Welcoming A Group From The Island Of Knowledge

 As per the scheduled programme, exactly at 2.30 pm a procession started. A group of teen ager school boys was ready for beating drums in local band. A large group of teen ager girls wearing traditional Maharashtrian sarees with lezims stood prepared making disciplined rows. The master whistled and the band started. At the same time rhythmic movements of the girls' team began and the procession started moving slowly towards the venue.

From the top ; Lezim and drums, Swedish 
group, aukshan

    It was really a pleasant afternoon when I witnessed a group of Swedish students involving youth exchange activity at Devrukh, a small town in the costal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. A group of about a dozen of Sweedish students and teachers was following the lezim playing team with astonished faces and very happy mood. They were keenly watching the lezim exercise. When they reached the door of the hall, female teachers welcomed them with aukshan (moving a lamp in circular motion before one to wish long and happy life).

    They had been on the visit to Devrukh to attend an international workshop on the emerging trends in education in Sweedon and India. The half day workshop was held at Devrukh Shikshan Prasarak Mandal's (DSPM) Padhye English Medium School. It was jointly organized by Athalye - Sapre - Pitre College and 'Srushtidnyan', an NGO working in the sector of environmental awareness. The college has recently received autonomous status and has been devotedly working for environmental awareness and gender sensitization.
   With Chief Guest Mrs. Heike Hands, Principal of the college Dr. Narendra Tendolkar, Mr. Shirish Phatak, Secretary of DSPM, Mr. Krushnakumar Bhosale, Vice President, Mr. Prashant Shinde from Srushtidnyan NGO and Dr. Pratap Naikwade, HoD, botany were present on the dias.
Dignitaries enlightened the holy lamp (deep prajwalan) and watered a small tulsi plant. Tulsi is a symbolic plant of domestic piousness and hygiene.
    Function of the workshop initiated with felicitation of all foreign guests. They were offered mementoes displaying the Preamble of the Constitution of India.  
 

Principal felicitating Mrs. Hands

   Professor Arvind Kulkarni spoke on the 'Trends in Education In India'. In his discourse he stated how India has a long legacy of a high standard of learning, the great ancient universities enriched with libraries, and the tradition of reverence to Guru- the teacher. He also stated that the process of learning and teaching was confined to certain classes and until the British rose as a power, education was not made open to all. He took a brief account of the academic destruction due to Islamic invasions, the strategic attempts of British government to spread education with a motive of Christianization of Indian populace; as well as the educational development in post Independence era.
    Professor Kulkarni said that a paradigm shift appeared in 2014 which would take the learning system towards character building.
    Following him, Mrs. Heike Hands delivered her thoughts on the 'Trends in Sweedish Education.' It was an introductory speech. Stating the outline of their education system, she proudly described her country as the island of knowledge. Children in that country start learning at age of one and a half year, actual school years span from 6 to 16. It is primary education free to all which is followed by volunteery education with several options.
    Sports and study of English and Sweedish languages are important parts of education, and the learning process includes climate change awareness. Education in Sweedon aims quality and ability building, Mrs. Hands concluded. 
   Mr. Shirish Phatak, Secretary of DSPM stated the significance of the society's work for facilitating education to rural students of Devrukh which would be otherwise hardly affordable to them. In his presidential address Principal Dr. Narendra Tendolkar said that new education system would bring changes and provide a holistic backup to education. In the new system nothing will be extra-curricular and anyone could be able enjoy privilege to learning facilities. He appealed for good things to be done in the interest of the nation and the world.
    Students of Athalye -Sapre - Pitre College made presentations on experiments related to climate change. Mr. Prem Jadhav, an ambassador of climate change awareness project of Sweedon and India spoke on a survey of about one thousand farmers from heterogeneous groups. The findings brought forth that farmers are aware of the hazard among whom 80 pc know how to face it.
     Miss. Sakshi Jadhav and Miss. Shrushti Kotkar, a pair of students presented the observations of the use of home developed organic pesticides in college laboratory. These are Agniastra, Brahmastra and Neemastra, which are proven as better nutrition for crops and vegetables.
    Dr. Pratap Naikwade, HoD, botany convinced through his presentation how the students of all faculties of ASP College have realized responsibility of environment conservation.
    Demonstration of first aids to save life of the injured ones was performed by a group of Sweedish students as a part of disaster management education. They used a rubber dummy of man to present the methods of chest pumping for respiration and extraction of a foreign object choking one's throat.