MGD Girls Guild Newsletter April 2024

Her Highness Rajmata Gayatri Deviji’s Vision for MGD

“The aim of the institution is to make its pupils cultured and useful members of society. When they enter the world, they should be able to take an active interest in the betterment of their homes and community, and when they grow up, they should be able to fit themselves usefully into the world of tomorrow.” 

PENNY THOUGHTS 

The Mega Reunion celebrated in December 2023 is behind us. As we usher in the New Year on behalf of the Guild Executive Committee, I wish you all good health, happiness and prosperity. May this year be filled with joy and cheer for all of us. 

This January 2024 marks the beginning of a new decade for our beloved Alma Mater and we all rejoice and welcome the journey through the nineties …. May it be as great, glorious and beautiful as the last eighty years have been.

Reunions are wonderful occasions. At MGD, as we all know, they are fabulous. Action packed, redolent with warmth and happiness, the joy of reliving those happy school days, bonhomie and nostalgia is so palpable. The resounding shouts of greeting, hugs n kisses reverberate across the campus. They are still echoing in our ears and our hearts, as batch after batch assembled over the 16th-17th Dec weekend adding to an impressive 700+ attendance.  

16th December morning began with  paying homage to Miss Lutter, our founder Principal at the Quiet Corner. This was followed by the Felicitation Ceremony at the school's Open Air Stage. Evening at the Diggi Palace Hotel came alive with Ghoomar dances and hauntingly lilting Rajasthani songs. MGDians dressed in elegant 'poshaks' swirled gracefully adding a magical beauty to the event. Their performances brought long cherished memories of School functions and celebration of our festivals when as gawky teenagers we instantly blossomed into graceful young ladies the moment we donned the traditional ensembles. 

The MGD Carnival and the After Party later were rocking success. 17th December  began with the School Visit.  A scintillating polo match played at the Rambagh Polo Club that afternoon was something all MGDians have loved to watch over the decades from the very early years cheering for the legendary Sawai Man Singhji, our Patron and international polo great.

Gala Dinner at the plush Maharani Mahal, Rambagh Palace Hotel  was the climax. The glamour quotient was at its zenith as MGD alumni arrived in their specially planned party best. The pulsating music, the vibrant MGD spirit pervaded the evening. The singing, dancing, the beautiful outfits made the ambience Sooo Beautiful, Sooo Elegant, JUST LIKE A WOW!!!!

Till we meet again, WE SING AND CHEER FOR MGD.

CHANDRALEKHA MATHUR 

(nee SAHAI) 

Batch of 1954 

Chief Editor

 

BUSY BEES

Athletic Meet 2003

The Annual Athletic Meet at MGD Girl’s school held from 28 November 2023 to 1 December 2023, showcased exceptional sportsmanship and camaraderie, setting high standards and featuring a neck-and-neck competition between the four houses. The opening ceremony on 30th November 2023 dazzled with a majestic March Past, a breathtaking Bamboo Drill, gymnastic performances and vibrant dances. Chief Guest for the opening ceremony, Mr. Sunil Dutt, ignited the athletic events with the ceremonial torch lighting. The event concluded on December 1 with the closing ceremony graced by the Chief Guest, Major General Raj Singh Godara. Principal Mrs Archana S. Mankotia, emphasized the importance of sports in holistic education, and a cultural dance drama celebrated the life of Subedar Major and Honarary Captain Yogendra Singh Yadav, PVC.  The ceremony concluded with the Chief Guest presenting awards, with the Blue House winning the Overall Best House title.

 

80th Annual Exhibition 2023

The 80th Annual Exhibition of MGD Girl’s school held on 14 and 15th December 2023, was a splendid showcase of academic prowess and creativity. Departments such as Arts, Maths, Social Science, Science, Commerce, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, French, along with all MGD Clubs, contributed to a vibrant display of creativity and knowledge. The event was also attended by students from various schools in Jaipur. Mrs Aruna Roy, a distinguished activist, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The exhibition served as a platform for students to exhibit their talents and achievements across diverse disciplines.

 

80th Annual Day and Prize Giving Ceremony 2023

MGD Girls’ School celebrated its 80th Annual Day and Prize Giving Ceremony on 15 December 2023. The occasion was graced by the presence of the Chief Guest, Mrs. Aruna Roy a renowned social activist. The event paid homage to the school’s founder, Rajmata Gayatri Devi ji, followed by an address by Chairperson, Maharaj Jai Singh ji. The evening featured a mesmerizing orchestra performance and the presentation of the annual report by Principal Mrs. Archana S Mankotia. Meritorious students in various spheres were felicitated in her speech, Mrs. Aruna Roy highlighted the traits that make up one’s persona. The memorable night concluded with the thought provoking Dance Drama“ The Conference of Birds” produced by Dr. Mallika Sarabhai a renowed classical dancer and directed by Mr Yadavan Chandran, and skillfully overseen by the mentors from the Darpana Academy of performing Arts Ahmedabad. The play marked the end of an inspiring enjoyable and indeed a memorable evening

APARNA KHURANA 

(nee SENGAR)

Batch of 1997


LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

School Annual Day 15th Dec 2023

Special Plaque Presented to

Mrs. Prafulla Kumari ( Jane) Batch 1955

For Her Selfless Commitment to MGD School.

 

Citation for Jane jija on the Annual Day 15th December 2023 by  Principal Mrs Archana S Mankotia.

 

“An inspiring persona who exudes charm, effervescence and vivacity; A person, who is relentless in her pursuit towards achieving her goals; A person, deeply committed and involved in the betterment of her alma mater; A person whose passion transcends boundaries, and it would not be wrong to say that the person lives, breathes, and even dreams of MGD and if you all are wondering who I am talking of, it is none other than our very own Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh aka Jane Jija.

 

I would like to introduce Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh to this august gathering. JANE JIJA - officially named Mrs Prafulla Kumari was born and brought up in Jaipur. She belongs to the first batch of MGD Girls' School. She was the Head Girl and passed out in 1955.She completed her graduation from Lady Irwin College, New Delhi. She has been a keen sports person who played Tennis for the school and college. 

 

Married in the renowned family of Ajairajpura to then Capt. Himmeth Singh (later Lt Gen) she thus came to be known as Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh. She is the President of the MGD Girls' Guild. She is in the Management Committee and the Board of Governors of MGD. She is also the president of Digantar Vidyalaya, a school for under privileged children.

 

She has published a book ‘The Garud Strikes Lightening Campaign of 1971 Operations - Liberation of Bangladesh’, dedicated to the 4th Battalion the regiment of Guards. 

 

She is instrumental in producing two documentary films - ‘Of love and artistry- on the folk musicians of Rajasthan’and ‘Operational Role and Achievement of 4th Battalion of the Regiment of Guards’.

 

We are indeed blessed to have her with us, spreading her charm and exuberance. In order to express our deepest gratitude and affection for her selfless commitment and dedication, inspiring leadership and extraordinary determination in guiding the school towards ‘Our Utmost for the Highest’, the Management, Staff and Students would like to felicitate her with a small token of our love. Congratulatins and Jubilations !!.

 

May I request Maharaj Jai Singh to kindly do the honours”.

 

Thank you Mrs Archana S Mankotia for these apt and well deserved words for Jane Jija. 




                                                            
 

With our greatest Appreciation and Gratitude to

Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh (Jane jija)

Founder student and Batch of 1955,

Member of MGD Board of Governors and President of MGD Girl’s Guild for

Her inspiring leadership, extraordinary determination and selfness commitment in guiding the school to

“Our Utmost for the Highest”

Principal                 Maharaj Jai Singh ji

Archana S Mankotia             Chairperson, MGD

 

 

A POETRY WORLD

 

2.45 am 

Jaipur Railway Station

Moving towards the lights 

Of the colorful desert 

Yes I see the Ochre and the Crimson

Where drones and sounds of the cars with multiple wheels blow horns 

I dwell deep into the non-incorporeal world

Gazing at the glistening packets of chips

One man sits as if merging with the background stall

Looks as he belongs to that 'Still Life'

The other stands in red gazing at me 

The other two men wearing the same red as if destined for my mobile phone 

The spirit remains the same 

To cater to our needs (in weary and cold nights), he looks at me with disinterest

The kettle whistles with blurry vapors

But clears my doubts As he serves me tea

My spirit remains the same !

Pondering over with a cup of tea

Watching carefully how it drips from the Indigenous yet modern kettle 

The mob moves hastily towards the Arrival 

Departing towards the colorful Desert of Rajasthan 

With packets of glowing material that dematerializes and transcends the boundaries of cast, color and religion.

DEEPIKA RAVJANI 

Batch of 2003

 

I Hope and I  Dream

 

I hope and I dream 

  my thoughts flow like a stream

     down the mountains 

      along the vale 

        deep in silence 

         meandering their way

Sometimes softly 

     touching the trees 

        often soaring like the breeze 

    I hope and I dream 

I know little of what I want 

       but I always plan 

        and never stop

         air is pleasant 

              fresh and balmy 

                makes me love 

                   each new day more 

I hope and I dream 

   love and warmth 

     are always free 

       cause it's in giving 

        that you receive 

I hope and I dream 

MEENAKSHI HOOJA 

Batch of 1968


FORTY VERSES…

FORTY TRAVERSES…

One batch of young ones came together,

As schoolmates, were bound forever,

With the dawn of '71and thereafter

A new era for them had begun.

Growing up was then sweetly laced,

With love, laughter it was phased, 

Hidden in corridors even today,

One can find their cheerful mirth, at play.

Grooming twelve years of carefreeness,

Their home prepared them for success,

As '83 came into view,

The journey ended, they flew.

 Along different routes,

Supported by their sturdy roots,

To look back, when their home called,

And sing its glory as they recalled. 

To reclaim lost bonds, and share,

Victories, sorrows, tears and care,

Braving defeats, slogging for wins,

They achieved milestones upholding chins.

Upholding the values, they were taught,

Living by their school motto even when distraught,

Twenty-five years had sailed smoothly by,

To make way for forty to cheer loudly by.

Childish giggles and frolic now had to step back,

As it was time for the white and grey to meet the black.

To give way to experience, wisdom and grace,

Yet to keep the youth alive, in their beating hearts, unfazed.

Happiness bubbling in their hearts, hands joined,

Hearing the 'house' songs and jingles they had coined,

Once again, as they walked those familiar roads,

Of the Rose Garden, House of Science, Quiet Corner and the main building crossroads.

With their past in heart, present with them,

Moving with their personalities as their touchstone gem.

Hopeful for a happier future, their eyes shining bright,

For an MGDian (of the past, present or future) would always be, Blue, Maroon and White...

SONA JAIN (nee TYAGI), 

Batch of 1983

 

THE MGD DAYS

VALUES

MGD...just the name brings to the mind a flood of memories. Which one should I choose? The ones where I was naughty, the ones where my friends played a big pranks, the incidents concerning value building and so many more.

 

I think I'll chose value building as it was dearest to dear Miss Lutter's plan of things of making us all rounded citizens.

This incident is regarding honesty. Our class, I think S3, (what is 9th standard today) was to get a surprise test one day. Miss Minakshi, came and wrote the questions on the black board and instructed us to honestly write what we knew without opening the text books. Then she left the class room. All was well for about 10 minutes by the time we felt that she had left and would not be taking a round.

 

Our desks were oblong with book cabinet on our right and space for legs on the left. Soon almost the whole class opened the cabinet door with open books inside and started to write the answers. 

 

And lo and behold, who came walking in the corridor....Miss Minakshi.

 

Quietly she asked us to stop writing and said “Girls this exercise was not to test your knowledge, but an exercise to test your honesty and you failed.” With these words she marched us to Miss Lutter's office.

 

We were truly ashamed, with profuse tears flowing from our eyes. And Miss Lutter was red in the face realising that her effort to impart such an important lesson had failed. 

The memory of that incident haunts me even after more than six decades.

MANINDRA KAPOOR

Head Girl, Batch of 1962

 

BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN ME…

MGD was always my happy place,

It is the place where I learnt how to be a student, friend and a jija. I learnt that education is an ongoing journey without a predetermined destination.The place where I danced my heart out and was given the stage to do so. I got the opportunity to lead and the freedom to voice my thoughts and opinions, To compete and engage with the brightest students from the diverse corners of the country. To build resilience, rise above and lift others while doing so.

 

The principle of equality resonated deeply here, I internalized the belief that no one stands above another. I was given the necessary tools and was exposed to the real world.

 

Today, as a resilient, independent woman and a mother, I find myself echoing the values instilled at MGD. Reflecting on my life's journey, I realize that every achievement is a testament to the enduring principles and wisdom acquired during those transformative years at MGD and I still do my utmost for the highest.

SHILPA  AGARWAL

Batch of 2000

 

THE DANCE OF MEMORIES : RECOUNTING A PLAYFUL TEACHER'S DAY FROM THE PAST

As I sit down to reminisce about my school days, memories flood back, bringing a smile to my face. It's been over two decades since I walked the halls of our beloved school, a place that encapsulated a world of happiness and carefree joy. Those days were filled with laughter, learning, and a sense of freedom that only school life can offer.

 

My favourite memory is about a tradition we upheld on Teacher's Day. It was a special time when our teachers took a well-deserved break, and we, the seniors, took charge. On one Teacher's Day, I along with my best friend, Puja cooked up a mischievous plan to entertain my sister's class. We began our antics in their classroom and all of us were having a great time. But the tables turned unexpectedly when our seniors walked in. In an instant, the pranksters became the pranked, and we found ourselves in the spotlight, dancing in front of the entire class. The room erupted in laughter and applause, and there we were, dancing awkwardly yet joyfully.

 

This incident, among many others, defines the essence of my school days – fun-filled, and heart-warming. Those moments of spontaneous joy and shared laughter created bonds that have lasted a lifetime. 

 

To the current students, I'd say cherish these golden days. Embrace every moment, every tradition, and every friendship. These are the memories that will bring a smile to your face decades later, just as they do to mine now.

SUPRIYA JAIN

Batch of 2000

 

THE MAGICAL MEGA REUNION OF 

MGD @ 80

This year the annual reunion of 12 batches happened to coincide with the 80th Anniversary of MGD.

 

It was due to Covid that these batches got clubbed together; hence we had a large gathering. The Guild planned the celebration over two days 16th & 17th Dec. 2023 This year the event was planned post lunch.The batches with us were Silver, Ruby & Gold of the years 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023.

 

16th Dec 2023 started by paying homage to our founder Principal Miss L.G. Lutter and then the felicitation Assembly took place on the stadium stage.

 

Mrs. Archana S Mankotia our Principal was the Chief Guest. She welcomed the Alumni followed by the President of the Guild Jane H.Singh (Batch 1955). who then introduced the members of the Guild executive committee. 

 

Jhulekha Jija (Batch 1952), a diehard MGDian, who regularly travels all the way from Kolkata to attend the annual reunion meet, was declared “The MGDian of the year”. 

 

One by one each Batch came on the stage and the batch Representative introduced all the Girls (now ladies)!! It was mind boggling and heartwarming to see how our girls had progressed. Each one excelled in the field that she had chosen. All attributed their success to the school and the sound foundation they had received at MGD. The batch coffee table books were presented to the Principal and the Guild. Mementos were presented to the Alumni.  The afternoon ended with high tea. 

 

Later in the evening at Diggi Palace – the girls dressed in glittering Poshaks and decked with appropriate jewellery, gracefully performed their favourite “Ghoomar”. The Principal equally resplendent in her yellow poshak set the ball rolling. She gracefully did the first Ghoomar. The ambience was amazing with Diggi Palace arches in the back ground, reminiscent of medieval times. This item was dedicated to our much loved iconic dance teacher Mrs Brijpal Aneja.

 

The Guild Pop up – with various stalls and music in the background gave a Carnival feel. “After Party” was introduced for the first time which the girls enjoyed immensely.They danced till the wee hours of the morning!

 

17th Sunday - was again an eventful day – Morning visit to the school reminiscing their school days, old connections were revived – it was amazing how these ladies were little school girls again regaling each other with long forgotten stories and the time they had spent together in school.

 

Late afternoon – MGD Exhibition Polo match, a must for all reunions. Polo and Jaipur are synonymous. Afternoon ended with high tea. 

      

The evening - was spent in the stunning grandeur of Maharani Mahal at Rambagh Palace. Dinner, dance and music – Girls turned out in glamorous outfits, danced to the tune of old MGD songs and the latest hits.                                                                                                                    The evening was steeped in Nostalgia.

 

All   in   all    a    magical    evening    befitting 

“Au Revoir” to the 80 glorious years of MGD.

 

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL

I would be remiss if I did not mention the ground work that went into making this event a stupendous success.

 

Planning started months in advance – must give full credit to exceptional and energetic  team of two members Shikha & Ruchi Durlabhji, our media team. They connected with all the Alumni around the globe, giving them information and excerpts of MGD life on Instagram and Face book – which resulted in a huge turnout at the event.

 

With Nirmala Durlabhji (1973 batch), the Guild Secretary at the helm of affairs, the Guild Executive Committee organized the entire event and indeed came up trumps! Each pitching in to make this function a memorable one, the Guild staff did a commendable job. 

Last but not least, our special thanks to our Principal Mrs Archana S Mankotia and our Admin Officer Col. S.S. Sangwan SM* and the entire school staff. With their help we were able to successfully conduct this special event.

JANE H SINGH (Batch of 1955)

President 

MGD Girls’ Guild


THE EUPHORIA OF MGD @80

Days after returning home, the euphoria of MGD@80 and Golden reunion of our batch (and others) continues. I randomly find myself humming the school song and reminiscing about the reunion. What a nostalgic trip it was! Wandering the corridors of school felt as if not much had changed. The eager faces of students in the familiar uniform, calling out "Good morning" or "How are you, Jija" felt like deja vu, Catching sight of the smiling baiji's brought back faint memories of the days when they would caringly lay out our bedding for an afternoon nap in our nursery/KG years. I also recalled being chided for my forgetfulness by the baijis because their help was often enlisted to find a lost cardigan or blazer, and once even my school bag! 

 

Sadly, though the buildings stand strong, most of the familiar faces who taught us and took care of us are gone. So we reacquainted ourselves with each other, some batchmates meeting after over 50 years! And silver streaked hair notwithstanding, there we were, school girls once more, ready to giggle, laugh, raise a cheer and rejoice in the youthful years spent in MGD. The urgency to connect felt stronger as we face the latter decades of our lives, so the love truly flowed; the ambition and invincibility of youth now replaced by acceptance, vulnerability and gratitude. 

 

This institution brought out the best in us and even after 50 years it was so easy to reconnect and feel like an integral part of it. I believe we will always proclaim ourselves to be MGDians with a degree of pride and a sense of belonging. We will continue to be ambassadors of MGD. Three cheers for the Guild office bearers with Jane jija at the helm, the Principal, Mrs. Mankotia, and all the organizers who made us feel right at home and made MGD@80 and the batch reunions a truly memorable event. A shoutout also to our local hosts, Pranati, Sadhna, Amita and others who went over and above to keep us connected, fed, drove and entertained us during our remarkable, unforgettable reunion.

MALA GROVER

Batch of 1972

 

WHAT THEY SAID

Anupama Jorwal 1988 Batch 

She is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. She feels that her Alma mater MGD,  has contributed to her personal and professional growth , it has made her feel confident and strong. She is also most willing to help girls aspring for the civil services.

 

Binota Ghosh Patni 1971 Batch

She is a a trekker and has visited Kailash Mansarovar, not once but several times and is extremely nostalgic about the whole experience. She explains, it is a 32 day Yatra and it is really tough to be there. She gives credit to MGD for making her so full of determination to succeed and achieve personal and professional goals.

 

Nishi Mehta Bahadur 1973 Batch

She is working for the underprivileged and feels extremely proud to come back to her alma mater where these feelings of giving back to society were deeply ingrained in her. She is extremely devoted to her goals and is  strenuously working to improve the quality of life for the underprivileged children.

 

Monisha Chimni 1973 Batch

She has a famous restaurant in Ajmer, with the name Honey Dew and also owns a hotel there. The restaurant is a very old restaurant in Ajmer.  She gives lot of credit to MGD for making her  goals come true.

 

Meghna Bawecha 1997 Batch

She is a professional brand strategist but now works as a destination wedding planner from Thailand. She explains how from childhood MGD shaped her life by facilitating counseling sessions for students to make them aware about new age careers.

Dearest Jane aunty 

I want to express my deepest gratitude for the reunion. 

 

It was wonderful to reconnect with all the batchmates, visit the school and to relive the memories. 

 

We have now made a stronger bond with each other n feel even more proud to be an MGDian. 

 

Thank you once again 

Regards 

BHAWNA WHEATON 1998 Batch

 

Neerja Roy Choudhary 1971 Batch

A former cosmetologist, she proudly shared that MGD gave her the confidence that she has today and taught her to be independent. The message she wanted to convey to the fellow MGDians was enjoy school, have great fun and follow your careers with a full heart.

  

Panchmi Padmasana1983 Batch

She is an educator who runs a school in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. She expressed how awed she was when she first joined MGD at the age of 8, and felt emotional upon her visit 49 years hence. Her schooling inspired her to contribute in the field of education and make a mark on the lives of many. She also expressed her satisfaction on observing that the same culture and philosophies are being nurtured in fellow MGDians as was the case when she was a student. She added “MGD gives us a stamp of uniqueness” and if you are an MGDian, wherever you are, you will stand out because what MGD inculcates in us is values and ethics along with knowledge and skills”

 

Tina Sharma 1995 Batch 

A soft skills trainer, expressed her gratitude towards the School for instilling a sense of confidence and the MGD spirit in her, that have relentlessly guided her through all her endeavors. These are qualities that are of significant value to her and she wished for every MGDian to learn these in their time at the school. 

 

Dr Rima Hooja from 1972 Batch

A renowned archaeologist, historian and the director of the City Palace Museum shared, “You forget how many years have passed and you're back to being where you were, especially when batch mates are around, only the faces of teachers are so different.” Build on who you are and what you are, strive for our utmost for the highest is her message for the budding MGDians of today. 

 

Heartiest Congratulations to Dr. Rima Hooja Batch of 1972 on receiving the Dr. Dasharatha Sharma Memorial Samman at the 5th Annual Conference of the Epigraphy and Archaeology Congress, organised jointly by the Jai Narayan Vyas University Jodhpur, and Epigraphy and Archaeology Society, under the aegis of the Indian Council of Historical Research, at Jodhpur on 7th October 2023. Shri Gaj Singh Marwar-Jodhpur gave the award.

 

(Interviewed by Ankur Jaipuria, Batch of 1992 & school girls Adwita Sharma VIII-C, Kirti XI-H, Shambhavi VIII-C, as volunteers)

 

Respected Ma'am Mankotia, 

The MGD Guild board members, our beloved teachers and my dearest MGDians, past & present. As we gather to celebrate our 25th reunion at the illustrious Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' School, my heart brims with gratitude. 

MGD, you were more than an institution; you were the crucible of our growth. Our journey from eager students to empowered women was sculpted by the wisdom of our dedicated teachers and the nurturing spirit of this exceptional school. 

 

Today, let's cherish the indelible moments, enduring sisterhood, and the lessons that shaped us. To our beloved teachers, you ignited our minds and kindled our spirits. 

To MGD, 

 

You are the cornerstone of our success. Here's to the memories and bonds that define us. 

Thank you, MGD, for being the guiding light in our remarkable journey. 

Cheers!

~ BATCH OF '96.

 

REUNION WITH A DIFFERENCE

Yes, a reunion with a difference!! It was a grand 80th anniversary celebration of MGD plus a combined Reunion of 12 batches who had completed their Golden, Ruby & Silver Jubilee in the years 2020, 21, 22 and 23.

 

I am sure you can imagine what a grand event it must have been with so many beautiful, graceful, enthusiastic and energetic MGDians from all over the world. So many batches waiting to relive their childhood memories once again in school.

 

The much awaited reunion events were held on 16th and 17th Dec 2023

 

DAY 1. 16TH DEC- FELICITATION CEREMONY- The felicitation ceremony started at 12 noon and ended at around 5pm  in the evening. Every person was gifted a memento by school and each batch gave an introduction of their batchmates. All young ladies were dressed beautifully in colourful attires and their eyes were twinkling with excitement for their ALMA Mater. The same day in the evening there was a Guild Pop Up Show at HOTEL DIGGI PALACE with variety of stalls to shop from.

 

The famous Ghoomar Dance performance by different groups from different decades were performed later at night. It was dedicated to our dance teacher Mrs. Aneja, who has been a part of our reunions since years and a teacher who taught us the dance moves.

 

All dressed in traditional attires gave mesmerising performances. Principal Mrs. Archana S Mankotia gave an elegant dance performance. All senior jija's and juniors couldn't stop themselves to come on the floor. The whole place was so beautifully decorated and lit up that we couldn't keep our eyes off them and girls went crazy clicking the selfies. The drinks and dinner at Diggi Place added to the fun, frolic and masti bhari night. The atmosphere was filled with Love, Laughter and sparkles.

 

DAY 2. 17th DEC -The day started with a school visit for all those ex-Mgdians who have spent their best years of life in school. They could relive their memories by taking a walk at M.G.D.

 

Later in afternoon POLO Match was organised by the Guild at Rambagh Polo Grounds. The bar was also set to keep the spirits high with wine tasting and high tea. The Polo Cup was sponsored by Code Silver, Nirmala Durlabhji Jija, which was presented to the winning team. Rajmata Uttara Devi of Kota was the Chief Guest of the day. A perfect winter evening with perfect company and perfect attires could be seen at Polo grounds.

 

A Gala Dinner was organised at the Maharani Mahal in Rambagh Palace Hotel, Oh, what a beautiful banquet hall with lush green lawns and beautiful ambience !. The dinner was also grand as the name itself. Seniors, juniors, batchmates everyone danced to the beats of the DJ and didn't want to stop, as if there was no tomorrow. There were beautiful and cool MGDians all over the place, enjoying to the fullest. Dinner was so lavish and delicious that we were ready for second helping after getting exhausted by dancing. Meeting each and every MGDian brings a spark and so much energy that you want to be with them again and again.

We all say adieu only to meet again soon…

M.G.D and MGDians we love you.

Thank you Jane Jija and all Guild Executive Committee Members and all the other volunteers who make this happen for us. Thank you for your effort, hard work and tolerance.

MEENAKSHI RATHORE (Batch of 1992)


 

List of Attendees of the Re-Union Batches

Reunion-Year 2021- Golden Batch

BATCH OF 1971

1.    Aparna Dharwarker nee Bhargava

2.    Beena Chandola nee Chandnani

3.    Binota Patni nee Ghosh

4.    Kiran Gupta nee Jaipuria

5.    Maya Singh nee Govind Singh

6.    Nalini Hazarika

7.    Neela Kumar nee Awasthi

8.    Neelam Kher

9.    Neerja Roy Chowdhury nee Kashyap

10.    Prabha Chordia nee Dasot

11.    Rashmi Lamba nee Pratap

12.    Ratna Chadha nee Duggal

13.    Rita Sharma nee Patel

14.    Sadhana Jain nee Patni

15.    Tejinder Bawa nee Gandhiok

16.    Veena Singh nee Chauhan


Reunion-Year 2022- Golden Batch

BATCH OF 1972

1.    Amita Jain

2.    Anju Jain

3.    Anju Yajnick Thakkar

4.    Anurekha Kumari Singh

5.    Arti Golecha Mehta

6.    Aruna Lodha Mehta 

7.    Arunlata Khandelwal Lohia

8.    Geeta Menon Nair

9.    Jyotsna Devi

10.    Kavita Kunadi Deo

11.    Kiran Bist

12.    Kumkum Rathi Bajaj

13.    Kumkum Singha Sen

14.     Mala Grover Pande

15.    Meenu Mathur 

16.    Minakshi Jhala Singh

17.    Mondira Roy Bhowmick

18.    Nandini Thapan Sahai

19.    Nikky Nemani Mansingka

20.    Padma Kini  Shenai

21.    Pranati Golecha Lunia

22.    Priti Chandriani

23.    Priyamwada Verma Chaddha

24.    Rashmi Singh

25.    Rima Hooja

26.    Reena Malik 

27.    Suneeta Sheopuri Raina

28.    Usha Khandelwal

29.    Vandana Daulat Singh

30.     Yasmin Wadia Irani


Reunion-Year 2023- Golden Batch

BATCH OF 1973

1.     Archana Wali

2.     Deepti Malhotra Nighawan 

3.     Ila Jain 

4.     Jagruti Nanawati 

5.     Jyoti Mathur

6.     Dr. Kalpana Srivastava 

7.     Kum Kum Rathi

8.     Leena Chandriani 

9.     Monisha Chimni 

10.     Nilmani Kunadi 

11.     Nirmala Durlabhji 

12.     Nisha Mehta Bahadur 

13.     Paulomi Shah

14.     Pompa Mitra 

15.     Pratima Mundhra 

16.     Sadhna Garg 

17.     Sanghmitra Singh

18.     Sangita Ganwal 

19.     Shailaja Bajpai 

20.     Smita Verma Singh

21.     Suchitra Sanghi

22.     Sunita Gupta

23.     Vineeta Chand 

25.     Radhika Dutta Dubash


Reunion-Year 2020 Ruby Batch 

BATCH OF 1980

1.    Swati  Buksh    

2.    Kavita Kapoor Pardal    

3.    Archana Goyal Saraf    

4.    Anshu Garg    

5.    Veena Bhagotia    

6.    Ritu Gupta    

7.    Inderjeet ( Babra) Kumar    

8.    Amita Bali Mathur    

9.    Mandakini Singh Guraya    

10.    Anuradha Pardal    

11.    Shuchita Singh    

12.    Shradha Singh    

13.    Indranee Phookan Borooah    

14.    Benu Puri    

15.    Gauri Thapar    

16.    Archana Singh    

17.    Durgesh Rathore




 

Reunion-Year 2021 Ruby Batch 

BATCH OF1981

 

1.    Mukta Singhvi

2.    Namarita Khanna

3.    Namrata Sharma

 

    

Reunion-Year 2022 Ruby Batch

BATCH OF 1982

1.    Archna Bohra Kumbhat 

2.    Anjula Shekhawat

3.     Anu Bhandari

4.     Anupama Kalia Gangwal

5.     Dipti Birla Rathi 

6.     Tara Manchin Hangzo

7.     Nandini Jain Gautam

8.     Renu Rajpal Miller

9.     Renu Agrawal Raniwala

10.     Sanju Yagnik Gupta

11.     Saroj Hooja

12.     Shaila Daga Mahan 

13.     Sujata Karnawat Kala

 

Reunion-Year 2023 Ruby Batch

BATCH OF 1983

1.     Anju Arora Choujar    

2.     Archana Kothari Parson    

3.     Ashoo Maheshwari    

4.     Babita Agarwal Moody    

5.     Babita Garabadu Dash    

6.     Feroza Rehman Choudhri    

7.     Jaishree Baid Sekhawat    

8.     Jyoti Soni Sancheti    

9.     Jyotsna Grover Sethi    

10.     Mamta Jain Mehta    

11.     Manisha Mathur Srivastava    

12.     Manju Kaushik Sharma    

13.     Meenu Golecha    

14.     Monita Kukar Midha    

15.     Neeta Sogani Boochra    

16.     Nidhi Kashyap Lauria    

17.     Niti Bangia Sarna    

18.     Pallavi Rathore Nirwan    

19.     Panchami Padmasana Manoo Ukil    

20.     Poonam Singhal Prasad    

21.     Renu Sharma    

22.     Ritu Mahendra Sharma    

23.     Sarandha Singh    

24.     Shangrila Kankariya Jain    

25.     Shobhna Soni Luhadia    

26.     Simmi Hooja    

27.     Soma Paul Saxena    

28.     Sona Tyagi Jain    

29.     Sonu Bhandia Joshi    

30.     Sunita Agarwal    

31.     Sunita Keshan Umesh        

32.     Sunita Khawad Jain        

33.     Sunita Surana Chhajlani    

34.     Tina Grover Narang        

35.     Vinita Sharma Patni


Reunion -Year 2020 Silver Batch

Batch of 1995

1.    Aparna Bordia

2.    Avnit Anand 

3.    Aarti T Singh 

4.    Aarti M Singh

5.    Bhavna Makhija 

6.    Charu Sarawgi

7.    Divya K Tomar

8.    Deepali Pathak Sharma 

9.    Gitanjali Rishi 

10.    Jyotsana Sharma 

11.    Kriti K Jain 

12.    Meenal Jain 

13.    Mahima Aggarwal

14.    Mudita  Mehta

15.    Meenu Maheshwari

16.    Mandeep Kaur

17.    Manisha Choudhary 

18.    Pooja Gupta

19.    Prerna Aggarwal

20.    Preetima Kanwar

21.    Ritu Maheshwari

22.    Richa Singh

23.    Ritu Mehta

24.    Ruchi Aggarwal

25.    Ritu Oswal

26.    Sunidhi Bhargava 

27.    Sugandha Bansal Mittal 

28.    Sangeeta Bhandari

29.    Shobha Arora

30.    Sonali Jain

31.    Tina Sharma

32.    Vibhuti Bhari


Reunion -Year 2021 Silver Batch 

BATCH OF 1996

1.     Akanksha Dutt 

2.     Amrita Narayan

3.     Anita Madan 

4.     Anjani Dhadda

5.     Ankita Bansal (Kumar) 

6.     Anshu Mittal 

7.     Apeksha Kotahwala Garg 

8.     Bhawana Singh 

9.     Chandrika Dasgupta (Galundia)

10.     Charu Choksi (Dugar) 

11.     Deepika Sharma

12.     Harsha Khosla 

13.     Kangan Goyal (Uberoi)

14.     Ketika Singhal 

15.     Mahima Choudhary

16.     Mandvi Ranawat 

17.     Manjari Bhutra ( Mundhra) 

18.     Monica Goyal Pareek

19.     Neelu Dhankar 

20.     Neetu Marda 

21.     Neha Saraf (Khaitan)

22.     Nikita Lashkery 

23.     Nisha Bansal (Rungta) 

24.     Payal Tambi

25.     Pooja Godara 

26.     Pooja Sikka (Kakkar) 

27.     Preeti Goyal (Choudhary) 

28.     Raghushree Poddar

29.     Ranjeeta Kumari Gautam

30.     Rashmi Kabra (Khator) 

31.     Richa Yadav 

32.     Ritu Jain (Sancheti) 

33.     Ritu Khandelwal (Tholia) 

34.     Sarika Mangal 

35.     Shivani Kothari

36.     Shraddha Gupta

37.     Shrija Vatsa (Sah) 

38.     Shubh Singhvi (Singhi)

39.     Srishti Jauhar

40.     Stuti Jalan 

41.     Sunita Pawar 

42.     Swati Maheshwari (Malpani)

43.     Trishla Mehta (Durlabhji) 

44.     Varsha Goyal 

45.     Vasudha Sahai


Reunion -2022 Silver Batch

BATCH OF 1997 

1.    Amita Singhee    

2.    Anshu Acharya    

3.    Anshul Srivastava    

4.    Aparna Sengar    

5.    Apeksha Sureka    

6.    Apra Mehra    

7.    Ashima Parnami    

8.    Charu Sodhani    

9.    Deepika Manwani    

10.    Devyani Gajria    

11.    Devyani Mathur    

12.    Ena Sarin    

13.    Gazal Gupta    

14.    Geetanjali Shekhawat    

15.    Hema Talreja    

16.    Kanika Singh    

17.    Kavita Bansal    

18.    Kirtika Singh    

19.    Latika Singh    

20.    Meenakshi Kishore    

21.    Meghna Baweja Mirpuri    

22.    Mitali Bansal    

23.    Namrata Kedia    

24.    Namrata Rathore    

25.    Neha Mathur

26.    Om Kanwar Deora

27.    Pallavi Murdia

28.    Pooja Dubby

29.    Pooja Sardana

30.    Poorva Sharma

31.    Prerna Garg

32.    Priti Patel

33.    Priyanka C Gulab

34.    Priyanka Chowdhry

35.    Priyanka Shekhawat

36.    Rachna Bakliwal

37.    Ritu Bhatia

38.    Ritu Rawat    

39.    Rohini Singh    

40.    Ruchi Jain    

41.    Ruchika Kothari    

42.    Sapna Saran    

43.    Shilpa Shara    

44.    Shreshtha Tandon    

45.    Shubham Jain    

46.    Shweta Bhandari    

47.    Shweta Bishnoi    

48.    Shweta Dugar Lodha    

49.    Shweta Gupta Bansal    

50.    Shweta Kasliwal Jain    

51.    Shweta Raidani    

52.    Sonal Bansal    

53.    Sonal Bihani    

54.    Surabhi Ajmera    

55.    Suruchi Kothari    

56.    Swati Vijaivargie    

57.    Sweta Baj    

58.    Sweta Poddar Khandelwal    

59.    Vaishali Tekriwal (Mundhra)    

60.    Vinnie Marda



 

Reunion-Year Silver 2023 Jubliee 

Batch of 1998

1.    Aditi Arora

2.    Arunima Sahu

3.    Ananta Dubey Kirikera 

4.    Anjali Kandira

5.    Ankita Jaju Pasari

6.    Anupama Jorwal

7.    Aparna Shivpuri

8.    Ashima Tholia

9..    Bhawna Jagwani Wheaton

10.    Charu Somani Dargar

11.    Chitra Baid

12.    Deepshikha Gupta Chhajer

13.    Dipti S. Kasliwal

14.    Divya Kothari Mohnot

15.    Divya Swarup

16.    Dr. Sangeeta Thakurani

17.    Dr. Nidhi Raisinghani

18.    Dr. Pooja Narain

19.    Firdaus Joad

20.    Geeta Kumari

21.    Gunjan Rawat Ghiya

22.    Jolly Gupta

23.    Jyoti Sagar Ray

24.    Kanika Mathur

25.    Kanupriya Chaturvedi

26.    Kunjan Jain 

27.    Megha Jain

28.    Meghna Mathur

29.    Namrata Singh

30.    Nandini Singh Jhabua

31.    Neha Gehlot

32.    Neha Agarwal

33.    Nidhi Agarwal Almal

34.    Neha Agarwal Rajgarhia

35.    Nidhi Bairathi

36.    Nishtha Dhamija Suri

37.    Pallavi Singh 

38.    Parul Shekhawat

39.    Parul Rawal Sindwani

40.    Payal Jain

41.    Pearl Ahuja Mago

42.    Pihu Jain

43.    Poorva Jain Shah

44.    Prarthana Taneja Makhija

45.    Priyanka Kothari

46.    Priyanka Negi Mathur

47.    Priyanka Shahi

48.    Rashmi Tewari

49.    Ruchi Sodhani Kakani

50.    Shabana Khan

51.    Rashmi Kasliwal Bothra

52.    Rupali Sharma

53.    Rubina Mirza

54.    Shalini Sharma

55.    Shilpa Saboo Kabra

56.    Shipra Gupta

57.    Shiva Prabhakar

58.    Shivani Loyalka

59.    Sunaina Saraf

60.    Shweta Saharan

61.    Sushmita Sarmah

62.    Swati Choudhary

63.    Swati Sharma

64.    Sumati Jalan

65.    Surmeet Kaur Chopra

66.    Varsha Choudhary Khemka

67.    Vidhi Gupta

68.    Vinita Singh

69.    Sumandeep Lamba











 

AUDIO  VISUAL ROOM

The morning of 6th April 2024 marked a momentous occasion in the MGD School alumni history Jane jija (Prafulla Kumari, batch of 1955), gifted a fabulously well equipped refurbished AV Conference Room to the school. She dedicated it to the memory of her batchmates of 1955.

Batch of 1955

Standing : Devika Devi-Tripura, Lalit Kumari-Raghogargh, Miss Meenakshi,Bishan Kumari-Khatipura, Honey Bhinai

Seated : Chandrika Daulat Singh, Prafulla Kumari(Jane), Miss L.G.Lutter, Meena Puri, Sheela Sen

Kneeling : Indira Kumari(Sally)-Sumel, Asha Mathur

 

A small function was held followed by high tea, attended by the children, grandchildren and siblings of the ten young girls who had passed out in 1955. Also present were, Principal Mrs Archana S Mankotia, Administrator Col Sangwan and members of the MGD Girls’ Guild Executive Committee. 

 

In her opening address Mrs Archana S Mankotia welcomed all present and highlighted Jane Jija’s invaluable contribution to the school. She brought out her instrumental role in establishing the MGD Girls Guild, guiding and steering it in the right direction. She said Jane Jija  epitomises what a true MGDian ought to be. An iconic personality who is constantly striving for the betterment of the school with her hard work and dedication. 

 

After the Principal’s address Jane jija addressed the gathering, reminiscing and sharing wonderful anecdotes about each one of her classmates. She shared how in the times of purdah they let their hair down once they entered the portals of MGD. She spoke about  how the school transformed them into girls who took all challenges in their stride, enhanced their talent and brought out the best in them. 

 

This was followed by the floor being thrown open to the guests representing the ten young girls of the batch of 1955. They shared some very amusing and sentimental stories of their mothers/grandmothers and sister’s stay at MGD and how it impacted them. It was a gracious touching morning, emotional for many to visit the school their mother grandmother and sisters went to. The school is very thankful to Jane Jija for her generous contribution. 

Archana Singh 

Batch of 1980By : Ghazal Qadri

Batch of 2013







 

CHANDRALEKHA MATHUR

As we walk down the memory lane-Reunion 2023



The Ex MGDians of Kolkata met for a SOCIALS evening on 30/4/24 at Calcutta Swimming Club.
  It just materialised very quickly with someone in our WhatsApp chat group writing on 19/4/24 that since we had not had a get together in a long time something should be planned. Rashmi Agarwal Killa took the lead & a few other girls from various batches helped organise it.
I came into the picture 2 days before our socials as something urgent in Rashmi’s family came up & she had to travel.
Our ( Babita, Sharmilla & Rashmi) brother Rahul came forward & announced a Lucky Draw.
1st Prize - 2 days at Baia Villas, Goa - won by Priyanka Saraf(2004)
2nd Prize- a bespoke Scarf - won by Bindu Banthia(1988)
3rd Prize- a bespoke Pocket Square- won by Pinky Bengani(1990).
The honours were done by our senior Jijas - Julie Sen(1951),Dr Rita Das(1964)& Monideepa Lahiri(1969).
It was a fun evening with lots of chatting, dancing & food.
We were 47 girls ranging from the 1951 batch to the 2016 batch.

The planners & executers of the evening were
Rashmi Agarwal Killa(1991)
Roma Agarwal (1990)
Ritika Bajoria(1991)
Meghna kanoria(1991)
Ekta Gupta(1991)
Neha Bajoria(1992)
Preeti Saboo(1992)
Niti Agarwal (1996)
Ayushi Bajaj (2013)
Babita Agarwal Moody(1983)

BABITA MOODY

Apt Citation for Jane jija on the Annual Day 15th December 2023


“Apt Citation for Jane jija on the Annual Day 15 thDecember 2023 by Principal Mrs Archana Mankotia.

"An inspiring persona who exudes charm, effervescence and vivacity. A person, who is relentless in her pursuit towards achieving her goals. A person, deeply committed and involved in the betterment of her alma mater, A person whose passion transcends boundries, and it would not be wrong to say that the person lives,breathes, and even dreams of MGD. and if you all are wondering who iam talking of, it is none other than our very own Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh aka Jane Jija."

" I would like to introduce Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh to this august gathering. JANE JIJA - officially named Mrs Prafulla Kumari was born and brought in Jaipur. She belongs to the first batch of MGD Girls' School. She was the Head Girl and passed out in 1955.She completed her graduation from Lady Irwin College,New Delhi. She has been a keen sports person who played Tennis for the school and college.

Married in the renowned family of Ajairajpura to then Capt.Himmeth Singh ( later Lt Gen) and thus came to be known known as Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh . She is the President of the MGD Girls' Guild. She is in the Management Committee and the Board of Governors of MGD. She is also the president of Digantar Vidyalaya,aschool for under privileged children.
She has published a book " The Garud Stries"Lightening Canpaign of 1971 Operations - Liberation of Bangladesh, dedicated to the 4th Battalion the regiment of Guard.

she is instrumental in producing two documentary films -
" Of love and artistery- on the folk musicians of Rajasthan "
and Operational Role and achievement of 4th Battalion of the Regiment Guards.

We are indeed blessed to have her with us spreading her charm and exuberance. In order to express our deepest gratitude and affection for her selfless commitment and dedication,inspiring leadership and extraordinary determination in guiding the school towards Utmost for the Highest. The Management,Staffand students would like to felicitate her with a small token of our love.

Congratulatins and Jubilations .
May I request Maharaj Jai Singh to Kindly do the honours .”

Speech by Principal MGD School Mrs.Archana.S.Mankotia on Annual Day.

Meenakshi Rathore

The Magical Mega Reunion of MGD @ 80

This year the annual reunion of 12 batches happened to coincide with the 80th Anniversary of MGD.

It was due to Covid that these batches got clubbed together; hence we had a large gathering. The Guild planned the celebration over two days 16th & 17th Dec. 2023 This year the event was planned post lunch.     The batches with us were Silver, Ruby & Gold of the years 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023.

16th Dec 2023 started by paying homage to our founder Principal Miss L.G. Lutter then the felicitation Assembly took place on the stadium stage.

Mrs. Archana S Mankotia our Principal was the Chief Guest. She welcomed the Alumni followed by the President of the Guild Jane H.Singh (Batch 1955). She then introduced the members of the Guild executive committee.

Jhulekha Jija (Batch 1952), A diehard MGDian.For the past couple of decades she travels all the way from Kolkata to attend the annual reunion meet, was declared “The MGDian of the year”.

One by one each batch came on the stage and the batch Rep. introduced all the Girls (now ladies)!! It was mind boggling and heartwarming to see how our girls had progressed. Each one excelled in the field that she had chosen. All attributed their success to the school and the sound foundation they had received at MGD. The batch coffee table books were presented to the Principal and the Guild. Mementos were presented to the Alumni. The afternoon ended with high tea.

Later in the evening at Diggi Palace – the girls dressed in glittering Poshaks and decked with appropriate jewellery, gracefully performed their favourite “Ghoomar”. The Principal equally resplendent in her yellow poshak set the ball rolling. She gracefully did the first Ghoomar. The ambiance was amazing with Diggi Palace arches in the back ground, reminiscent of medieval times. This item was dedicated to our much loved iconic dance teacher Mrs Brijpal Aneja.

The Guild Pop up – with various stalls and music in the background gave a Carnival feel. “After Party” was introduced for the first time which the girls enjoyed immensely.They danced till the wee hours of the morning!

17th Sunday - was again an eventful day – Morning visit to the school reminiscing their school days, old connections were revived – it was amazing how these ladies were little school girls again regaling each other with long forgotten stories and the time they had spent together in school.

Late afternoon – MGD Exhibition Polo match,a must for all reunions. Polo and Jaipur are synonymous. Afternoon ended with high tea.      

The evening -  was spent in the stunning opulence of Maharani Mahal at RambaghPalace. Dinner, dance and music – Girls turned out in glamorous out fits, danced to the tune of old MGD songs and the latest hits.         

The evening was steeped in Nostalgia.

All in all a magical evening befitting “AuRevoir ” to the 80 glorious years of MGD.

PRAFULLA (JANE) KUMARI

REUNION WITH A DIFFERENCE

Yes ,a reunion with a difference!!
It was the grand 80th anniversary celebrations of MGD plus the year 2023 had a combined Reunion of 12 batches of those who had completed their golden,silver and ruby jubilee.(year 20,21,and 22 )were also included being covid casualty.
I am sure you can imagine what grand event it must have been with so many beautiful, graceful, enthusiastic and energetic Mgdians from all over the world.So many batches waiting to relive their childhood memories once again in school.

The much awaited reunion events were held on 16th and 17th dec 2023

DAY 1 .16TH DEC- FELICITATION CEREMONY- The felicitation ceremony started at 12 noon and ended at around  5pm  in the evening.Every person was gifted a momento by school and each batch gave an introduction of their batchmates .All young ladies were dressed beautifully in colourful attires and their eyes were twinkling with excitement for their ALMA Mater. The same day in the evening there was a Guild Pop Up Show at HOTEL DIGGI PALACE with variety of stalls to shop from.
The famous Ghoomar Dance performance by different groups from different decades were performed later at night.It was dedicated to our dance teacher Mrs .Aneja,who has been a part of our reunions since years and a teacher who taught us the dance moves.
All dressed in traditional attires gave mesmerising performances .Principal M.G.D School Mrs.Archana Mankotia gave an elegant dance performance .All senior jija’s and juniors couldn’t stop themselves to come on the floor .The whole place was so beautifully decorated and lit up that we couldn’t keep our eyes off them and girls went crazy clicking the selfies.The drinks and dinner at Diggi Place added to the fun ,frolic and masti bhari night.The atmosphere was filled with Love ,Laughter and sparkles.

DAY 2. 17th DEC -The day started with a school visit for all those ex-Mgdians who have spent their best years of life in school.They could relive their memories by taking a walk at M.G.D.
Later in afternoon POLO Match was organised by the Guild at Rambagh Polo Grounds .The bar was also set to keep the spirits high with wine tasting and high tea.The Polo Cup was sponsored by Code Silver  ,Nirmala Durlabji Jija which was presented to the winning team.Rajmata Uttara Devi of Kota was the chief guest of the day.A perfect winter evening with a perfect company and perfect attires could be seen at Polo grounds.

A Gala Dinner was organised at the Maharani Mahal in Rambagh Palace Hotel,Oh what a beautiful banquet hall with lush green lawns and beautiful ambiance. The dinner was also grand as the name itself. Seniors, juniors, batchmates everyone danced at the beats of the D.J and didn’t want to stop, as if there was no tomorrow. There were just beautiful and cool Mgdians all over the place, enjoying to the fullest. Dinner was so lavish and delicious that we were ready for second helping after getting exhausted by dancing. Meeting each and every MGDian brings a spark and so much energy that you want to be with them again and again.

We all say a-diu only to meet again soon…

M.G.D and MGDians we love you.

Thank you Jane Jija and all Guild Executive Committee Members and all the other volunteers who makes this happen for us. Thank you for your efforts, your hardwork and tolerance.
                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Meenakshi Rathore

80th SCHOOL BIRTHDAY MESSAGES

1. Fond birthday wishes for our dearest Alma Mater
Four score and going stronger than ever before… Happy birthday to our
beloved MGD school on your eightieth birthday from your devoted
batch of 1972!

Fifty-one years have rolled by since we left the school! And it seems like
only yesterday… when we were carefree happy school girls, the
unforgettable memories of our Alma Mater and of all those who made it
so special, deeply etched in our hearts and minds to this day.

You gave us more than we could dream of. You shaped us into the
women we are today. You gave us the courage to forge ahead, you were
the wind beneath our wings and for this and so much more, we say with
pride… We are MGDians!

Long live MGD !!
From the batch of 1972

2. MGD…our Alma Mater… the name brings a sparkle to our eyes and a
glow on our face.

A certain pride and a heart filled with gratitude.
When we speak of MGD… memories of our Rajmata, Miss Lutter, Miss
Doongaji, the teachers, the friends, the staff and of course the grand
buildings and lawns come to us like it was just yesterday.

“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire”, - quote by
Charles Bukowski, that’s what MGD taught us… not just how well, but
with utmost grace and dignity too.

After 40 years of passing out, we are eagerly waiting to come to school
in December, to be part of the 80 th birthday celebration of our dear
MGD.
A very happy birthday to MGD and to all of us!!Thank you

From the batch of 1983

3. Happy 80th birthday, dear MGD! It brings me immense joy to
celebrate this significant milestone with you. As I reflect on the past
years, I am filled with gratitude for the incredible experiences and
opportunities you have provided me. You have been the foundation of
my growth, shaping me into the person I am today. MGD, you have
been more than just a school to me. You have been my second home, a
place where I have discovered my passions, built lasting friendships, and
received an education that extends far beyond textbooks. From the
classroom to the sports field, from the stage to the community, you have
nurtured and guided me every step of the way.

Being the head girl of MGD has been an honor and a privilege. The
responsibility has taught me invaluable lessons in leadership, empathy,
and resilience. It is my earnest desire that together, we can continue to
uphold the values and traditions that make MGD exceptional. Let us
strive to raise the MGD flag higher, setting new benchmarks and
embracing excellence in all our endeavors.

Today, as we commemorate your 80th birthday, let us cherish the
memories we have created, the bonds we have formed, and the
knowledge we have gained. MGD, you have given us the wings to soar,
and it is our duty to make the most of these opportunities, reaching for
the highest goals, and making a positive impact on the world.

Happy birthday, MGD! Here's to many more years of inspiration,
growth, and success. May your legacy continue to shine brightly, forever
empowering young minds to achieve their utmost for the highest.

DR ALPANA KUMARI
(FORMER HEAD GIRL)
09-10


4. Dear MGD,
Here’s wishing you the happiest of birthday!!

It’s hard to believe that you’re 80 years old since you are such a timeless
beauty holding so many memories in the branches of your trees in the
hockey field and the stairs behind the needle work room and computer
lab.

There isn’t a day that goes by without me reminiscing my “virtual
memories”. Each time I scroll through the photos on my phone of my time here, my
face is automatically graced with a smile.

All my actions are always a reflection of what it takes to be an MGDian
and that is something I will always cherish and carry with me.
Happy birthday MGD,

Keep lighting up the faces of young girls with the brightest of smiles.’
Ridhima Magon
(Head Girl
2021-22)


5. Wishing my beloved school a very happy birthday.
I’m honoured to be a pupil of MGD Girls’ school, an institution that has
been the centre of education and heritage.
I wish to see the school reach new heights, like it always has and may
the name of my alma mater always be written in golden words.
Thanks to the efforts of countless students, teachers, administrative staff
and principals, the institution has always lived up to its motto, and may
it
always stay that way
Happy birthday once again

Tanishka Jain
Student of batch 2022-23

PRAFULLA (JANE) KUMARI

MGD at Eighty !!

Our dear MGD is now Eighty
Our school of joy and gaiety
She sparkles and she shines
And we're the batch of Nineteen Sixty Nine !!

She taught us to be true and kind
To be sound of body .and of mind
To differentiate right from wrong
To be brave and to be strong

Though we stumbled in those growing years
We were shown to overcome our  fears
Our courage stood us in good stead
With confidence we surged ahead

We learnt that failure and success
Are two sides of a coin
We learnt to face the turns of tides
And broken hearts to join

We found our precious childhood friends
Who've  bonded over the years
Who've shared our heartburns and delights
Our ecstacies and tears

God Bless dear MGD ..Eighty now
May she blossom bright and grow
She lingers deep within our hearts
Though years between have flown

What we've grown up to be today
Started in those days divine
Our dear Alma Mater   we love you so
And we're the batch of Nineteen Sixty Nine!!!

From the batch of 1969

PRAFULLA (JANE) KUMARI

Guild News letter May 2023

GUILD TODAY

Guild News letter 

May 2023

 

MAY 2023

MGD @ 80

Penny Thoughts

The much awaited year is well underway. The Time Machine is ticking and winter has given way to spring and now we are truly in the grip of summer. Heat Waves hitting us are taking their toll with increasing intensity and with it the ominous threat of the dreaded pandemic returning. The menacing virus has mutated manifold and its variants rearing their ugly tentacles surely and certainly. With elections acquiring war like proportions and road shows big tamashas of teeming hordes and the newest UN report of our great country well on the way to becoming the world's most populated nation (another FIRST TIME) social distancing has become a big challenge, even as our popular netas vigorously wave to the thronging audience. Keeping our fingers crossed it abates fast and does not dampen our rising spirits and fever pitch excitement for the grand celebrations scheduled to take place later this year.

 This year the winds of change sweeping across our country, ostensibly towards building a New India, in its 75th year of Independence from foreign dominance, are bringing in a lot of drastic measures. This is impacting our Secondary Education System majorly. 

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution will not find a place in the new text books; how did the human race evolve…. Was there a process of evolution ?o much else has been expunged. 

Students in future will perhaps not be able to give coherent answers to questions like, who did the much venerated Maharana Pratap of Mewar, and the great warrior Maratha ruler Shivaji  Maharaj fight against?? What is their claim to glory? Imagine studying Indian History sans the Mughal era. Is the much written about India's Freedom Struggle a figment of the imagination?? Who were the freedom fighters up against.?? 

This chop and change policy of the NCERT Educationists is mind boggling and defies logic. Or do we accept it as “ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die”as Tennyson wrote in Charge of the Light Brigade!! 

On a positive note let us laud and congratulate the School for the multifarious activities that have been arranged and participated in with so much credit. Encouragement and guidance from the Principal and the teaching staff is, indeed, very commendable and admirable

Chandralekha  Mathur.

(Nee Sahai -1954 Batch)

CHEIF EDITOR

 

 

MGD GIRLS’ GUILD PROGRAMME FOR THE YEAR 2023 

The countdown has begin for MGD’S 80th Anniversary. Many events are being organised around the year by the school. Guild members are welcome to join in.

Annual Events :

(1) Guild AGM -Friday 22nd  Sept.

The guest speaker is Doctor Sangeeta Thakurani (Batch1998) She is a senior plastic and cosmetic surgeon. She acquired her Master in general surgery from Rajasthan University of Health Sciences. She did her super specialization in plastic and cosmetic surgery from PGIMER Chandigarh. At age 30 she became plastic surgeon. She is now working as a professor in SMS Medical College and Hospitals. She also has her own clinic. She has many research Publications in Indian and International journals

(2) Guild Dance Fest - This event is organised for classes IX, X, XI, XII Std. The evening is followed by dinner.

(3) School Annual day function is on 15th Dec.

RE UNION SCHEDULE

16th Dec. Felicitation of the reunion batches, presentation of gift to them by the school. This year each batch will be performing ghoomar dance which is then followed by dinner in the school.

17th Dec.

Morning : Down memory Lane, visit the school & hostel.

Afternoon : Guild Exhibition Polo match at Rambagh Polo grounds.

Evening :Guild social get together at Rambagh Palace Hotel.

Other events will be conveyed to all vide Email, Facebook & Guild website.

Looking forward to the entire MGD fraternity to participate in the ongoing 80th anniversary celebration. 

With best wishes.

 Jane H Singh (Batch 1955)

 President MGD Girls’ Guild

 

 

BUSY BEES

Annual Function 2023

MGD Girls' School, Jaipur organised the Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony on 25th January, 2023 to commemorate and celebrate the achievements of the session 2021-2022. Ms Manju Sharma, Managing Director and Co- Chairperson of EHCC Hospital Jaipur, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.

The programme commenced with a tribute to our founder, Rajmata Gayatri Devi, to seek her blessings. A melodious Orchestra Performance by the students left the audience spellbound.

Madam Principal presented the Annual Report for the session 2022-23, documenting the activities and achievements by the School during the year.

This was followed by the Prize distribution ceremony by the Chief Guest, Ms Manju Sharma.

Her Highness Rajmata of Jaipur Shield for Best House was awarded to Helen Keller House.

The celebrations continued with the Cultural Programme- 'Natya Veda' consisting of synchronous music, dance, kavya goshti and the English Drama, Princess of Athens.

The Annual Day ceremony was attended by Maharaj Jai Singh Ji, Chairperson MGD Girls' School, Mrs Jane Himmeth Singh ji, Mrs Nirmala Durlabhji, Mrs Meenakshi Hooja, Kuwar Ajay Singh Ji, Kuwarani Ambika Singh, Col. S S Sangwan, Col. S S Mankotia, and other distinguished guests.

Passing Out Ceremony

MGD Girls' School organised the Passing Out Ceremony for the batch of 2023 on 10th February.

The Ceremony began with the formal welcome of our Chief guest for the day- Dr. Vinita Ashit Jain.  An Alumna of MGD, a nature lover, an avid reader, a music enthusiast, Dr. Vinita writes both in English and Hindi. Her first book of Hindi poetry has received a lot of appreciation. 

All the students were honoured with the mementos, Bhagwad Gita and badges. As the citations were read by the class teachers the students placed diyas at the border of the Rangoli.

'Aashirvachanam' was recited by Dr. Seema Sharma in Sanskrit and in English by Madam Principal, Mrs Archana S Mankotia. After each vachan the students together pledged 'I promise'.

The Head girl's mother Mrs Meenakshi Terapanthi addressed the gathering with her inspiring words, after which Nandini Terapanthi, the Head girl signed off with her last speech.

The  Ceremony came to an end with the Chief guest's eloquent and inspiring address.

The Great MGD Run

MGD Girls' School, Jaipur organised the Great MGD Run on 29 January 2023 to begin the celebrations of the 80th year of the school. 

 

MGD Run

The event witnessed the zealous participation of around 2000 students from classes 1 to 12, teachers, staff, parents, ex-mgdians and MGD Guild Members. The event comprised a marathon and duathlon to take place at locations scheduled across Jaipur, along with the facilities of food/beverages stalls in the school post the marathon.

 The run was flagged off by Mr. Hemant Priyadarshi, Additional Director General of Police Anti-Corruption Bureau. The verve and vigour in the atmosphere were evident as the participants participated with full zeal and zest to live up to the words of Madam Principal.

The Great MGD Run also brought into the limelight the “ploggers” who worked assiduously for the cleanliness of our city by collecting litter throughout the marathon. 

Aparna Khurana nee Sengar 

Batch of 1997

----------------------------------------------------

OUR SENIORS RECOLLECT:

This is Julekha (Julie) Sen. Batch of 1950

 

It was the year 1944. Maharani Gayatri Devi School had shifted recently to its new Venue. I Joined MGD soon thereafter in Standard 4, where our class strength was only four. My previous school was Loretto Calcutta and being a Bengali had no Knowledge of Hindi where most of the girls spoke Hindi or their local dialect which was Greek to me! During the course of time I got involved in all kinds of school activities be it Sports, Music, Dance, Plays and Arts, and very soon became an all rounder and I got the prestigious All rounder Medal, and many other medals.

Our class subjects were English, Mathematics, Hindi, Geography, History, Arts and Home Science.

We had such wonderful teachers, very caring and extremely understanding. I still remember them, Miss Minakshi teaching us all about geography of Earth and the Planets, with Miss Sarkar teaching us History of India and the world. Miss Rastogi who made me improve on Hindi, my weakest subject then, but gradually thanks to her encouragement my Hindi improved drastically.  Then there was Mrs. Patni for Maths- another weak subject of mine and once again through her  encouragement my maths too improved over the years. And then of course was Miss Lutter, our Principal. She was a real mentor to all of us in school. She was the one who moulded each and every one of us to what we are today. How could we ever forget Miss Emma who took care of us with healthy good nutritious food and with lots of love and affection?

From time to time we had many dignitaries including foreigners visiting our School and Maharani Sahiba was always there escorting them.

Once we had a band with a band master. He played in our School courtyard for many a days.

I remember one of the years we had Saraswati Puja in our school and I was asked to do the Alpona. Maharani Gayatri Deviji was very pleased and praised me personally.

In course of time our School started all types of Sports and Games like Badminton, Tennis, Swimming, Hockey and playing games was our regular activity. We also had horse riding that time and I too learned horse riding then. Girl guides was introduced with Miss Lutter at the helm.

Ours was the Blue House. I went from Prefect to House Captain. Those days we would go to School in a Bus with Purdah on the Windows.

I recall once Miss Lutter took some of us to Ranikhet on an excursion. We stayed at YMCA, and all day was spent on sightseeing and evenings was of course study time with Miss Lutter guiding us in English Language.

I recall when the Selection for Head Girl was on and how lucky I was to be selected for that Position.  Soon after that, Project “School Council” came up when Miss Lutter wanted me as the Vice President with her being the President. That is when the post of Head Girl was handed over to very capable hands of Veer Kunadi.

Once I remember very fondly after my marriage I had gone over to Jaipur and stayed with Miss Lutter and spent some very enjoyable time with her and with Miss Emma. During my stay one evening I had gone out for Dinner and on returning back found a glass of Milk and some biscuits on the bed side table, which really brought tears to my eyes. And that was Miss Emma, so caring and loving. 

MGD to me was a Temple of learning- making a complete person of me.  

After School 

a) I represented Rajasthan in Badminton doubles and got to runners up.

b) I travelled around Europe, America & London extensively with Uday Shankar's dance group.

c) I lost my husband early in life and thereafter went to United States again and took up training in Aesthetics – Cosmetology from various institutions. Started taking up teaching assignments for young ladies in the same trade and profession on my return from United States.

d) Later Saturday Club gave me an Opening and I started with “Julies Aesthetics Beauty Clinic and Bridal Salon.” from there. Today it is nearly 38 years and I am still continuing in this trade. And it is all due to passing out from MGD which provided me the Courage and Confidence that I received during my growing up years.

Thank you MGD.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE UNEXPECTED BOUNTY 

One day I was traveling from Bharatpur to Jaipur and stopped midway at Dausa Dak Bungalow for a midway break. I was carrying my sandwiches, but all of a sudden wanted to eat an apple. This was even more surprising as I am not a pucca fruit eater. So I went out to see how I can get and buy some apples. 

Suddenly, as I came out I saw two Brahma Kumari ladies, whom I recognised as I had known them earlier in Sirohi and Mount Abu. They greeted me and then offered prasad, which for the life of me I could not believe, consisted of homemade mithai and Apples! Wonder of wonders I thanked them profusely and told them how they had met my sudden and unexpected desire for apples. It felt like a divine moment. 

A few years ago, we, in a study group, were travelling from Ullapool to Stornoway in a ferry on the way to Isle of Lewis in Scotland, UK. It was quite a stable journey and I did not feel any of the giddiness normally associated with sea travel. However I felt like having a dosa and sambhar. I said to myself that obviously I could not get it here and reconciled to it. But when the food was laid out in the buffet, lo and behold there was red lentil soup, baked potatoes and rice included in the lunch menu. Very tastefully made, it was a perfect substitute for dosa and sambhar and satisfied the sudden inner culinary craving and need. What a joy it was, that I remember it even now after so many years and which made my sea journey a memorable one. 

Once, on a Festival day almost all staff were on leave. While one looked forward to this celebration, the thought of all the cooking and cleaning was a daunting one. The bell rang and most surprisingly it was one of our old staff members, who had come back after some months from the village. To a query by me, he replied that he would be glad to be taken on work again right from the very moment. It was a matter of sheer thrill. Now our festival would be so much more easier and jubilant as he was familiar with the work and the household. I could not have asked for more!

More recently, a call came on my mobile. It was from an unknown number but as a matter of habit I answer all calls known or unknown and do not use the Truecaller app. In fact it turned out to be a call from a Govt Institution asking me to come there for a week for a lecture series, with travel and board and lodge all paid for by them. This telephonic conversation boosted my energy levels and excitement and reconfirmed my faith in answering calls from unknown numbers. The trip also turned out to be a memorable one and I could also see a new place. 

This is just to say and realize how a shower of unexpected bounty brings in great moments of joy and cheer , to always cherish and remember. 

Meenakshi Hooja nee Mathur 

1968 batch.

 

 

TRIBUTES TO OUR DEAR 

MISS BRIJPAL / MRS ANEJA

Mrs Brijpal Aneja, our beloved dance teacher and an integral part of our Re unions, sadly passed away on 16th February 2023. 

Mrs. Aneja's passing away is like losing a family member. Yes she was very much part of MGD Family. Very pleasing personality, she endeared herself to everyone. Her dance classes will be remembered by one & all. She was a star of our reunions, who brought in so much enthusiasm, joy & love and we will miss her lively self dearly. She will always live in our hearts. 

Sharing some of the tributes:

Mrs Brijpal Aneja, our Iconic Dance Teacher at MGD. 

BrijpalAneja

She joined MGD when I was in my final year 1955. She was a couple of years older than us, the final year students. Miss Lata Gupta had retired and Miss Brijpal came in as a young, fresh, enthusiastic & innovative dance teacher. We tested her like we do to all new teachers, but she took all our pranks in her stride! We loved her classes from the word go. 

Later she, as a part of the MGD teachers faculty, attended my wedding in 1960. She is in my wedding photographs. 

Then I lost contact with her as I traversed the globe with my husband who was serving in the Army. 

Then at our school's Golden jubilee celebration we met up again, now as friends. She was center stage with all the dance events performed by the Guild.

She was a star at our reunions. She brought in so much joy & love. I was hoping she would be with us at this 80th Anniversary celebrations of the School, but almighty willed it otherwise. 

Earlier, on the passing away of her brother, she took charge of the family business of Musical instruments at Dehradun. 

She wished to donate some musical instruments to MGD, her second home. School was unable to collect them due to various reasons. 

I had been constantly in touch with her. I spoke with her about a couple of weeks ago when she was in Dehradun, not feeling too good. Later spoke with Chunnu & was told she had moved to Delhi with her. I wasn't able to speak with her as her health had further deteriorated.

Few days later she was no more. Her loss has been felt by one & all MGDians. 

You will always be with us in spirit dear Mrs Aneja. 

We will celebrate you at all our reunions. 

Farewell dear friend! 

Jane H Singh (Batch 1955)

 

Miss Aneja, as I will always remember her, was such an important part of our schooling in MGD. Her energy and creativity and multi cultural innovation in performance was unparalleled. Her dance classes were enjoyable, refreshing and memorable making every student a performer! Miss Brijpal's stamina was awe inspiring. As we witnessed at our 50th reunion in 2019 she out did any one of us on the dance floor!  We were very blessed to have a person like her as a teacher in our lives.

Many of us use her dance moves even today when we dance. Our children would do the same moves making her dance live on for many generations. 

Her life was well lived as she gave so much to one and all. 

May her soul attain Sadgati. 

Vandana Singh Nadgar  

Batch of 1969

 

"The passing of Mrs Aneja, draws a curtain over a part of our lives too. Hers was perhaps the most felt presence in school & even afterwards. With her name we can only associate joy, music, rhythm, dance, loads of fun & festivities. In fact even after retirement, she helped Ex MGDians of various batches prepare their dances for the alumni functions. She always laughed while teaching. Was so graceful. 

I was in touch with her for several years. She lived a full life. She will always be remembered with love and respect. She will liven up the heavens with her dance and infectious smile. Happy dancing Mrs Aneja." 

Sunita Bainsla Batch of 1982

Really sad to know about Mrs Aneja who left for her heavenly abode. Still remember the first day I met her in the dance room. Personality that lighted the room ...mentor, guide, teacher at heart. 

Met her in Dehradun in October of 2022. Full of life and plans to move to Jaipur to be close to MGD where her heart always belonged. We both talked for hours about fond memories of MGD. She shared the day when she joined MGD at the age of 18. 

You will be missed dearly by all your students, colleagues and those who knew you. My shradhanjali?????

Toes tapped  so lightly,

Smiling big and brightly

....dance sweetly to the sound

Full of grace, never haste....

Filling perfectly my costume of  lace

Ever so sweet, my dancing feet

My toes tired....

And my knees, grown  weak

But I'll never stop dancing…

Step after step, I repeat and repeat.

Pushing harder and harder to reach my goal

It's what I lived for, dance is my soul.

--- words inspired from Miranda Snow

Mrs Varinder Kaur Sehmbey

Bharatanatyam Dance teacher in MGDfor six years

Our heartfelt condolences to her daughtersSimran Aneja batch of 1985

Nandita Nuhan(Tribhuvan) batch of 1986. 

May God give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss. 

We pray for the soul to attain Sadgati.

 

 

The MGD Days

M.G.D ....An institution, a name , an identity and for all of us who have passed through its portals, these three letters of the alphabet unlock a storehouse of beautiful memories...

Beginning 1964, wherein K.G was pure bliss with the thrill of our afternoon nap time post the lunch break, and with many more such joys we moved up the ladder of classrooms and classes up to I.S.C 1975, under a host of wonderful teachers, Miss Cherian,Mrs. J.Singh, Miss Farooqui, Mrs. Mukherjee, Mrs. Woods, Miss. Mathew, Miss. S. Mehta, Miss Nanda, Mrs. Ranka, Mrs. Awasthi , Mrs. Mathur, Miss Menon, Miss Gupta, Mrs. Mathews,  Miss Minakshi , Mrs. Patni, Miss Das, Mrs. Aneja, Miss Sircar, Miss Laxmi Singh  - to name just a few, all working in tandem with our dear Miss Lutter, who with watchful , twinkling eyes and gentle yet firm guidance held it all together and how !!!!!!!!!

   Joyous laughter and innocent giggles ringing through the Rose Garden evolved and transformed us into confident, clear headed teenagers who could hold their head high and stand their ground ingrained with ''Our Utmost for the Highest '' !

   Those precious years lay the foundation of beautiful friendships and form an enriched, enchanting collage that shows up the School Assembly, the School Fete, the Four Houses, the various competitions, our Sports Day, the Annual Prize Giving Day, the School Band, all of which I was lucky to have somehow participated in or was involved with -  A kaleidoscope that was renewed and reinforced with my daughter Gauri joining the league and together we could say .. ' Hip Hip Hurray'  and together we can sing ..................

     "Stand and shout in cheer once again,

       Let every M.G.Dian sing ............''

Nita Kackar Khanna (Batch of 1975)

 

MGD is a culture, MGD is a religion, MGD is a belief ! I am sure most of us MGDians feel this way as we have lived it! It really matters where and how you grow up. Along with the family culture and values that you are born into, it is the school that makes you into the human being you grow up to become. I precisely remember all my teachers who have contributed towards shaping me up into the individual I have become today. All my Math teachers, science teachers, Hindi and English teachers who taught me for the 12 years at MGD, each one went above and beyond in preparing me to achieve greater heights in life. Mrs. Srinivasan is one particular teacher I would always be thankful to for her contribution towards honing and polishing my English language. To summarize, MGD is also a lifestyle, MGD is also a statement! MGD prepared me to face ANY and EVERY challenge in life - personal and professional. It gave me the wings to soar high in the sky and take that plunge into the unknown, without being perturbed about the result. Thank you MGD!

Shilpi Agarwal  

Batch of 1998

 

What does MGD mean to me?' It's de ja vou time!

A class fourth Vama, mesmerized with the maroon dupattas, huge old main building and lush green hockey field talked about the grandeur and legacy of MGD in her extempore topic. But today the spirit of MGD is alive in me because of the values that I uphold. 

I appreciate school for everything it offered but I am the most delighted with my association, because someone said ' MGD is a school where you are not judged by the size of your car'. I learnt being a better human in MGD through Hanuman ji's smile, Ms. Suniti's wisdom, Col. Sangwan's energy, and Sanchi jija's charisma. I vividly remember Jane jija picking up ice-cream wrappers in the school campus and saying “it's my school if I will not clean it who will”, that's how dear MGD is to MGDians. And hence today MGD to me is all the inspirational MGDians, I came across in twelve years of my school life.

Thank you,

Vama Singh Shekhawat

Batch of 2019

 

Ghazal Qadri, Batch of 2013

HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Kalinika Kumari Makrana batch 1999(Grand daughter of Ms Lalit Kumari Raghogargh batch of 1955) on her wedding with Lavi Mutha, on 21st Feb 2023.

Neha Surana Dhadda batch of 1999 on becoming Chairperson FICCI FLO Jaipur 2023-24.

Saloni Lalwani Patni Batch of 1989 on the marriage of her daughter Sonakshi to Yash on 23rd March 2023

Poonam Rathore Chauhan batch of 1987 on the marriage of her daughter Shivika to Ritubhan on 24th February 2023.

Rani Bansal Gupta batch of 1983 on the marriage of her daughter Ananya to Raghav on 22nd February 2023

Renu Sharma batch of 1983 on the marriage of her son Abhinav to SugandhaOn 3rd November 2022

Archana Singh (Candy Singh) batch of 1980 on the marriage of her son Kr Devvrat Singh Rathore to Dr Reeya Singh on 22nd February 2023.

Ritu Mahendra batch of 1983 Who is blessed with a grand son on 24th December 2022

Snigdha Golecha Parakh Batch of 1980 on the birth of a grand daughter Adira on 25th January 2023.

Neha Bhatia batch of 2003 Design Innovation award 2019 For her contribution to the development of Kundan jadau Meenakari awarded by Ministry of Textiles, Govt of India.

Dr Sheenu Jhawar batch of 1990 for becoming the first Woman President of TIE Rajasthan.

Dr Ankita Chandak for being awarded “Young Paediatric Dentist of the Year”

Aarushi Narwani batch of 2016 for being a Topper of NEET. PG 2023

Tee foundations Women Achiever Awards 2023to Sunita Khawad Shah batch of 1983 for recieving an award for social services on Women's Day.

Nikita Nemani Mansinghka batch of 1972 for receiving an award from Tee Foundations Women Achiever Awards 2023 on Women's Day.

Principal Mrs Archana Mankotia and Colonel Sangram Singh Mankotiaon the birth of a grand daughter born on 4th May 2023 to Devika and Abhishek.

 

 

HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO

Anjum Chaturvedi batch of 1983 on the passing away of her mother Smt Shakuntla Kumar on 16th March 2023. May the departed soul attain sadgati ॐशान्तिॐ

Sunita Surana Chhajlani Batch of 1983 on the passing away of her mother, Smt Amar Kumari Surana on 14th March 2023. May the departed soul attain sadgati ॐशान्तिॐ

Rawat family on the passing away of Smt Madhuri Devi Rawat on 3rd March 2023.

Daughter Sandhya Gupta batch of 1975, Niece Usha Khandelwal batch of 1972 Grand daughters, Ruchi Gupta - 1990, Priti Sabu - 1992, Trisha Dangayach, Shefali Agarwal -2002, Saloni Gotawala-2004, Chandni Aggarwal - 2008. May the departed soul attain sadgati ॐशान्तिॐ

Mrs Suniti Sharma former principal MGD School on the passing away of her mother on 5th February 2023. May the departed soul attain sadgati ॐशान्तिॐ

 

Nalini Mehta batch of 1961 on the sad demise of her husband Shri C S Mehta on 27th January 2023 and to daughters Gitanjali Mehta Jain batch of 1985 Priyanjali Mehta Sarraf batch of 1989 and to sister in laws

Vanmala Mehta batch of 1958 Nisha jyoti mehta Bahadur batch of 1973. May the departed soul attain sadgati ॐशान्तिॐ

Anita Barjatya Vijayvargia 1985 Vinita Barjatya chhabra -1988 On the passing away of their mother Smt Mahima Barjatya on 25th January 2023.  May the departed soul attain sadgati.ॐशान्तिॐ

Pratibha Kumari (Pattu) batch 1960& her family on the passing away of her husband Prabhakar Singh on 8 January 2023. May the departed soul attain sadgati ॐशान्तिॐ

Shivina Kumari and Rupina SinghOn the passing away of their father Dr. Shivraj Singh(husband of late Manju Kumari Singh) who passed away on 13th December 2022.May the departed soul attain sadgati. ॐशान्तिॐ

 

 

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Chandralekha Mathur 

(Sahai, 1954) 

Chief Editor

Editors :

Meenakshi Hooja (Mathur, 1968)

9413337959

Pranati Lunia (Golecha, 1972)

Aparna Khurana (1997)

Ankur Jaipuria (1992)

 

MGD Girls Guild, 

MGD Girls School,

Sawai Ram Singh Road, 

Jaipur 302001

Tel: 8905181885

Email: mgdgirlsguildjaipur@gmail.com 

 

Website: 

www. mgdgirlsguild.org

CHANDRALEKHA MATHUR

CONDOLENCES to Mrs Brijpal Aneja, our Iconic Dance Teacher at MGD .


 Mrs Brijpal Aneja, our Iconic Dance Teacher at MGD .
She joined MGD when I was in my final year 1955. She was a couple of years older then us the final year students . Miss Lata Gupta had retired , she came in as a  young , fresh, enthusiastic & innovative dance teacher. We tested her like we do to all new teachers , but she took all our pranks in her stride ! We loved her classes from the word go.
Later she as a part of MGD teachers faculty attended my wedding in 1960 . She is in my wedding photographs.
Then I lost contact with the her as I traversed the globe with my husband who was serving in the Army .
Then at our school’s Golden jubilee celebration we met up again, now as friends. She was centre stage with all the dance events performed by the Guild.
She was a star at our reunions. She brought in so much joy & love . I was hoping she would be with us at this 80th Anniversary celebrations of the School, but almighty willed it otherwise.
Earlier on passing away of her brother , she took charge of the family business of Musical instruments at Dehradun .
She wished to donate some musical instruments to MGD , her second home . School was unable to collect them due to various reasons.
I have been Constantly in touch her .I spoke with her about a couple of weeks ago when she was in Deheradun, not feeling too good. Later spoke with Chunnu & was told she had moved to Delhi with her. I wasn’t able to speak with her as her health had further deteriorated.
Few days later she was no more .
Her loss has been felt by one & all MGDians .
You will always be with us in spirit dear Mrs Aneja .
We will celebrate you at all our reunions .
Farewell dear friend !
Jane H Singh
( batch 1955 )

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Miss Aneja, as I will always remember her was such an important part of our schooling in MGD. Her energy and creativity and multi cultural innovation in performance was unparalleled. Her dance classes were enjoyable refreshing and memorable  making every student a performer! Miss Brijpal's stamina was awe inspiring. As we witnessed at our 50th reunion in 2019 she out did any one of us on the dance floor!  After her musical brother expired, she took over the renowned family business where the who's who came to buy the best. We were very blessed to have a person like her as a teacher in our lives.
Many of us use her dance moves even today when we dance. Our children would do the same moves making her dance live on for many generations.
Her life was well lived as she gave so much to one and all.
May her soul attain Sadhgati.

Vandana Singh Nadgar
( batch 1969)
------------------------------------------------------------------
The passing of Mrs Aneja , draws a curtain over a part of our lives too. Her’s was perhaps the most felt presence in school & even afterwards. With her name we can only associate joy , music , rhythm , dance , loads of fun & festivities.  Over the years , she taught dance to several thousands perhaps lakhs of students and prepared thousands for formal dance progs . In fact even after retirement , she helped exmgdians of various batches prepare their dances for the alumni functions.  She always laughed while teaching. Was so graceful .
I was in touch with her for several years .. after school. Visited her in Dehradun where she stayed with her brother who taught  music in Doon school.  Post retirement she would ocassionaly teach dance at Doon and other schools.  
She lived a full life.  She will always be remembered with love and respect . She will liven up the heavens with her dance and infectious smile.  Happy dancing Mrs Aneja.  

Sunita Bainsla ( batch 1982)

PRAFULLA (JANE) KUMARI

Guild News letter of January 2023

GUILD TODAY

Guild News letter 

January 2023

 

JANUARY 2023

PENNY THOUGHTS

MGD @ 80

Once again it’s that time of the year that brings a new beginning, a new dawn, a new perspective, a time to celebrate with your family and friends, a new resolve to look ahead to a year of happiness and cheer. On behalf of the MGD Girls Guild Executive Committee I wish you all a very happy, healthy & safe 2023.

 

Eighty years!!! In the life span of an individual, an octageranian it heralds a phase that brings added privileges of more respect, more care, more concern. Especially if you wear a head full of silver hair and walk with an elegant walking stick for support!! Eye sympathy and an instant extend of hands to guide you to a comfortable chair, in a gathering you are very likely to be the oldest person. I speak from experience. What you say is heeded and taken note of and I love it. In respect to an Institution it speaks of prestige, renown and a history to laud and praise. It’s name and fame spread even further, as it’s alumni bring more glory by their varied achievements and success stories holding the School flag high and flying. The prizes and commendations the present students win in the multiple competitions they participate adds to a glorious record.

 

Today our beloved alma mater stands on this high pedestal. Let us celebrate the hall mark year with elan and true MGDian spirit and style.

 

Stay Positive, test Negative!! This oxymoronic statement can be achieved in these Corona Times!!

Cheers.

Chandralekha Mathur.

( Nee Sahai -1954 Batch)

CHEIF EDITOR.

 

MGD GIRLS’ GUILD

The Guild is an umbilical cord that keeps the Alumni connected to the school and each other. It was revived during the Golden Jubilee of the school.

The Executive Committee consists of twelve diligent and dedicated volunteer Alumni. The Principal is De Facto advisor to the Committee. The membership as of now is mandatory, as the funds collected go towards replenishing the corpus. With the interest of the corpus we have been able to achieve the following. Creating and maintaining our Website, Face book, News letter, manufacturing Souvenirs. Creating and time to time updating Guild Digital Directory, published a coffee table book based on the History of MGD, produced a documentary on our founder Rajmata Saheb, the lives that she touched and transformed.

Guild has initiated three Annual Silver medals for student achievers in business studies. It also supports “Umang” – a school for differently abled children, and is now supporting the education of two girls of our staff.

Guild organizes a very popular Annual Dance Nite for the present senior students.

Ongoing expenses are towards the salary of our staff and day to day office expenses.

This year 2023, we are planning a mega reunion of the following batches

2020 - Silver 1995, Ruby 1980, Gold 1970

2021 - Silver 1996, Ruby 1981, Gold 1971

2022 - Silver 1997, Ruby 1982, Gold 1972  &

2023 - Silver 1998, Ruby 1983, Gold 1973.

They have got clubbed due to the covid pandemic but will now be a part of our school’s 80th Anniversary celebrations.

With all good wishes

Jane H.Singh (Batch 1955)

President

MGD Girls’ Guild

 

BUSY BEES

IPSC Service Project 

MGD Girls' School hosted the "Parmartham"- IPSC Service Project from 2nd to 5th November 2022 under the guidance of Maharaja Jai Singh, Chairperson, MGD Girls' School Jaipur.

The four days project, in collaboration with NGOs, was attended by 11 guest IPSC teams and the host team.

The on-campus and off-campus activities were planned around pillars like- Service to Humanity, Service to Nature, Leadership, Nishtha and Sankalp.

In the Closing ceremony, the school presented a cheque to the blind school. The gathering was then addressed by Mr JN Bhargava and Ms Anna. Lastly, all the participants received their certificates from the Principal ma'am and the guests

VIDYAANJALI

Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' School, Jaipur hosted the first edition of 'Vidyaanjali', the annual Inter-school Liberal Arts cum Literary Fest in memory of our former Chairperson Rani Vidya Devi.

A variety of Performing and Liberal Arts events were:organised like Ramayana Role Play, Fairy Tale Recreation, E-Logo Designing, Board Game Designing, Radio Jockey Competition, Warli Art, Imaginative Composition Making and Hair and Makeup Styling.

.MGD Girls' School were declared the winner of Vidyaanjali 2022, however, the running trophy was passed on to the Runnerup Jayshree Periwal High School as part of school traditions.

 

IPSC HOCKEY

TOURNAMENT(U-19)

MGD Girls' School, Jaipur hosted the IPSC hockey (U-19) tournament from 27th to 30th September 2022 with nine participating schools. 

The most thrilling and exciting final match between MNSS RAI and RKC RAIPUR filled the atmosphere with exuberance. 

RKC RAIPUR won the match after free penalty strokes and took home the trophy.



 

MGD GUILD DANCE FEST 

On 15th of September the Hockey Field of MGD Girls' School was the venue for the 'MGD Guild Dance Fest' hosted by MGD Girls' Guild which is an annual opportunity for students from classes 9 to 12 to interact and enjoy with the Guild members. The event started at 6:00 and ended at 10:00.  There was a dance competition between all the batches and class 12 was declared the winner for the same. The first 3 positions received momentoes sponsored by our beloved Nirmala jija. The area was jam packed with around 800 beautifully dressed MGDians grooving to the peppy songs playing non 

stop. 

 

INTER-HOUSE ATHLETIC MEET

  MGD GIRLS' SCHOOL, JAIPUR organised an Inter House Athletic Meet from 16th-18th November 2022. As many as 500 participants and 31 events were a part of the event.

-The Chief Guest for the opening ceremony was Maj Gen KVS Lalotra AVSM, YSM, SM (Retd). In the end prizes were distributed by the Chief Guest and the vote of thanks was presented by the games and sports captain of the school, Swati Singh.

Over All House Positions :- 

1st Helen Keller House 

2nd Sarojini Naidu House 

3rd Madame Curie House 

4th Florence Nightingale House

Aparna Khurana nee Sengar

Batch of 1977

 

MY POETRY WORLD

The training of music at home and in School ( of course MGD ) , poems by world class writers in text books of Hindi and English laid the initial beginning of my interest in Poetry. As a traditional custom in our wedding ceremonies at home we had to write Dohas (four to eight lines in rhyme) on “Teehals” (sets of clothes) which were given as gifts. As a daughter, naturally I had to do that. The functions in School and later in College, so full of music, dance and drama further inspired me to enjoy rhyme and rhythm and foot tapping beats. During my Service career in Rajasthan I further had more than ample opportunity to savour songs, lyrics, poetry and dances, not only of Rajasthan but of other States/UT’s and even other countries.

Somehow this combination of music, dance and poetry motivated me to compose poems, albeit short ones , so as to keep my task within manageable parameters. It began with giving gifts of a set of poems to our boys Rajat and Rakshat in 1991/1992 when they were fourteen and twelve respectively. After a break for sometime, this gift system was fortunately revived. Thus writing poems in English became both a compulsion and a joy. The number of poems is fixed at their age plus one.

I also started writing in Hindi with a few words of Marwari, Urdu and Punjabi thrown in. Some of the poems in Hindi are in the form of lyrics or as they say set in Tarannum.

Mrs. Sheila Gujral, wife of late Prime Minister Shri I. K. Gujral greatly encouraged me to keep on writing and to go into publication. I was introduced to Shri Krishna Srinivas who regularly published my poems in his well known journal Poetry World. This was a great achievement for me because the journal inevitably included poems by A.B. Vajpayee, Abdul Kalam and other top writers.

Writing poems is like sharing your inner self with the world. It is a risk for you may get criticized but at the same time a great joy, as you are able to express and communicate. I enjoy writing on topics like nature, flowers, trees and birds, the changing seasons, experiences of travel, special events and of course views on current affairs, life and living and even administrative issues. It is indeed a creative exercise which I imagine also gives immense satisfaction to all those who read and write poetry.

In this context let me share one recent poetic endeavor.

A Poem

A Poem

is an expression

of thoughts, ideas

plans, hopes and dreams

They come fast

but go quickly as well

so recorded in a few lines

they remain much longer

touching aspects

of beauty and creativity

and filling hearts and minds

with joy and wonder

A poem

so easy to read

and not so difficult to write

in due course becomes

a pleasure and a treasure

Meenakshi Hooja nee Mathur

1968 batch

Composed on 16th November 2022, Wednesday

 

DAYS OF SCHOOL

Recollections

I remember entering MGD in July 1953. I was six years old and was awed by the huge school specially the Assembly hall with beautiful, sparkling chandeliers. It was raining and I felt shy so I hid behind my mother who was already teaching in the same school. Miss Lutter then called us to her bunglow where we had tea and snacks.

No one who has been taught by Miss Cherian can forget her. She made us so perfect in addition that we were very soon calculating without any aids like counting the small sticks we were given to add & subtract; or our fingers. She was a very strict teacher. She was also my hostel warden or house mistress as was the parlance those days.

I learnt a lot as the days went by. Firstly I learnt to speak & understand the English language. I felt it was a great achievement because when I entered the school I didn’t know either Hindi or English. I had come from a Bangla background. Soon I was doing very well in my English tests. We learnt a lot of games and swimming which I loved.

Dining together was a ritual. We couldn’t enter the dining room for dinner in our sports kit for dinner. I still remember the prayer we sang before sitting down for our meals. The house mistress and another teacher sat on either sides of the long table keeping watch on

Our table manners.

I still remember most of the teachers who taught me. Miss Benjamin was our class teacher in the 5th standard. She also taught us health science and maths. She was a stickler for neatness and tidiness. She became our House mistress too & checked our cupboards regularly.

I could go on and on about the lively learning time we spent in MGD. It’s the very foundation of my life and my future career. Miss Lutter and Miss Emma became the bed rock of my life and so did the education given by my teachers I shall always be beholden to them who have played such an important part in my life.

Ranjana Jaitly nee Mukherji.

Batch of 1961.

 

Oh Those School Girl Days….

Really what carefree days those were - even though there was strict discipline to be maintained. Though being in the hostel, we still managed to have loads of fun. My personal favourites were Friday nights and Sundays.

Fridays, because we were shown some of the best hindi movies after dinner , in the open area, outside Miss Lutter's office. I remember seeing Haqeeqat, Dosti, Hum Dono and Saat Hindustani. Those were the days of no mobile phones, or even TV, so it was magic, sitting in the open, under the stars, watching transfixed our favourite stars like Dev Anand and Dharamendra on the screen ! Absolutely unforgettable !

Sundays was our day of rest- no early morning PT, so we could sleep late. I still remember Miss Emma's Sunday  breakfast of spanish omelettes, stuffed with potatoes along with sauted liver ! What a treat ! 

We would wash our hair and loll in the sun. I would go to the Rose garden,with a book, rest against a tree, read and watch squirrels frolic. In fact,  I remember how we tried to keep one as a pet. Poor thing was kept in a bag, hanging over the bed and fed scraps stolen from the dining room ! Thank God I dont remember how long it survived on all this. And of course Sundays meant the tuck shop ! With the princely sum of Rs.10/- as pocket money, for the whole month, for seniors, we were ofcourse stone broke, within two Ssundays. All of us ran up an account with the dear old Mr. Chelaram ,of which I wonder how many paid up. I will go to my grave, with the guilt of still owing him some hundred rupees or so! My favourite was ice cream with coke, which today is famously called an 'ice cream float'. I think we invented it ! We also invented the now famous Dalgona coffee - how much of it we consumed, is unbelievable! It was our midnight feast- but it never managed to keep us awake.

Of course with all the fun we still managed to study and imbibe the unique culture and traditions of MGD- a wonderful blend of Indian and western. We  learnt to wear a saree in class 10, be respectful to our elders, and  keep our surroundings spotlessly clean. I will never forget Miss Lutter, bending down to pick up a piece of paper someone had thrown in the corridor and throwing it in the dustbin.

Those were the days, the memories of which still keep us young, fifty years later ! Miss you MGD!

Nandini  Sahai nee Thapan

Batch of 1972

 

I have very fond memories of our school. Going down the memory lane, first person I think of and remember very fondly is our principal Miss Lutter. She was a fine person and took great interest in each of us. After leaving school I happened to meet her after a few years when I came to Jaipur to settle down here. Miss Lutter recognised me immediately and took me on the board of governors of MGD.

I remember the small excursions and picnics, we were taken to from school. Specially the bus journeys together were great fun . We used to sing songs, play "antakshari", and shared all the food we  carried from home. The Teacher's Day used to be also enjoyable when the senior girls impersonated our beloved teachers.

I used to get the opportunity to be in the singing group for school functions .The whole experience was very enjoyable specially with Miss Brijpal now Mrs Aneja, making the girls dance so beautifully to her tunes. My greatest joy was when my daughter joined MGD.

Rajshri Sarawgi nee Barjyatya

Batch of 1961

 

The Cultural Heritage of MGD- "Jijas'

Ra ! Ra! MGD. It matters where you grow up.

It was the unforgettable year of 1975 when I got admitted to the school. I already had my cousins studying there and one can only imagine the joy of a five-year-old when she spots one of them in the corridor or on her way to the assembly. I would just beam with an admirable smile.

The journey with my school began and how over a tenure of twelve years, the written and unwritten rules of MGD shaped my belief, perception, relationships, and attitude to be the wholesome human being I am today. Words are not enough to thank thee! MGD has taught us, to have a magnanimous spirit to put in the best even in the smallest of endeavors undertaken. It has guided us in its physical and emotional safety net to embrace and celebrate learning, fulfillment, and well-being.

We were lucky to have teachers with high professional standards. I remember vividly, in Introductory which is grade one,Ms Cherian would be so particular about book covers and the wooden pencil box. At that time we were so terrified of her but today I thank her for it. It paved a path for orderliness in our primitive years.

My favorite memory is of the school fete in 1976. I was in Transition, grade two. Those days we used to have our school fete opposite the Principal's office. The fete was in its full swing, everyone was having a great time, mostly dancing with gay abandon. I got lost in the loud music and got away from my peer group. I looked everywhere and just could not find my friends. Then, my attention was caught by a few seniors dancing in salwar-kameez, with their dupattas bouncing with the rhythm of the song.I started to sway with their moves. One of the jija's noticed me and pulled me into their group. In seconds I was in the centre , with all of them clapping for me in appreciation. It instantly created a warm bond. I never hesitated to approach my seniors and kind of took pride in calling them jijas. Till date, it continues.

Ranjana Tewari nee Purohit

Batch 1987



 

New Education Policy 

Our unique old Gurukul Pedagogy wrapped in Modern Paper is our New Nep. What was Gurukul education , where children came and learnt Languages , way of living life, skill base education, peer learning, respect and gratitude for what has been bestowed upon and this is exactly what Nep says.

Bridging Modern Educational Learning  with Advanced Ancient Vedic wisdom. When we elaborate this we first ENGAGE the child and let the child's thinking from Abstract to Concrete that is from lot to hot to clarify mind. Next We let the child Navigate this is deriving learning outcomes from book experiences to real life experiences. so Nep talks about linking real life with book knowledge to establish the facts.

Thirdly we generate learning outcomes which are visible, shareable and modifiable. Next it talks about to apply knowledge to create a portfolio for every child according to 21st century skills.

Next it talks about assessing the child and last but not the least to plan a improvement plan for the child.  this is how New Nep focuses on HOW TO LEARN RATHER THAN WHAT TO LEARN, for example if we wish to teach adjectives to a child we create a mystery story and try to relate book knowledge via real time knowledge by adding suitable adjectives to every character. Another example can be if we wish to teach critical thinking skills to a child we try to ask alternative endings to any story so that the child thinks and comes up with unique ideas with peers, this enables peer learning and we engage the child fruitfully too. Thus  learning like this  helps to understand the important skills connected to critical and creative thinking, problem solving, collaboration and communication skills to develop 21st century individuals. Overall it makes education INTERACTIVE AND REALSTIC.

Ankur himmatramka nee Jaipuria

Batch of 1992

 

Ghazal Qadri , Batch of 2013

 

CONGRATULATIONS 

Malashri Lal nee Mukherji batch of 1964.

Prof. Malashri Lal, received the

HH Rajmata Gayatri Devi Award for Women’s Excellence on 22 October 2022 at the Sawai Jaipur Awards ceremony at the City Palace. Author, academic and social worker in Rajasthan and Delhi, Malashri Lal has sixteen books to her credit and is known for leading women’s empowerment activities for four decades. Her academic career has been at the University of Delhi from where she retired as Professor, Department of English, and Dean of Colleges. She continues her volunteer work with the Guild of Service as Convener for Rajasthan, and Secretary General of  SANWED.

 

Proud of Chaitali Panmei batch of 1984 Congratulations !

She was working in Mumbai as Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Central). Now on promotion as Principal Chief Commissioner posted in Bangalore, in charge of Karnataka & Goa.

 

Ms Namita Kachhawah Gir from the batch of ‘68 received the `Woman Acharya of the Year’ award for her exceptional work and outstanding contribution in the sector of education at Asia’s biggest Women Dominance Conference, Fest & Awards, featuring the Icons of Asia & Woman. Leaders Forum on December 20th, 2022 at Radisson Blu, New Delhi.

She has 47 years of teaching experience and now has her own school in Shyam Nagar - ‘I Excel High School’ which was earlier known as Pre School.

 

Congratulations to Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee (husband of late Nisha Chatterjee batch of 1972)

On the birth of grandson Bhrigu on 17th May 2022.

 

Congratulations to Rajnigandha Shekhawat batch of 1992 on receiving Radiocity Rajasthan Radiance Award for Folk Music.

 

Congratulations to Dr. Sheenu Jhawar batch of 1990, Director of Apex Hospitals was awarded the “Rajasthan Radiance Award” for Excellence in the category of “Innovation in Telemedicine App” for the year 2022 by Radio City.

Congratulations to Seema Palaria Sharma batch of 1972 on becoming grandmother to a baby boy on 11th January 2023.

 

Meenu Mathur batch of 1972 on becoming a grandmother to a baby girl on 11th January 2023



 

CONDOLENCES

Heartfelt Condolences  to 

Babita Moody, batch of 1983

Sharmilla Galundia, batch of 1985

Rashmi Killa, batch of 1991Agarwal sisters' on the passing away of their mother Smt Manjula Devi Agarwal on 23rd November 2022. May God give solace to the family . May the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति ?

 

Heartfelt Condolences to Anita Surana batch of 1968. To Shubha Surana on the passing away of her father Shri Vimal Surana on 10th November 2022. May the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति 

 

Heartfelt Condolences to Nirmala Surana Durlabhji batch of 1973 on the passing away of her brother Shri Vimal Surana and to Neha Surana Dhadda batch of 1999,

Nidhi Surana Kothary batch of 1999

on the passing away of their Kakasa on 10th November 2022. May God give solace to the family to bear this loss and may the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति 

 

Heartfelt Condolences to the family of  Ms Shyam Wali batch of 1951

who passed away on 16th Sept 2022. May the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति 

 

Heart felt Condolences to Rajni Nagar Shankar batch of 1972 on the passing away of her husband Shri Charan Shankar on14th September 2022. May God give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss and may the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति 

 

Heartfelt condolences to Daughters Swapna Kulkarni Tyagi Batch of 1981 Sona Jain Tyagi Batch of 1983, Granddaughter Bhagyashree Jain Batch of 2019, Sister Aruna Kalia nee Sharma Batch of 1972 on the passing away of Dr Mrs Shanta Jain on 2nd September 2022.May the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति 

 

Heartfelt condolences to the family of Suniti Shekhwat (daughter inlaw batch of 1980) on the passing away of Ms Chand Kumari Chittora, batch of 1950 on 30th August 2022 .May the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति 

 

Heartfelt Condolences to the family of Durgesh Nandini (Bissau) batch of 1957, who passed away on 29th December 2022.May the departed soul attain sadgati. शान्ति

 

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Chandralekha Mathur 

(Sahai, 1954) 

Chief Editor

Editors :

Meenakshi Hooja (Mathur, 1968)

9413337959

Pranati Lunia (Golecha, 1972)

Aparna Khurana (1997)

Ankur Jaipuria (1992)

 

MGD Girls Guild, 

MGD Girls School,

Sawai Ram Singh Road, 

Jaipur 302001

Tel: 8905181885

Email: mgdgirlsguildjaipur@gmail.com 

 

Website: 

www. mgdgirlsguild.org

CHANDRALEKHA MATHUR

MGD Guild Dance Fest 2022

It is said that soulful dancing is the poetry by feet . There are many shortcuts to ultimate happiness, and dancing is one of those  beautiful ways .

Honouring our school motto " Our utmost for the highest ",  and following the  tradition , the  much - awaited yearly dance extravaganza " MGD  Guild  Dance Fest " was held on 15 th September, 2022.

Hundreds of lovely girls clad in colourful ethnic dresses performed mesmerising dances on foot tapping music and songs , creating thousands of rainbows on the ground.

A spectacular dance competition was held between 9 th , 10 th , 11 th and 12 th std . 12 th std(2022) was declared as the fair winner by the judges  Archana Mankotia ( Principal), Maya Sharma and Meenakshi Rathore.

The programme ended with mouth -watering culinary feast and millions of take home memories.

Dr. Vinita Patni
1983 batch

 

VINITA PATNI

Newsletter August 2022

GUILD TODAY.

AUGUST 2022

PENNY THOUGHTS.

MGD @ 80

August 12, 2022 we usher in the 80th year of the founding of our beloved alma mater. 

In these eight decades we have seen a path breaking idea transforming, evolving and flowering into a prestigious temple of learning. As the years rolled by we have witnessed the outcome of dedicated perseverance on a bedrock of fine traditions and abiding values. These fundamental guidelines have given MGD a distinctive ethos, unparalleled and unsurpassed!!

On this landmark occasion we bow in reverence to our founder, Late HH Rajmata Saheba Gayatri Devi ji,  our Board of Governors, our Principals, our dedicated Teachers, our Leaders, our Office Staff, our Support Staff, our Parents and all the generations of persons associated with the school. Today we rededicate ourselves towards transmitting this beautiful gift Bigger, Better and more Beautiful than it was transmitted to us… our sacred School Pledge that rings in our hearts always.

Guild Today  awakens to a new dawn after two and a half years of enforced hibernation. The ominous announcement on National Television on the 23rd March 2020 of a total Lockdown of the entire Nation swept us all into an unprecedented situation, a sledgehammer blow that knocked out all sanity and rational sense of the populace . It was bewildering and totally disorientating  as wave after wave hit the country, from metros to far flung villages, caught unprepared for the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and its lethal side effects. From the burning , smouldering ashes and tragedy the nation is rising phoenix like.  One of the many catastrophic fall out of the aftermath has been the loss of two whole years of school time for the young. The pressure of ON LINE” classes on children and their teachers has taken a heavy toll on growing children and robbed them of the joy of work and play with their peer groups. The uncertainty of date, format and results of entrance tests for professional courses have jeopardised many budding careers.

Let us rise above all these challenges and resolve to regroup, reconnect and revive our reunions.

Happy  Eightieth to MGD and all MGDians.

Chandralekha Mathur 

( nee  Sahai. Batch of 1954)

EDITOR.


Rani Vidya Devi ji

The MGD Girls Guild pays their humble and affectionate tribute to the memory of Rani Vidya Devi Ji on her first “Punya tithi” on 20th August 2022.

We are privileged to welcome Maharaj Jai Singh Ji as the Chairperson of the MGD Girls School.

______________________________________________________

BUSY BEES

JULY

1. INVESTITURE CEREMONY

Investiture Ceremony   July 7, 2022

 M.G.D GirlsSchool, Jaipur organized the Investiture Ceremony for the newly appointed Student Council for 2022-23 on 7th July 2022.

In an orientation session for the newly appointed Student Council, the Principal reiterated the five qualities that made one a true leader: Honesty, Vision, Teamwork, Growth and learning, and Transformational leadership.

JUNE

1. ORIENTATION SESSION FOR NEW ADMISSIONS CLASS XI

2. YOGA DAY  MGD Girlsschool, Jaipur celebrated International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2022. The programme was attended by His Highness Maharaj Jai Singh Ji, Members of the Board of Governors, Principal Mrs Archana S Mankotia, Administrative Officer Col SS Sangwan, Staff and students.

3. YOUNG IDEATOR'S CONCLAVE 2022

MGD GirlsSchool participated in the Jim Corbett-Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant- F.G. Pearce Memorial Young Ideators Conclave hosted by Birla Vidya Mandir, Nainital from 27th to 30th May 2022. 33 Schools from across the country participated in this online event.

4. DAINIK BHASKAR JUNIOR EDITOR 6

Junior Editor-6, a pan India Newspaper Designing competition organized by Dainik Bhaskar in which over 25000 students from across India enthusiastically participated. The participants got a chance to create their own newspaper through a pre-designed broadsheet layout and were required to pen their ideas on different topics such as book reviews, editorials, national and international news, sports, comic strip, start-up idea, advertisements, dream careers and much more.

We are proud to share that Falguni Gupta of class 10 E secured the Second Position (in the Category of classes 9 and 10) and Riddhima Gupta of class 6 F bagged the Third Position (in the category of classes 5 and 6). Both students received Fastrack Smart Watches and Certificates of Achievement.

The Award ceremony was graced by Deepa Malik, Rio Paralympic Silver Medallist, Padmashri, Khel Ratna and Arjuna awardee.

5. SOCIAL SERVICE CAMP

The Indian Women Blog in collaboration with Maharani Gayatri Devi GirlsSchool, organized a ten-day Social Service Summer camp Back To School, from 18th to 27th May 2022, comprising various activities like public speaking, creative writing, environmental craft classes, science activities and sports classes at Triveni Nagar and MGD GirlsSchool.

MAY

1. Design Thinking Course Session 2

2. CONGRATULATIONS - 

MGD is proud of our girls for their commendable achievements  -

 Aashita Singal ( class 10th ) has completed her first Mountaineer Trek to Everest Base Camp” 5364 Meters/ 17,600 feet on 10th May 2022. The journey to EBC started on 30th April 2022 and the trek started on 2nd May 2022 and she reached EBC on 10th May 2022.

AKSHITA TEJWANI ( class 10th D) secured  the First Position classwise and thus became the  National winner of AAROHAN 2022, BITS Pilani among 6000 students pan India going through two rounds of the event.

8. Virtual Exchange Program (MGDVEP)

‘City Through My Lens’

INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL EXCHANGE i-SMSC 2022

Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School has embarked on a yet another novel journey with its second Virtual Exchange Program (MGDVEP). The program is a manifestation of the Principal, Mrs Archana S Mankotia’s vision to help students develop themselves, thus contributing to society from an early age and promoting self-development through a life-changing experience. This program will not only broaden personal perspectives but also will let the students see the world, experience a new culture through an exploration of one’s City, its Architecture, Culture, Cuisine, Language and Tourism related USP.

A group of 30 students from MGD School are participating in this online exchange programme hosted by i-SMSC, SMJK SHING CHUNG, Malaysia under the guidance of the Cultural Coordinator Ms. Cherry Goyal, Senior Faculty Members, Ms. Dipti Mahajan and Ms. Sunita Rathore. Four schools, from Malaysia, Pakistan and India are a part of this programme, connecting via virtual platform, Google Meet. The objective of the project is to give an opportunity to students to communicate, exchange ideas and foster goodwill.

10. MGD Girls' School, Jaipur,  in association with Extramarks Counsellors ,conducted the 6 day One- on- One Counselling Sessions for students of class X  (2022-2023), from 25th- 30th April 2022. For the boarders, their parents were requested to join through the Zoom link.

 

11. Heartiest Congratulations to Yashasvi Katta for getting selected in India under 19 women's cricket camp.

Best wishes

☆APRIL

3. Boarders Talent Hunt-

On the eve of April 24th, 2022, MGD Girls' School, Jaipur hosted a Talent Hunt event for the New  Boarders of grades I to X, providing them with a platform to showcase their talent in any discipline. As is customary at MGD, the Talent Hunt event welcomed new students into the MGD family. The students not only demonstrated their ability, but they also found inspiration to come forward and demonstrate their latent potential. Students demonstrated various skills such as dance, singing, impersonation, instrument playing, painting exhibitions, and so on. The audience had a great time watching the newcomers execute incredible feats. The evening concluded with the Principal, Mrs. Archana S. Mankotia, congratulating each student on their tremendous courage in participating and warmly welcoming the new entrants to the MGD boarding family

 

4. The Puneet Sagar Abhiyan,

It Was conducted successfully under the joint aegis of Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' School and NCC Cadets of Maharani College, Jaipur, on 25 April 2022.

The NCC cadets cleaned the area around Talkatora, performed a street play and encouraged the people present there to use paper, cloth or jute bags instead of plastic bags. They also requested the the people to plant a tree each in their home or in public places like parks and take care of those trees so that we could save our Earth from the impact of  Global Warming. They were guided in this endeavor by Lieutenant Deepika Chaudhary and Chief Officer Anjali Sharma.

5. MGD Girls' School, Jaipur , organised a Global University Fair on the 25th April 2022, in collaboration with ICAE, wherein  a few universities from India along with some  of the top  universities abroad visited  the school campus. Universities like

Ashoka university

O.P. Jindal Global university,

Plaksha university

Shivnadar university

Flame university, Europe, Switzerland, Australia, USA and many more countries came under one roof to meet 500 students of Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ SchoolThe fair gave students a good insight and was very helpful.

8. FUCHSIA 2022 a five day  event was organised in the school.

11. Parent Orientation programme: 2022-23

The school organised an orientation programme for the parents of the new students in Prep Section in April, 2022. The parents were welcomed and taken through a brief history of the institution. The vision of the Founder and the expectations of the school from the new MGDians were shared with the parents. The Royal Reformer, a film on HH Rajmata Gayatri Devi Ji Saheba of Jaipur, was shown to the parents. The Orientation was conducted by Ms Priyamvada Rawat.

The Principal, Ms Archana S Mankotia, addressed the parents and pointed out the difference between syllabus and curriculum. She motivated the parents to join the school in its efforts for effective implementation of the curriculum.

The Prep Coordinator, Ms Puri welcomed the parents and shared the experiential learning approach in class transactions. She briefed them about new activities like no bag days, project based assignments etc.

12. *Fare thee well class XII

    Farewell to the most amazing and special class ever.

AU REVOIR* .

You have proved your mettle in numerous ways. You rose to the occasion always.

The Farewell for the Batch of 2022 was held on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 in the  Main building of the school which was beautifully decorated and lit up.

 Students of class 11 welcomed the Jijas of the Batch of 2022.  A series of dance performances showcasing the fun of school life were put up by the students of class 11.There were different categories of awards for class 12  including awards like the Mithali Raj of the Batch, the one with a Million-dollar smile and indeed Miss Farewell, Tech- Wiz, Picasso, Life of the Party and so on. The Batch of 2022  also gave dance performances followed by the cake cutting ceremony where the Principal Mrs. Archana S. Mankotia did the honours. The Student Council members along with the teachers were also present for the same.

The air was tinged with emotion and nostalgia as students took photographs around the majestic school building where they had spent their childhood and grown up into well groomed girls.

13. JAIPUR DARSHAN -  DAY TOUR FOR BOARDERS

To commemorate the start of the 2022-23 academic year, a day excursion was organised for boarders that was both enjoyable and instructive. A total of 104 students and 5 staff members were present. The students left at 7:30 a.m. in luxury AC buses, with their first stop being Jaipur's iconic Amber Fort, followed by visits to City Palace and Jantar Mantar. They then enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at the well-known Masala Chownk, a one-stop shop for several delicacies. Following lunch, the students walked to another site, Albert Hall, where they marveled at the magnificent display.

As they drove passed Birla Mandir and WTP, the students were filled with awe for these iconic landmarks. Along with the travel organizers, there were three tour guides who assisted the students in understanding the history and significance of each location and monument they visited or passed. At 4:30 p.m., the students returned to their hostels with mementos and souvenirs.

A day well spent.....

16. Kaizen-Personality Development Module

Session-1

I, Me and Myself

Date-8th April 2022

MGD Girls’ School, Jaipur, in continuation to its extraordinary feat under the vision of its Principal, Mrs Archana S Mankotia, initiated Personality Development and Confidence Building Sessions for its students in the boarding house across classes II to XII.

The first session under this series for the Academic year 2022-23 was conducted on 8th April 2022 for all students who’ve joined the boarding this year. This session was conducted by Ms Cherry Goyal, Cultural Coordinator of the school, ELT Expert and Teacher Trainer. The title of the session was “I, Me and Myself”. This session was really interactive, fruitful and efficacious and all the students went back more confident and high-spirited, thanking the Principal, School and Ms Cherry.

17. A career Awareness program was organized for XII class students by NIIT University on the 8th of April, 2022. Nearly 148 girls from Science, Commerce and Humanities participated in it. Information about the different scholarships offered by  N U was highlighted . It was an enriching session by Dr. Neha Tiwari.

19. Paradise- A Date With ART !!

An Art Show was put up by the students of the Prep Section of MGD Girls' School. This exhibition was titled," Paradise -  is not a place, it is a state of mind." Each work of art by the students proved this adage true by giving the visitors a glimpse of Paradise through their artwork.

 The Principal Mrs Archana S Mankotia inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of the Admin Officer , the coordinators , the teachers ,the artists , and parents.  The show was curated by the Prep Coordinator Ms Benu Puri.

APARNA KHURANA

Batch of 1997

 

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News from MGD GirlsGuild.

Hi Girls,

Greetings from the Guild Executive Committee.

Covid has given us respite now. Hopefully the situation will remain like this !

Being optimistic the Guild Executive Committee has emerged from hibernation and made plans for the coming year.

This year the only Guild Annual activity will be The Dandiya Nite for senior students of class 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th on 3rd Sept. 2022

Guild members who wish to join are welcome. For any queries contact the Guild office, Ms.Smita # +91 8905181885 during office hours  - 9 am to 1 oclock

        

We will be celebrating MGDs  80th (OAK) anniversary next year i.e.2023

  1. The mega reunion and of the following batches will take place on 16th& 17th Dec 2023
  2. 2020  -  Gold  -  1970  -  Ruby  -  1980  -  Silver  -  1995
  3. 2021  -  Gold  -  1971  -  Ruby  -  1981  -  Silver  -  1996
  4. 2022  -  Gold  -  1972  -  Ruby  -  1982  -  Silver  -  1997
  5. 2023  -  Gold  -  1973  -  Ruby  -  1983  -  Silver  -  1998

(The first 3 batches are covid casualty).

Following is the proposed plan for the event.

16th Saturday, Dec 2023  -  Venue -  School  - Post lunch  - Felicitation of the above batches, followed by Ghoomer by each batch and then dinner in the school.

17th Sunday, Dec 2023  - Morning  -  visit the school, go down memory lane with your friends  meet the Principal and the Teachers.

Afternoon  -  Polo and High Tea at Rambagh Polo Ground.

Evening  -  Social get together with spouse / escort - music, dance and dinner at Rambagh Palace.

There is a package deal for all the activities. Final details and cost will be intimated later.

The two days program is organized for all the Alumni.

The Guild Digital Directory  -  It will be great if all our Alumni are listed in the Directory,  by schools 80th anniversary.  (It is essential to be a Guild Member to be in the Directory) For any queries regarding the directory, contact person is

Ms. Sarandha (Batch 1983), Member Guild Executive Committee.

Cell # +91 9116048112 , Email : mgdgirlsguildjaipur@gmail.com

School souvenirs will be on sale on Sunday the 17th.

Look forward to celebrating the 80th anniversary of our school together.

Wish you all the best.

Jane H.Singh (Batch 1955), President, MGD GirlsGuild

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75 Years of MGD and Golden Jubilee of our 1968 batch

Our batch of 1968 was highly excited to take part in the December 2018 celebrations of 75 years of MGD, which also marked our Golden Jubilee. Thus we prepared actively for the programmes,  so caringly  scheduled by the School and MGD GirlsGuild.

Twenty eight of use from different places  including nine from abroad, got together  on Thursday  20th December 2018 itself .  Abanti , Nonika and Suman  came from Delhi, Pam, Ritu and Neelima Mehra from Mumbai, Madhuri and Krishna from Kolkata , Deepika from Lucknow,  Sunita Lal from Dehradun, Sudha from Udaipur, Mridula and Rupa from Pune. Bharati and Renuka from UK, Jyoti, Shahana, Sunita Chadha, Baljinder and Chitra  from the US, Neelima Sapru and Arti from  Canada.  All except us Jaipurites -  Anita, Aruna, Namita, Mickey, Purnima and Meenakshi,   checked in at Giri Sadan, a warm and cozy place run by Giri Jija of 1967 batch. All the efforts made for arrangements of travel, lodging showed on our cheerful faces as we came in by flights and road. The greetings were expectedly hyper as many of us were meeting after fifty years.

The evening was a special get-together of our batch at Shikar Bagh of Narayan  Niwas, especially taken care of by Namita Kachhawah, with drinks and dinner and all round smiles and chatter in the glittering environment. Inside and outside the building,  we had a relaxed time getting to know the latest updates about each other

The next day, 21st Friday  was a relaxed morning and some of us went to the Bazaar organised by the Guild  at Diggi Palace. For a very tasty, snacky lunch organised by Neelima Mehra,  we all got together at the Golf  club, laughed and joked and planned out our evening and next two days.

Then we walked over to the Polo  ground, met the other MGDians, teachers and watched the well played out Polo  match and enjoyed tea and snacks. More hectic activity and excitement lay ahead of us as we headed to DiggiPalace for the evening of Ghoomar Dances done by 7 groups to represent 7 decades. Well, watching our batch girls dance, it did not feel that they were 65 plus and their performance was a show stealer.

The next day 22nd December 2022  Saturday, began in a solemn  way with a gathering at the Quiet corner to pay our respects to Miss Lutter our founder Principal to whom we all owe so much. This was followed by the  Special Assembly programme  in which all of us , as the Golden Jubilee batch dressed in golden hue sarees, went on stage. We  were introduced by Abanti, our batch Vice  president of  School Council after an address by Neelima Sapru, our Head Girl.  Vote of thanks by Poornima Patni, Deputy Head Girl of our batch followed.  Compering was done by yours truly, Meenakshi Mathur. 

We presented a Souvenir book of our batch prepared with a lot of effort put in by Namita , Mickey , Anita , Purnima and,  and received momentos from Rani Vidya ji and Jane Jija. It was an ennobling moment.  We also gave  cheques of a total Rs 1.24 lacs for the School development which was a collection from each of the 28 of us making a donation. An  Annual running trophy for the Best all rounder of class X was gifted to our  dear Alma mater and small trophies with citation to  Miss Brijpal and Miss Nanda, our beloved teachers who were present on the occasion .

Thereafter followed the  lunch in the lawns with cake cutting and chatting and an evening of gala dance and dinner at Rambagh. As we were the Golden batch, we  decided to have our own dinner at Giri Sadan, which went late into the night with more  sharing of experiences.  

23 rd December 2022, Sunday was the day for goodbyes and farewells as we set out to catch our flights and take our taxis, packing our suitcases and hearts with the most fond and enjoyable memories.

We are grateful to the School and the Guild, especially Jane Jija for her energetic support and making this get-together truly memorable for us as we continue to meet on whatsapp, web meetings and whenever possible in small groups.

Three Cheers for MGD!!!

Meenakshi Mathur Hooja

1968 batch

Tele 94133795

______________________________________________________

 

FROM GOLDEN GIRLS OF 2022

SMORIES- Stories & memories shared after 3 decades, on the grounds that groomed me.

I took a walk down the memory lane of my life as I stepped on to the stage-

The same stage where I faced the audience first ever, decades ago

It felt so different:

The stride was steady

The butterflies at rest in the belly

The pulse beat at it's own pace

The mic held like the pencil then

With the comfort of the eraser in my pockets

It felt like home, and each one like family

Welcoming opens arms, to hold tight and tap my back

The words spilled from my heart and touched those around

The childhood hostel pranks

The craving for food

The yearning for love

The first crush

The tomboy transitioned into lady, with her own constants

Getting back to square one

Half a century down the life lane, feels like I just began the walk. Once again, child like I took a walk down the memory lane of my life.

Anupama Agarwal Bajaj

Batch of 1989

Reminiscing School days with a smile

2022 is the Golden Anniversary year for the girls who passed out of our Alma Mater in 1972. Yes, we are the Golden Girls.

Is it really 50 years?????? We have grown from giggling school girls to doting grandmothers, but the heart easily transforms into the heart of a school girl when we reflect on our school days with a smile.

Sam Bellow, the famous writer, has rightly said,” No school without spectacular eccentrics and crazy hearts is worth attending.” And we did enjoy every moment, each one of us with a particular eccentricity and craziness.

What we remember the most are the memories we created with everyone associated with the school, be it friends, teachers, and many others. So many memories, sweet, bitte  embarrassing. Yet the best are those that bring a smile to your face.

Mr. Rendall, our Physics teacher in ISC, soft-spoken & gentle, a retired professor from BITS Pilani, how difficult it must have been for him to teach a group of girls certainly not interested in the subject. We had managed to remove the R from his nameplate outside the Physics Lab and it read Mr endall (end-all). He coaxed and cajoled, treated us to tea/coffee and biscuits probably with the hope that it would draw us to the class, but that was not to be. Playing truant in his class we considered our birthright. Many of us left our exam copies completely blank. I can never forget his telling us with exasperation,“ Girls, sprinkle a few drops of ink on your copies but dont leave them blank.”Dear Sir, we may have forgotten Physics, but you will always be remembered with fondness. For those who might not know, his daughter is the wife of the famousVishwa Mohan Bhatt, the legendary Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan Veena.

Which Science student does not remember the Chemistry teacher Ms. H. Gupta aka Mercury because of her initials Hg, the chemical symbol of the element? Another sweet and gentle teacher. Once a day scholar brought fresh cucumbers from her farm for the class. I remember the lab assistant, Mr. Ram Lal, saying, “ Kuchh Sodium Chloride (the chemical name for salt) laoon? A true Chemistry class with Hg and NaCl.

The memories will never end.

Kiran Bist

Batch of 1972

                               I count myself lucky

I count myself lucky and fortunate to have studied in the prestigious M.G.D ... a school steeped in tradition and good values.The Principal Miss Lutter's advise for women " to never be without a needle and thread", would hardly go down well perhaps with the present generation of girls , but has  served masny of us well.

School life was comfortable ,stable yet exciting with good friends and dedicated teachers.... my favourite being Ms Nanda and Ms Mehta. But my most memorable year (1977 to 1978) was when I came back toMGD to teach grade 4  (P2) . I even got to direct a play which won 1st prize !.

I went around showing off to everyone as to how I was so swiftly hired by Miss Lutter and was offered a monthly salary of Rs 500 /.

My mother ran a printing business so I got to wear a new cotton saree every second day except that the whole school stared at my chunky sandals, as I often walked to school from my home which was quite a distance away!

All in all I can say that this was an immensely satisfying time in my life till the wedding bells rang and I had to leave Jaipur. 50 years have gone by  since the batch of 1972 graduated.Time flies but MGD lives on and stands rock solid with wonderful traditions and adoring students

Kumkum Sen nee Singha (Batch of 1972)

'Shakti'- a short poem written to honor my Alma mater.

 M.G.D made us realize how to find our true self and follow our dreams. 'OUR UTMOST FOR THE HIGHEST 'Image

                                A Good tiding

In  the  newspapers

      in  the  whatsapp

      messages telephone

       or on emails

      invariably  there is

       a good tiding  

       that  makes  my day

 

Checking  in an encyclopedia

        dictionary , or  doing a

         simple  Google search ,

         also  brings  joy for

          information  and knowledge

          are   empowering

           as  they often say

 

Watching a song or scene

        on You tube or

        other websites brings out

         creativity and innovation ,

          and achievements of others

          not surprisingly  

           add to my own !

Meenakshi Hooja (Nee mathur1968 batch)

_________________________________________________________

CONGRATULATIONS

Saroj Kumari (Cookie) batch of 1958 and her husband Lt Gen DP Singh who celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on 8 th February 2022.

Their daughter Dipti kumari is from batch 1990 .

Sadia Moyeen batch of 86 who is blessed with a grand child on 9th February 2022

Sarandha Singh Batch of 1983 on becoming a grandmother on 11th February 2022

Surekha Mimani nee Kotari batch of 1986 on becoming a grandmother in January 2022. 

Sharmila  Galundia batch of 1986 on her daughter's marriage on 18th February 2022.

Sonakshi Mittal  batch of 2013 on her marriage to Priyansh Chordia  son of Supriya Poonglia Chordia batch of 1981 on 18th February 2022. 

Anupama Agarwal Bajaj batch of 1989 for her daughter Chaitali getting married to Keshav on 21st February 2022.

Shabnam Kumari batch of 1986 on the marriage of her daughter on 21st February 2022.

Panchami Manoo Ukil batch of 1983On receiving the FICCI flo Award in the field of Environment & Conservation from Hon'ble Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal ji at the 2nd Flo Odisha Women's Awards on 7th March 2022

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CONDOLENCES

Vandana Mehta batch of 1986 on the sad demise of her father Shri Mahendra Singh Mehta on 10th February 2022. May the departed soul attain sadgati

Heartfelt Condolences on  passing away of

Mrs Sumedha Durlabhji on 16th February 2022 to
Daughter- Manisha Bafna (1988)
Sister in law-
Nirmala Durlabhji  (1973)
Sister in law -
Asha Mehta (1959)
Sister in law- Anita Surana (1968)

May God give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss and may the soul attain sadgati. ॐशान्ति

Heartfelt Condolences to Vidyut Sukhadia Sheth batch of 1990 on the demise of her father in law on 24th  February 2022. May God give strength to the family and may the departed soul attain sadgati. ॐशान्ति

Heartfelt Condolences to Sunita Bainsla batch of 1982 on the passing away of her fatherCol. Kirodi Singh Bainsla on 31st March 2022. May the departed soul attain sadgati. ॐशान्ति

Heartfelt Condolences to Sujata Behani Baheti batch of 1983 who lost her father Shri Jagdish Prasad Behani on 18th March 2022. May the departed soul attain sadgati. ॐशान्ति

Heartfelt condolences toPranati  (Golecha) Lunia batch of 1972 and family on the passing away of her son Kartikeya Lunia on 2nd May 2022.May God give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss and grant  sadgati to the departed soul .ॐशान्ति

Heartfelt Condolences to

Tara Datta batch of 1970

Kumkum Datta batch of 1972

Neena Datta batch of 1977

On the passing away of their mother

Mrs Nanni Datta on 14th May 2022.May God give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss.  May the departed soul attain sadgati.

 ॐशान्ति

Heartfelt condolences to

Alpana Yadav batch 1986

on the passing away of her husband

Shri Vikas yadav on  11th July 2022. May God give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss. May the departed soul attain sadgati. ॐशान्ति

Heartfelt condolences to

Maji Saheba Gulab Kumari Rohet (Dundlod) on the sad demise of her son Thakur Ranvijai Singh Rohet on 18th June 2022. May God give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss. May the departed soul attain sadgati. ॐशान्ति

______________________________________________________

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

 

Chandralekha Mathur (Sahai, 1954) Editor

Meenakshi Hooja (Mathur, 1968)

Pranati Lunia (Golecha, 1972)

Aparna Khurana (1997)

______________________________________________________

MGD Girls Guild,

MGD Girls School,

Sawai Ram Singh Road,

Jaipur 302001

Tel: 9116652651
M: 8905181885

Email: mgdgirlsguildjaipur@gmail.com 

Website:  mgdgirlsguild.org

 

CHANDRALEKHA MATHUR

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