Modern School (New Delhi)

The Modern School New Delhi
Naimatma Balheenien Labhya "Perfection cannot be achieved by the weak"
Location
Barakhamba Road New Delhi, India
Coordinates	28°37′42″N 77°13′46″E / 28.6283°N 77.2295°E / 28.6283; 77.2295Coordinates: 28°37′42″N 77°13′46″E / 28.6283°N 77.2295°E / 28.6283; 77.2295
Information
Type	Private
Established	1920
Founder	Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh
President	Major General Virender Singh, (Retd)
Principal	Lata Vaidyanathan
Faculty	130
Enrollment	2800[when?]
Campus	Urban
Area	27 acres (110,000 m2)
Color(s)	Blue
Nickname	"The Modernites"
Website	modernschool.net

Modern School, commonly known as Modern, is a co-educational private school in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1920 by Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh. Considered to be one of the elite schools, Modern is also referred to as the Eton of India. ^[1]

It is the first private school established in Delhi under the British Raj. It has a 27-acre (110,000 m²) campus on Barakhamba Road, near Connaught Place. The Junior School, also known as Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School, is located on Humayun Road. There is a sister campus in Vasant Vihar.

It has a long list of distinguished former pupils, including former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.^[2]

Overview

The school is headed by a Board of Trustees, who appoint the Principal (Barakhamba Road and Vasant Vihar) and the Head Master (Humayun Road). It has 15 houses in the Barakhamba branch and eight houses in the Vasant Vihar branch, each headed by a housemaster.

In 1932 there were about 125 students.^[3]

History

'Sir Sobha Singh' (1890-1978), co-founder of Modern School

The words of Rabindranath Tagore are embodied in the philosophy of the founding fathers of Modern School. The Modern School was started in 1920 in Daryaganj.

The motto of Modern School "Naimatma Balheenien Labhya" from Sanskrit means — "Perfection cannot be achieved by the weak".

The beginning

Modern School was started in 1920 in a building located in Daryaganj, New Delhi. It was a sprawling mansion that belonged to Rai Bahadur Lala Sultan Singh. He donated it to the school to fulfill his son's dream of establishing a school which would combine the traditions of Indian education with modern educational techniques. Sultan Singh was a prominent businessman in British India in the early 1880s. His son, Lala Raghubir Singh, founded the school.

Lala Raghubir Singh was the spirit and the soul of the school. The primary founder, he worked for the improvement of the school and in this endeavour he teamed up with Sardar Sobha Singh. Sardar Sobha Singh was the co-founder of the school. A builder during the height of the Raj, he was involved in the construction of buildings in Delhi like Connaught Place, National Museum, Modern School, South Block and India Gate. His own two sons, Bhagwant Singh and Khushwant Singh (the noted writer) were amongst the first students of Modern School.

The crest

Platinum Jubilee Block

Main building

The crest signifies the circle of eternity crossed by the three elements in human development of body, mind and spirit, the sun shining between the triangle and the circle. Inside the triangle, there is a banyan tree to represent stability and firmness of character, the swan and the lotus represent refinement, culture and the arts which are fundamental elements of progress in life. The Sanskrit quotation, Naimatma Balheenien Labhya, the English translation of which may be, "Perfection cannot be achieved by the Weak."^[4] Besides the school motto, there are four words, Truthfulness, Unselfishness, Frankness and Self-Control which guide each child in his daily life.

List of Principals

Barakhamba Road

• Kamala Bose (1920–1947)
• M.N. Kapoor (1947–1977)
• S.P. Bakhshi
• R.K. Bhatia
• Lata Vaidyanathan (2000–present)

Vasant Vihar

• Ved Vyas (1975–1985)
• K.J. Vari (1985–2000)
• Goldy Malhotra (2000–2011)
• V. Mohan (29 April 2011-17 July 2011)
• Meenakshi Sahni (2011–Present)

Sports

The football team is sponsored by Shiv-Naresh and the swimming and table tennis team by Reebok. Recently the school has started a golf academy after the success of Shreya Ghei, an international golf player and a student of the school.^{[citation needed]}

School magazine

The Sandesh (Barakhamba)and Vasant Parag (Vasant Vihar) cover events organized by the schools and also features students articles, poems, jokes etc., published in English, Hindi, Sanskrit and French.

Clubs

Debating Society

Under the guidance of English department staff, Debating Society members have won debates at the city and regional level. Tournament victories include the Raghubir Singh Inter-school debate, the Pratap Singh Inter-school debate, the DPS R.K.Puram Annual Inter-school debate and the MSOSA Annual Inter-school debate.^{[citation needed]}

Illuminati: The Physics Club

The Illuminati Physics Club was founded in 2007 as a means for students interested in the discipline to ask questions, share ideas, thoughts and organize events. Illuminati organises an annual inter-school physics symposium "Cyclotron".^{[citation needed]}

Interact Club

With a commitment to India's less-privileged, the Modern School Interact Club was inaugurated in 1983 by the Vice President of India, Muhammad Hidayat Ullah.^{[citation needed]} Among its activities have been donations to orphanages, recycling drives, anti-piracy drives and blood donation camps.^{[citation needed]} The club has been awarded a certificate in recognition of its services to the community by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit.^{[citation needed]}

Robotics Club

This club, founded in 2006 is a platform for students to showcase their talent in electronics and robotics. In line with its objective of involving school students with technology, the club organizes an annual robotics symposium with more than 40–50 participating schools.^{[citation needed]}

SPIC MACAY

SPIC MACAY is a national "Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth". Modern School has hosted SPIC MACAY events, featuring Indian Classical Music and classical Indian dance exponents such as Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Sonal Mansingh, Sitara Devi, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Birju Maharaj.^{[citation needed]}

Notable alumni

Politics and public service

• Indira Gandhi — former Prime Minister of India^{[citation needed]}
• Priyanka Gandhi — daughter of Rajiv Gandhi and granddaughter of Indira Gandhi^{[citation needed]}
• Varun Gandhi — politician, grandson of Indira Gandhi^{[citation needed]}
• Gopal Krishna Gandhi — Governor, West Bengal and Bihar, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi^{[citation needed]}
• Sandeep Dikshit — Member of Parliament^{[citation needed]}
• Arun Shourie — journalist, author and politician^{[citation needed]}
• Rachna Khanna — Republican candidate for S Windsor Council, USA^{[citation needed]}
• Kamalesh Sharma - Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, High Commissioner of India in UK^{[citation needed]}
• Air Chief Marshal S.K. Mehra — Chief of the Air Staff (India) from 1988–91^{[citation needed]}
• Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lall^{[citation needed]}

Media

• Abhishek Bachchan - actor^{[citation needed]}
• Amjad Ali Khan — musician and composer^{[citation needed]}
• Amaan Ali Khan — musician and composer^{[citation needed]}
• Ayaan Ali Khan — musician and composer^{[citation needed]}
• Amitava Kumar — author and critic^{[citation needed]}
• Amrita Singh — actress^{[citation needed]}
• Barkha Dutt — TV journalist^{[citation needed]}
• Ekta Choudhry — Miss India Universe 2009^{[citation needed]}
• Gauri Khan — film producer, model and wife of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan^{[citation needed]}
• Karan Thapar — TV personality^{[citation needed]}
• Khushwant Singh — author and journalist^{[citation needed]}
• Madhup Mudgal — Indian classical vocalist^{[citation needed]}
• Puneesh Sharma — Winner of Sarkar Ki Duniya on Real Netowrks hosted by Ashutosh Rana
• Shekhar Kapur — film director and producer^{[citation needed]}
• Shiv Khera — motivational speaker^{[citation needed]}
• Siddhartha Khanna — Winner of Big Switch on UTV Bindass hosted by Genelia D'Souza^{[citation needed]}
• Siddharth Bhardwaj — VJ on MTV and winner of MTV Splitsvilla 2^{[citation needed]}
• Yamini Reddy — Kuchipudi dancer^{[citation needed]}

Medicine, Science and Technology

• Aditi Shankardass — neuroscientist^{[citation needed]}
• Naresh Trehan — cardiac surgeon and Chairman of Medicity, India^{[citation needed]}

Sports

• Daniel Chopra — golfer^{[citation needed]}
• Gaurav Ghei — golfer^{[citation needed]}
• Gautam Gambhir — cricketer^{[citation needed]}
• Kirti Azad — cricketer^{[citation needed]}
• Tania Sachdev — chess Grandmaster^{[citation needed]}
• Samresh Jung— shooter, CWG (Aus)^{[citation needed]}
• Shiv Kapur- Golfer, India^{[citation needed]}

 

Other

• Naveen Kandhari - Managing Director Ozone Fitness n Spa^{[citation needed]}
• HH Maharaja Manujendra Shah Sahib Bahadur^[5] — 7th Maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal
• Rajat Gupta — former Managing Director, McKinsey & Company^{[citation needed]}
• Gurcharan Das — former CEO, Procter and Gamble^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

• Rajendra theater was used for Albert Brooks' stand-up performance sequence in the film Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.^{[citation needed]}
• The radio station exteriors in the film Rang De Basanti were shot at Modern School, Barakhamba Road.^{[citation needed]}

A panoramic view of the main building.

Old Modernites

There is an alumni club called Modern School Old Students Association or MSOSA which works to bring together old Modernites.

References

1. ^ Singh, Khushwant; Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, (1995). A dream turns seventy five: the Modern School, 1920-1995. Allied Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 8170234999. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=2y2gvqv2xsEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Modern+School,+New+Delhi&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
2. ^ Gandhi, Indira: Anand Bhavan Memories, (Publisher/date info to be added)
3. ^ "Modern School". Modern School. http://www.modernschool.net/history-daryaganj.asp. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
4. ^ The History: The School Crest^{[dead link]}
5. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official website