
Kamal Dev Sharma is a proud principal. Recently, two of his students at Swaran Jayanti Utkrisht Senior Secondary School at Thathal in Una district of Himachal Pradesh did well in the Class 12 results of the state education board. While Tanisha Bhardwaj secured first position in commerce stream on the state merit list, Shubham Atri bagged sixth position in science stream.
It brought double cheer to the school as it got state merit positions for the first time.
Both Tanisha and Shubham were honoured for a second time on Tuesday. This time, along with 100 meritorious students of schools falling in Chintpurni Assembly constituency. The occasion was the birthday celebration of Prof Rajeev Sood, founder dean, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi. He celebrated his 64th birthday at the school.
“I have my roots in the hill state. So I thought let’s celebrate with students here,” said Prof Sood.
For the celebration, the cake was replaced with pahari dham. There was a cultural programme as well. “I liked the children’s performance,” said Prof Sood.
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Apart from motivational talk, the students got cash awards too. The Class 10 toppers each got a cheque for Rs 1,100 and the Class 12 toppers each got a cheque for Rs 2,100.
Tanisha’s mother Seema Bhardwaj got impressed and emotional. “It was a nice way to encourage and inspire the students. I thank everyone who was involved in this programme,” she said.
Be it Shubham, Tanisha, Ankita Guleria or Aryan Puri — all the students liked the concept of the celebration. Their refrain was: “Bahut achchha laga (It was so nice)!”
MLA Balbir Singh brought everyone on one platform. “We selected students from around 50 schools of the constituency. They need this kind of inspiration and encouragement.”
Principal Sharma called the celebration an “example worth emulating”. “Today our students were honoured in front of more than 1,000 people in this small village. It is a matter of pride for us,” he said.