The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have many promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep…and miles to go before I sleep.â€Â

Deepalaya promises never to sleep on this unending journey of transforming lives and widening the spectrum of education to those sections of the society that continue to linger in the darkness of ignorance. This promise is witnessing the light of the day in the form of Deepalaya School Kalkaji Extension, which celebrated its tenth Annual Day on 26th and 27th November 2009. This year there was more than one reason to rejoice in the wake of the school getting recognition from the Department of Education, Government of India after a relentless struggle for years. The students of class Xth would appear for their CBSE Board examination in the month of March.

A warm acknowledgement of Deepalaya’s work surged through the words of our Chief Guest Prof. Kiran Walia, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of NCT of Delhi who said, “Deepalaya has shown us the light,â€Â while addressing a huge bunch of students, teachers, parents and management of Deepalaya on the occasion of the Annual Day. She even applauded the school’s efforts in promoting greenery and winning the Gobar Times Award three times in the row. She made a special mention of the Deepalaya-FADA collaboration for imparting education to girl children.

The day started with the lamp lighting ceremony, followed by a welcome dance and the mission song of Deepalaya. The students exhibited the various facets of their talents with dance, drama, music and other cultural activities. It was a delight to watch the children perform with confidence and energy. Speaking with pride and exuberance on this occasion an emotional Rtn. T.K. Mathew, Founder Member, Secretary and Chief Executive of Deepalaya said; “We started with three people and now we are four hundred!â€Â The function included an award ceremony where students were awarded for their exemplary performance in different areas across the previous academic session.

The commemoration continued the next day with much more zeal when the stage was garlanded with the performances by the tiny-tots of the school. Students from L.K.G to IVth standard presented their skill set. Young girls anchored the show in fluent diction and Preeti Aarti’s singing left the audience in awe. Priyanka Verma from Oriflame, the guest of honor for the day said, “At Oriflame we look forward to empower women and thus I request all parents to motivate their children especially girl child towards a multi-faceted development.â€Â The unique aspect of this annual day was that each student of the school was involved in the event in one or the other manner. The Annual report was presented by Ms. Anita Sawhney, Principal, Deepalaya School, Kalkaji Extension on both the days of the event. Executive Director of Deepalaya, Miss Sudha Parthasarathy closed the event with a vote of thanks, extending her warm wishes to the organizers and the audience.

’He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying’– these words of the philosopher Nietzsche are closely incorporated in the curriculum of Deepalaya which teaches these children how to take those first hesitant infantile steps and then muster up the courage to tread across the expedition of life