As the COVID-19 pandemic turned our lives upside down, daily life became a terrible reality, and life’s rhythm changed. For school children in Kashmir, it became the latest challenge in an already difficult situation. After being stuck at home for much of 2019, the over 10-month long shutdown became a new ordeal. But we at DPS Budgam could not fail our children. The resilience of our children and this latest adversity inspired creative ways to keep our students engaged in the learning process.
As the School settled into the routine of online classes, video lectures, study materials, and interactive sessions to strengthen academics, we remained mindful of the importance of non-academic activities to help children overcome the strains and stresses of being away from school since 2019. Co-curricular and extracurricular activities create a sense of camaraderie despite being physically distanced. Such activities provide a semblance of normalcy. The School looked into possibilities in this time of great adversity. The popularity of co-curricular and extracurricular activities remained constant even during the pandemic despite the many challenges of migrating to an online classroom setting.
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‘THE FEAR, THREAT AND SHRINKING SPACE FOR DISSENT IS A KEY FACTOR THAT MARKS WINS AND LOSSES IN KASHMIR'
Rajani Patil is a third-generation politician. Her grandfather, Ganesh Pingle, a member of the Gadar Movement, was hanged in Lahore by the British in 1915. Her mother, Shantabai Pingle married her father, Baram Patil while they were imprisoned by the British. The former Congress MP is now in-charge General Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir. Ms Patil to Tarushi Aswani about recent developments and challenges that shape party politics and mainstream politics in a post 370 Jammu and Kashmir.
SHOULD THERE BE A NEW FEDERAL COMPACT BETWEEN THE CENTRE AND STATES?
In the book, Beyond Covid’s Shadow: Mapping India’s Economic Resurgence, Haseeb A Drabu makes a case and suggests an alternative. Here is an abridged version of a chapter
FOR PEACEFUL SUMMER
Like Kashmir weather and politics, Indo-Pak relations are also unpredictable writes Zahoor Malik
CANINE TERROR
Free-roaming dogs in Kashmir bite thousands every year. Though the authorities assert that they have been sterilising the dogs and managing the waste food, the availability of lot of free food is a key factor in the dog population surge, reports Syed Samreen
EXCEPTIONAL CARVER
One of Srinagar’s oldest craftsmen, Ghulam Nabi Dar’s designs on the wood remain unmatched for their intricacy and detail, reports Khalid Bashir Gura
A RARE SCHOOL
Curriculum, poor infrastructure and unimpressive service in public schools are pushing parents to enrol their wards in the private sector schools. This is despite the fact that Jammu and Kashmir invests more than Rs 12000 crore in the education sector and has the best human resource. Now teachers of a south Kashmir government school are investing their blood and sweat to undo the trend by reimagining their school, Saifullah Bashir and Shakir Ashraf reports
SPENDING Rs 1 LAKH CR
In the second consecutive budget that Nirmala Sitharaman presented to the Lok Sabha, the major expenditures continue to remain the same, reports Tasavur Mushtaq
TANGA PASSENGERS
In the twenty-first century when faster transportation is abundant, a section of the population still prefer the slow motion, eco-friendly Tanga and those running them are not unhappy at all, reports Umar Khurshid
SMART AND SKILLED
The Jammu and Kashmir government has constituted Technical Committee to vet the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for Jammu and Srinagar Smart City projects on fast track basis along with laying emphasis on employment-oriented skill development.
PLAYING WITH ICE
Shakir Ashraf meets the Kashmir ice skater who represented India in Europe
