Arunav Deka, Bronze Award participant from YES Centre Assam Valley School shares his passion for music and the belief The Award has brought him

The only power I believe in…Music

I used to be a regular person with no aim in life, with no clue of where this circle of life would lead me. But it all just came to place when I began to take things seriously; I knew what I was passionate about, what would lead me to be someone I can be proud about.

It was the music, an art of meditation, a power which expressed me every time I wanted to be heard.

A voice that consoled me every time I was upset with the something or the other. A melody which brought a smile to many faces. A path which inspires many to come along with me or besides me. Those who simply heard me, reflected their beliefs on me.

"Music brought a lot of change in my life, making it more systematic, pragmatic and worth living."

And there’s another worth I have made in this phenomenal gyre of learning is enrolling in the Bronze Award this year . It has helped me strengthen my capabilities to seek opportunities and open many doors, I look forward to becoming a master of, in the years to come.

While I continue my search, I hope to learn more and seek every oppourtunity to learn from the activities of The Award in my School and outside.

"I want to explore the possibilities through the Award, learning music and exploring my strengths... here I strive to a new beginning."

'Getting to the Award'- personal experiences by Manan Mipun, Gold Award participant from YES Centre Assam Valley School

The last question that may run through any Award participant can be “Why am I doing the Award?”

Well, the same question popped into my head as well when I decided to participate in The Award Programme. The way it happened is an interesting and really unorthodox story that I WANT to share.

As a student in 9th standard, I was going about my own business that studying and wasting time in wandering about ( yes, I am very imaginative) in my school. No, I do not consider activities such as reading, sports, art as a way of spending time cause they are there for my good, spending time implies when you have nothing to do, in fact it means you spend quality time with yourself! Anyway, one bright afternoon as I was trudging through my daily routine, an obscure notice caught my attention.

“Interested pupils to apply for IAYP, contact the teacher in charge”

At that point I don’t know why or how I joined the Award Programme in school, bearing in mind that one can easily get led into the formation of gangs, alcohol and/or substance abuse. I will agree and confess to succumbing to peer pressure at some point in my life.  

The first thing the Award did to me was that it gave me an opportunity- an opportunity to escape, to build my life (yes I was a deviant)! As I progressed through the various activities and requirements of the Award, I also picked up some valuable life skills. That is the value of working together as a team and the value of friendship among many other positive things. Yeah, sounds corny and straight out of a recruitment poster, but understanding the value of it when you begin with nothing, literally nothing is a realisation of a lifetime.

I too was sceptical with the Award at first, because I was thinking like “dude how it’s going to affect me? “ Maybe I was worried about my future at that time as I was a boarding school student then its okay to get nervous, cause my grades were not that good and maybe I was worried about my college, but slowly things started improving.

The major breakthrough that came my way was the Indo-Mauritius exchange programme in 2010. I got to learn about all about how people from different parts of the world can be so similar. The programme helped me understand how much diversity exists and also let me make lasting friendships that cannot be expressed in words.

Doing The Award Programme has taught me to be tolerant and to be patient to work hard for a goal, the challenges there taught me to that diligence and honesty can help you achieve any goal. It gave me the life I never had.

So when the question comes that whether to join the program or not? Don’t think twice about taking the leap. Just do it! It’s worth it.

Columbian Exchange:The Assam Valley School

The 2010 Cultural exchange between Award participants in Assam Valley School (AVS) and Colombian Gap students from The Columbia School in Bogota took place at AVS. The gap students from Colombia were Round Square members but Award participants from AVS initiated and conducted this cultural programme. Sneha, a student and Award Participant from AVS share the memorable experience:

2010 Founders’ Semester can never be forgotten for many of us who were part of the Award in the Assam Valley School. I never believed how much doing the Award could change things in my life. From building confidence to warding off my shyness to dance in public, doing things in a team, competing with my own capabilities, and most importantly doing something meaningful, I did it all thanks to the Award. 

The two young girls from Columbia came to AVS as exchange students from the Colombia School, Bogota. Paula and Maria were very humble and genuine, representing their country.

The programme was not in the list, but we began in a sober way through everyday conversations with Paula and Maria wanting to know all about Columbian kids, of what they do? How they talk? What do they eat? Their sense of dressing up and of course their dances, though I was surprised to find out how culturally rich Columbia was.

Paula and Maria began exchanging notes on cultural backgrounds of our respective countries. They showed power-point presentations and danced to our delight. Impromptu, we decided to learn some steps. A bit surprised on how my limbs naturally followed the heart beating Columbian music. I just couldn’t resist tapping to the tune. Paula and Maria for many days engaged us in many of their programmes like learning Spanish and doing exhibitions. But learning Columbian dance was so much fun. It was indeed a wonderful and memorable experience of my life. We were introduced to many forms of traditional Columbian dance- ‘Cumbia’, 

‘Bullerenge’, ‘El Mapale’ and ‘Pa Mayati’. 

A the end of our learning experience, we not only staged four varieties of Columbian dance but Paula and Maria did a spectacular performance of the traditional classical Assamese dance ‘Shattriya’ or pronounced as ‘Hotriya’ with elegance and grace. It emerged for a moment that we belonged to the same land. We thank all the people who have inspired us to live life with brave elegance and meaning.

When we parted our ways at the end, Paula and Maria were like heroes for us and we together resonated John Lennon's ‘Imagine there’s no heaven, imagine there’s no countries; it’s easy if you try, no hell below us and above us only sky, imagine all the people living life in peace!

Photo Courtsey: Ranjana Rai, YES Centre Manager at Assam Valley School. 

Introducing Talent Enablers as YES Centre

'Talent Enablers' is a non government organization with focus on sports, arts, culture and environment for young people. Operating in Dehradun, they have been tirelessly working towards 'cultivating and fostering an environment for creative, artistic, musical expression and preserving the environment and cultural richness of India.'The team at 'Talent Enablers' believe that everyone has the imagination and creativity and it people needs only a gentle push in an informal yet enabling environment to bring 'the talents that lies just below the conscious level' out. 

'Talent Enablers' has four aims:

• To develop skills of the marginalized, socially deprived, economically disadvantaged, differently abled but talented sections of the society, particularly women and children. They believe that by developing basic skills, people can achieve independence, be adept at personal expression and become active in social and community involvement. 
• To 'enable the athletic, artistic and creative development of children to strengthen the cultural roots of the emerging generation'. 
• Provide a common platform to 'inspire talent to visualize, stimulate their imagination, encourage hope and promote self-confidence, develop creative thinking to solve problems and make better life choices'.
• To provide energy to everyone around by enabling the self belief to go beyond normal thinking.  

Supporters of Talent Enablers

• The Doon School is India's leading school with an international reputation. As YES Centre of The Award Programme, they are key ally to Talent Enablers as well. 
• SDIPA Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Art is India's leading dance institute with branches in all major cities. 
• Victory Art Foundation Inaugurated in March, 2004 Shiamak’s Victory Arts Foundation (VAF) is a not for profit organization committed to making dance a meaningful experience for ‘all’. 
• Audio Wagon is an organisation that give chance to those people who want to achieve something in the field of music and have ability to create music. 
• IMA Blood Bank Uttarakhand is an NGO which create awareness through various campaigns
• Sanskar International School is a day and residential school located at Dehradun. 
• Yati Skates is the first of it’s kind team of International/National skaters who train the children of Uttaranchal through roller skating coaching in schools, Institutes, clubs, Organizations.
• Global Network Website Services is a Dehradun based website developing and hosting company.
• The Doon Global School is a co-educational, residential and day school. 

As a YES Centre, Talent Enablers will facilitate the Award availability to all young people in its areas of operations, particularly those from the disadvantaged sections of the society. 

YES Centre Manager- Manish Chandel of Purkal Youth Development Society (PYDS) shares the impact of the Award Programme in PYDS Community

"As I was walking around our school on last Saturday. I saw different groups of students busy in various activities. As I passed our staffroom, I was able to smell some cookies being baked. I peeped inside and saw a group of 6 students, along with their mentor busy with newly bought Micro-wave oven, trying to bake some thing. Excitement on their faces was proving that they are going to gain a success. Actually it was the baking class for our IAYP students who opted cooking as a skill for their program. Another group of students was ready to move to nearby village ‘Jaspur’ carrying sacks in their hands with a mission to clean this village and its surroundings. They are also trying to make it completely plastic free in next 4 months. On every Sunday IAYP group can also be seen on our school’s playground trying to enhance their skills in various sports, under the guidance of our sports teacher.

All these students undergoing IAYP program are full of enthusiasm and passion to prove them. Their confidence has boomed after returning from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), made possible by the Award Programme Foundation Trustees' Support. Really now our center is looking ‘YES Centre’ (Youth Engaging Society Centre). Earlier students were in doubt, that how it would be possible for them to undergo expeditions or adventures as you already know that for our students even going to Dehradun is a big task, because of their limited resources .Even though they are getting wonderful opportunities and exposure because of our friends Like IAYP and many others who provides them a chance to challenge the mainstreams.

 Very soon number of IAYP students from our centre will be double. Also I would like to thank Swamy sir who has taken a keen interest in this program and has given us full liberty to ensure the success of this program. His valuable ideas are always there to guide us and also he is arranging professionals to guide our students in enhancing their various skills like photography, baking etc.

Even our teachers who are linked with this program have got chance to develop in various aspects of life and more important becoming a part of such youthful program is making us all feel like a teenager.

- Manish Chandel, PYDS YES Manager

Photo: PYDS Archives 

Divyangana Dhankar, the First Gold Awardee from the Open Awards Centre shares her experiences

With the Award’s resounding presence already being felt in majority schools, the question that I frequently came across as a participant of the open award centre was why I opted for this programme. The answer was quite simple. I was busier in my school days than I am today! In school emphasis was placed on academics, the goal was to secure that extra mark during the board exams in order to get an extra consideration while applying to college. This goal lead to the pain staking drudgery of burning the mid night oil with the paranoia of scoring better than the others. Free time was often taken over by studies but this time with the reason of attending coaching classes for entrance exams. Thus, one never really got a chance to enhance one’s skills or go on a free spirited adventure. Our knowledge about the world was only limited to the text we managed to merrily parrot. Once out of school and into college the goal changed. It was time to look into something meaningful to do and catch up on whatever was missed. 

The International Award Programme was brought to my notice by a number of friends who had completed various levels of the programme. The difference in their approach, outlook and perception on matters of importance had changed significantly. They seemed confident, proactive, concerned and participative in all spheres of the society-social, environmental, political and economical. While one peer voraciously shunned plastic to favour the forest, the other seemed to enjoy the thrills of outdoor sports like paragliding and was now looking for avenues to train as an instructor. I could see a major transition in them from blindly following idealism to carpe diem-seize the day. It invoked in me a desire to look out of the box and in some ways to become more complacent like my friends. Since the opportunity of entering the Award at the school level had been exhausted, the open award centre, which had just begun, was a perfect solution. The programme followed by these centers was just the same. All five sections of the Award (if one was a Gold participant) had to be completed. The basic difference was the change in institution; instead of doing the Award in school one was now pursuing it in college or in a corporate. It was also for those individuals who belonged to the age group prescribed by the Award programme but due to certain circumstances could not carry it at the regular school level. 

The biggest advantage that I felt in the open award centre was its non competitiveness coupled with a sense of achievement in each section. For the first time I was not competing with my school mates or with my peers. I was making a positive change in my life and that of others around me. In the service section I volunteered with a group called AWAZ with the aim of sensitising ordinary citizens about their fundamental rights through the right to information act 2005 thereby enabling them empower themselves by this effective tool. The RTI also helps to keep checks and balances on the working of the government. Unlike other modes of social service, this sector, I felt was the most neglected. Civil society today only stresses on promoting literacy among the masses but little thought is given in educating our people about their basic responsibilities as citizens or even imbibing them with a value system. Through this section I believe I have contributed in making the world a better place to live in and given back to the society what I believe I have taken from them. The adventure and residential projects were completed in the wild hinterlands of Russia. 

A grand opportunity came my way through the International Youth Forum Seliger and the International meeting-Beginning of trust which allowed me a platform to interact and learn from the youth with a different culture and language. I was humbled to see the ease with which I was able to make lifelong friends across borders, those who I am regularly in touch with through facebook! The physical recreation section was one which brought rhythm into my life. Dancing to the nuanced form of Bharatnatyam I sought to re-establish my severed connections with creation and elements which form the very breath of life. It not only gave me a form of exercise but also helped me rejuvenate. I felt I was able to focus better on work after an hour of dance. Chocolate cakes, cinnamon cookies, noisettes or casseroles you name it and I could bake it! A year long course in the art of baking left me spluttered in batter, covered my nose in chocolate, broke that priceless borosil but equipped me with the life long skill of mixing different ingredients in the correct proportions to appease the taste buds. 

The open award centre is, thus, a platform for those looking for creatively engaging their energies in discovering, confronting, enhancing, improving and enriching their abilities; pushing themselves to take that extra leap through different means thereby becoming self reliant, responsible and balanced individuals. The OAC carries forward the exciting challenge of the Award programme from school doors to magically transforming lives of young university students and corporate professionals. It is for anyone who seeks to look beyond the academic curriculum with an enthusiasm for learning something new and fun everyday!