spoke powerfully about the coarse grass”, Shreyan’s sci-fi prank on struggle of accepting her own wants, when his younger self, Oishani’s lesson on true surrounded by adults that are always friends, and Delisha’s hope to reach the “watching”. moon. “I know what I want to be, but anything that is not up to their standards will not All in all, the first day of Rise was a jam leave me in peace”, says Avira. packed event that seemingly did not The final speaker for this exercise was disappoint. Diya Bhatnagar. PAGE 16

SLAM POETRY The Rise; Reaching the peaks of Slam Poetry Vani Agarwal reports on the first session of ‘The Rise’; the slam poetry committee - HIXS Soul touching, unique and freeing- that’s The young poets covered a plethora of the sort of poetry that The Rise committee ideas, from their dreams, to accepting plans to write over the next 3 days. And themselves, to ignoring societal standards. slam poetry in particular, offers the Afterwards, the committee moved on to participants a stage, or rather zoom another important part of slam poetry- meeting in this case, to express themselves performance. As expressed by many of the not just through paper and ink, but participants, presenting their poetry was performance as well. new to them, and our expert talked about The committee commenced with full things like body language, eye gestures etc. enthusiasm; 3 zoom screens filled with She focused particularly on confidence and aspiring poets. The first session began with being natural, stating, “There’s no bone an expert talk by Saumya Choudhury, crushing monster out there to get you, director of the Delhi Poetry Slam, and a okay? You’re only performing because you true lover of creative writing. have something interesting to say, and you Afterwards, working on a tight 15 minute want to share it.” deadline, participants were given the theme The rest of the session continued with more ‘I want to be…’, leaving a large door open activities to push the boundaries of the for a variety of interpretations; be it participant’s creativity, along with personal changes, or transformations they practicing their oratory skills. Poets of ‘The wished to see in the world around them Rise’ look forward to reaching the heights (quite fitting for an overarching theme of of their slam poetry skills, over these 3 ‘The Phoenix’). As the 15 minute deadline days. came to an end, everyone raised their hands, hoping to share their piece. Laughing, the event head quickly pointed to 3 random students on the screen. PAGE 17

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS The Gen Z Deliberation After a short overview of what on Countries and their was expected of the students in Financial Crises these 3 days, they were divided into their respective groups and Diva Malhotra reports on Business were given a task to discuss why and economics activity, Gloom, these countries are lagging Bubble and Boom - HIXS economically and the possible solutions which can be applied to Business and Economics have solve their financial problems. been the foundations for many After a long discussion, the who believe that the world runs groups which were assigned the on, money. On this day, several same country got together and individuals from pan-India and shared their strategies to solve across the globe congregated to the given problem. have a discussion on the same at The strategies consisted of the Phoenix Summit, 2021. government policies, education, tax reduction, raising awareness, accepting help from neighboring countries, etc. Furthermore, Each group presented at least 3 structured strategies and the remaining teams had to take notes and figure out counterpoints for the upcoming friendly debate, which will be a collaborative activity that will help the students strengthen their strategies and will decide which group’s policy will be in the final list of strategies. Overall, the day was a product of collaboration, productivity and pure Gen Z deliberation.  PAGE 18

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS The journalist observed the effective use of logical reasoning Recovery from the as a team, brainstorming Recession - ‘Build strategies to ameliorate Back Better’ Pakistan’s economy. One proposal was “Contractionary Amaira Seth reports on the business and monetary policy to reduce economics committee- Gloom Bubble and spending which would halt Boom’s take on the strategies to combat economic growth and in turn, a state of recession. - HIXS inflation”. However, subsequent to a healthy debate within The covid-19 pandemic has themselves, the team concluded drastically influenced economies ,“Wealth tax on real estate and across the globe - some more so cars, market index 10% wealth than others. Gloom, Bubble and tax, tax on petroleum, and Boom focused on the recession in subsidising would be more three countries - South Africa, feasible and effective” because Pakistan, and Venezuela. “economic recovery packages The committee was divided into should be designed to build back 9 teams, 3 of which shared a better”. country to research about. To illustrate, each group explored This project had a strong sense of the general state of their country’s economy on these collaboration where a few parameters: inflation, unemployment rate, human members took the initiative to development index ranking, GDP per capita income, poverty index, act as leaders (Vaibhav kumar, and income equality. Furthermore, they were Arnav Dhatingan, Kartik instructed to “brainstorm 3-5 feasible solutions by contriving Chauhan). Despite fiscal, monetary, and supply-side policies, among others” by the internet/connectivity committee head, Rishabh Lohia of grade 11. complications, the team improvised and segregated the work amongst those capable of doing the same. Finally, the team’s visible ability to adapt led to a successful presentation among fellow teams. While the journalist was not present as the other teams prepared, she noted an equally diverse array of solutions in their final presentation. PAGE 19

ART Through showcasing his work, Mr. Guha explained the symbolism and meaning behind Tajdeed : his artwork and how it revolves around Ashes to Art multiple aspects of modernization, reflection, and image. His art work is printed on Meher Sharma writes about the journey of numerous items, including rocks and young artists and their introduction to Tajdeed canvases. Mr. Guha aspires to portray his - HIXS feelings towards social issues through his artwork. His paintings are inspired by Greek “I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint mythology, Russian history, recent events my own reality.” - Frida Kahlo. As the and much more. Though Mr. Guha is inspired curtains have been raised and the summit has by many cultures, he chooses to stick to his begun, the students of Tajdeed have begun Indian roots, as he often adds aspects of with their three-day long journey of art and Indian culture and his childhood to his work. recreation. The session today began with a guest The guest lecture was wrapped up by a short lecturer, Mr. Sushanta Guha who specializes question and answer session and followed by in printmaking. Mr. Guha introduced the art a quick activity to interact with all the of print-making and its various aspects. students. The activity asked participants to Printmaking is the process of creating splash paint of black, grey and/or white paint. artwork by printing fabric with the help of They were requested to paint or draw carved rock and paper. In this case the artist anything of their liking that resonated with is given the freedom to make multiple the larger topic ‘Ashes to Hope’ on top of the original works of art. paint. Students were given the freedom to choose any mode or type of painting they prefer. PAGE 20

ART Tajdeed: The The young artists showcased their keen Flamboyance interest in the forte of art by questioning the of the Ashes guest of honour regarding various aspects of the field, ranging from its current scenario to Ayushman Dubey reports on “Tajdeed: From its future possibilities. Ashes to Art”. - Sunbeam School The guest of honour rightly mentioned prioritizing the need to think “Why print As of 29th September 2021, Young artists art?” so as to get a deeper insight of the from different edges of the global community purpose behind it. Upon being questioned convened on the opening day of “Tajdeed - regarding the accuracy and details of print From Ashes to Art”; organised as an integral media by Ms. Aanya Someshwara, Mr. Guha part of “The HIXS Annual Summit : The pointed to the factor of identicality. It was Phoenix”. The event recorded discussions on understood that a painted entity can never various mediums of artwork and a brief be copied with complete similarity to its showcase of artistic performances of young original form, whereas the print media talented artists. accounts for an efficient qualitative and The session further progressed under the quantitative availability of identical entities. supervision of National Academy Awardee, Students also learned that cheap costs and Mr Sushanta Guha.The session embraced a accessibility add to the innumerous blend of Mr. Guha’s precious experience and advantages of print media. revolutionary thoughts of young artists Furthermore, Mr. Guha also showcased some assembled themselves. fine examples of lithographic designs, such as “Reflection of Desire”, and “Aphrodite”. The flamboyance of the color shades made everyone wonder about the intensity of the artwork. Moreover, the participants were allotted an art activity with a motive to ensure active participation from everyone. Where does the art stand today, in the ashes of uncertainty or the epitome of flamboyance? It’s worth a thought. PAGE 21

SEL Inkishaaf: Resilience - The Key to Reinvention Aarini writes about a motivational talk on reinvention - HIXS During the first day of the HIXS Summit, students participating in the SEL category had the pleasure of interacting with Ms. Payal Kapoor, an empowered woman who has a life-changing story. Ms. Payal was just twenty-two years old when she experienced loss of hearing and sight. Doctors that she would never be able to work at her job again. Ms. Payal found that the only way she could communicate with her family was when they wrote words on the palm of her hand. Even the most basic activities, like buttering toast, were extremely difficult to perform. Ms. Payal says, ‘If I was given a choice between getting my sight or hearing back, I would want my hearing. I have already enjoyed 22 years worth of sights. But the silence of life is crippling.” When asked about what motivated her, she said that she was just tired of the diminished person that she had become. One key part of her talk was about resilience and spirit. She called spirit “an amber that takes over and helps you rise from the ashes and build yourself up.” After about six months, the first sound that she heard was a crow squawking, but that was enough to make her happy. Ms. Payal declared that, “I can’t say that it has been easy, I can’t say that I have not been defeated but I got through that.” She believes that celebrating every small victory is important. Ms. Payal commented, “Allow yourself the joy of trying and experimenting. The victory is very sweet.” After the talk, several students and teachers alike, thanked Ms. Payal for the difference she made in their life. The amber and spirit has definitely taken over all those that had the privilege of interacting with this awe-inspiring woman. PAGE 22

SEL Inkishaaf: A Glimpse into the life of Ms. Payal Kapoor Suchet S. Sreenath reports on the SEL event, Inkishaaf - HIXS At Heritage International Xperiential School Summit 2021, the SEL, or Socio- Emotional Learning event is one of the events which took place. The event commenced with a speech by Ms. Payal Kapeer, She is a blind hotel management graduate, she had lost her vision, hearing, and touch while she was working in the hotel ‘Krishna Oberoi’. Ms. Kapoor spoke about how she never gave up on her dreams after all that she had faced, she shared her experience in the social environment, and how no one truly resonated with her. After she had developed and enhanced her sense of touch and hearing, she was able to motivate people through her experiences. She quoted, “You must always try and never worry about the outcome”. Ms. Kapoor had shown the attendees a video about how a group of disabled individuals would cycle for long distances. At the end of her address, the participants and the heads expressed their gratitude toward her for her narration of her experience and journey. The session continued after the lunch break, beginning with a few questions to the participants, which they then responded to. After the short question & answer period, the sessions furthered with a presentation on emotional vulnerability and various other topics. Conclusively, the participants were divided into groups for yet another activity. PAGE 23

PANEL DISCUSSIONS The Benzaiten Conference: Exploring Characteristics of Panel Discussions Sreyas Reports on the Benzaiten Conference - HIXS “Power is action; the electoral principle is “What will happen to all the animals and plants discussion. No political action is possible when we have left behind on earth?” said Agamveer. discussion is permanently established.” - - “Mars and the moon are the most probable Honore De Balzac places for space colonisation as they fulfil more basic requirements to live than other planets or What are panel discussions? A panel discussion is other places in space.” said Aniruddha. They a public exchange of ideas, giving experts and talked about the plantation and society (creating audience members the chance to discuss a life), space mining (discovery of new substances), particular topic. Panel discussions are often used technology. Through these, even more, issues to delve into politics, issues affecting came up including communities, and academic topics. Expert, Ms. Ishadrita Lahiri shared multiple points to keep in Time Taken mind while doing a panel discussion, one being, Viability that topics selected are usually very specific. Costs They generally begin with discussing things such Education as key issues that occur, and the pros and cons. The discussion developed and benefits discussed The topic that Aniruddha R.J, Bhuvika Yadav, included: Agamveer Sethi, Nimrit Chaurasia and Aditri Spreading mankind (homo sapien Zushti were to discuss, was ‘space colonisation.’ domination) After discussing the Benefits and the Issues, they -> Probable discovery of new elements started talking about possibilities of the same. -> Discovering new galaxies -> new technology -> Development of Medicine They started planning to make for a proper panel discussion, wherein their research shall be shown, the benefits and issues and their counters, and some other important points. PAGE 24

THEATRE It is notable that there was a lot of informality as well as a lot of instruction; several young BEINGS OF actors recalled their childhood deeds and reproduced and reprised them through MULTITUDE: THE theater. Mr. Lee Strasberg said, “Acting isn’t BUDDING something you do. Instead of doing it, it occurs. If you’re going to start with logic, you ACTORS IN might as well give up. You can have conscious preparation, but you have ‘UDAAN’ unconscious results.” Amanat Pruthi Reports on PAGE 25 ‘Udaan’, the Drama Event - Suncity School Theatre is a collaborative type of performance art that utilises live performers, generally actors or actresses, to portray the experience of a real or imagined event. The event is called ‘Udaan’ because it claims to help individuals achieve great heights. Mr. Vikramjeet Sinha assisted the club's participants, as he informed them that taking classes online is advantageous, and that the camera is like a miniature world of imagination and fantasy. He stated that not only should the actor be obscured, but so should the objects, as the scene would be incomplete without them. Furthermore, participants presented their work while keeping all of the aspects of drama in mind. One individual put up a performance by replicating the traditional game, ‘rock, paper and scissors’, one depicted the life of an octopus. One must note that there was no sound in any of the performances, because the point was to let the act do the talking. Furthermore, there were also presentations on cities that have recovered from the devastation that they suffered, as well as a dead city from the past that was unable to do the same. ‘Mesopotamia’ was the subject for one such presentation, which was produced by the budding theater artists through a collaborative activity. 

THEATRE Uड़ान की YAत्रा A deeper look into what is expected from Udaan- The uplift of soul- A report by Tara G.- HIXS As the Phoenix rises from its ashes, the theatre group- ‘Udaan’ reflects on how the world rose from its ashes after all the disasters the COVID - 19 pandemic has caused. Spending 3 and a half days on a final outcome with it being described as the “better version of last year”, there are high expectations from this year's presentation. 2 main events are taking place in the 10 minutes that have been allotted to this category of theatre. The main event that incorporates participants’ work are presentations in groups, encompassing videos of the performances in the form of “material theatre’’. This is formally known as Toy theatre which uses a variety of dioramas, models, and miniature props to depict a story. Participants were introduced to this activity by using props as characters, in a story created by the participants themselves. Experiencing everything themselves and sharing examples was ‘helpful and fun’ - based on the testimony of a student taking part in the activities. This was all explained during an hour-long session, where participants were given examples and instances of what the topic means and how to display it in different ways. Reading from participant reaction, a great deal of excitement is being shared between everyone. The presentation is greatly awaited as is the display of theatre through a medium of materials. PAGE 26

TODAY'S FEATURE D(ÍEAL CDAMEINLOODESLMA CUALEÉ́NRDTULOA)S THIS SPANISH PIECE WILL GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE INTO THE FESTIVAL, THE DAY OF THE DEAD, A VERY WELL-KNOWN AND CELEBRATED LATIN AMERICAN FESTIVAL. By Noel Stein Hola amigos, hoy hablaré un poco sobre el Día de los Muertos y cómo lo afectó el COVID. Para la gente que no conoce el Día de los Muertos, eso significa \" The Day Of The Dead\", se celebra el dos de Noviembre. Este festival significa recuerdo y oraciones para familiares y amigos muertos. Este festival se celebra en toda la América Latina y México. Se celebra por la creación y decoración de altares, cocinando manjares como calabaza confitada y pan de muertos. También ocurre mucho baile y canto. Ahora por el COVID las situaciones han cambiado.La fuerza del festival no ha cambiado, pero la cantidad de personas a las que deben rendir homenaje aumentó drásticamente.Muchas de las exhibiciones altares se vuelven por línea o se convierten en \"Drive through\". Estas son las cosas que la gente está haciendo para mantenerse a salvo. Así que de todos modos, espero que disfrute el festival Día de los Muertos, ¡Adiós! VEDA MALHOTRA PAGE 27

Issue 1 September 2021 CREDITS THE CREATORS The Editors: The Designers: SAACHI BHARDWAJ (SHE/HER) SAACHI BHARDWAJ Head, Media and Publications AARUSHI G. AARUSHI G. (SHE/HER) ARUJA GUPTA (SHE/HER) Head, Media and Publications VIDHITA AHUJA (SHE/HER) ARSHDEEP KAUR ISHA KALSIE (SHE/HER) Teacher Facilitator, Media and Publications NYSSA GUPTA (SHE/HER) ANKUR SINGH Teacher Facilitator, Media and Publications KAJAL UPADHYAY Teacher Facilitator, Media and Publications DIPTI BUDHA Teacher Facilitator, Media and Publications ESHA JAIN Teacher Facilitator, Media and Publications The Phoenix Summit, HIXS, 2021.