Class Descriptions

RGDNY SHIKSHA CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

During the Spring of 2016, Shiksha New York will be offering 12 classes as described in this section. We encourage students to register for as many classes as they want. Semester begins on Saturday April 2nd 2016. Register today. Click on buttons below to register or view handbook (coming soon).

Classical Dholak

Teacher: Rajah Sookraj. Fee: $25/Hour. Ages 8 & up

My journey of music started with the blessings of Devi Saraswati Ma. At the age of 8, I started to learn classical music from my father, Ustaad Rodhan Sookraj. As time went on, I started to play dholak for many satsangs and religious events. I was very fortunate to have been in company of Shri Hari Om Sharan Ji, and to have learned from him. I played both tabla and dholak for him. I am an all-rounder musician – I play harmonium, tabla, dholak, and percussions. I have accompanied such world renowned artists as Ustaad Anup Jalota and Mehidi Hassan. It is my honor to render my humble services to the Radha Govind Dham Mandir and I hope to provide upliftment to each student who comes to my classes.

Bengali

Teacher: Anita Mitra. Fee: $120/semester. Ages 6 & up

In this semester, students will learn to understand, read, write and speak Bengali. I will begin with reviewing the Bengali alphabet and helping students achieve a mastery of common sayings and phrases. Over time, the majority of class time will be spent conversing exclusively in Bengali, creating an immersive experience for the students. My class will be very interactive – I will consistently encourage students to participate and communicate; additionally, I will provide oneon-one instruction and personalized feedback. Overall, my class will be informative, productive, and most importantly, fun! Please reach out to me with any additional questions.

Anita Mitra has been an educational professional within the New York City Department of Education for the past 19 years. While she currently focuses on teaching English as a Second Language (“ESL”) to children whose primary language is either Bengali or Hindi, Anita has spent previous years cultivating a diverse set of experiences with many different types of students. Prior to her focus as an ESL professional, Anita worked closely with both learningdisabled and physically-disabled students. Anita’s rich set of varied experiences, collected over 19 years, allows her to teach effectively and effi ciently.

Anita eamed a Bachelor of Arts (with honors) in Philosophy and a Master of Arts in Mental and Moral Philosophy from the University of Calcutta. She has completed extensive coursework covering professional early childhood education at CUNY York College and graduate-level credits with the Graduate School of Education at St. John’s University. In addition to her academic coursework, Anita has also completed 100+ hours of workshops and sessions with the United Federation of Teachers’ Professional Development Program.

Math & Science Homework Help

Teacher: Rohit Sharma, B.E. Fee: $15/Class

Rohit Sharma has a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious R.V. College of Engineering in Bangalore. He has fifteen years of experience in the U.S. tutoring Math and Science students from elementary school through high school.

Leela Performance

Teacher: Madhulika Misra. Fee: $80/semester

Students will learn to enact leelas (Divine acts) of Bhagwan in the form of a play. Based on student enrolement, a script will be developed and each student will be assigned a role.

Madhulika Misra has a B. Sc. from Lucknow University in India. She has been employed as an educator by the East Meadow School District and the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services since 2000. She works with
special needs children as well as being a substitute teacher at Maria Montessori School in Levittown. She has two daughters aged 9 and 13, and enjoys teaching children and imparting her knowledge of Hindu religion and culture.

Hindustani Vocal & Harmonium

Teacher: Anuradha Khanna. Fee: $120/semester. Ages 5 and up plus adults

This course offers an introduction to the ancient art of Hindustani/North Indian classical music. Instruction will include melodic concepts such as Raag,Bandish, Bhaav, Aalaap, Taan, Sargam and rhythmic concepts such as Taal, Aavartan and their integrated use in a performance. Students will learn and practice classical and devotional song compositions based on Raag.Key benefi ts include development of ability to identify swara (notes), sense of sur (tunefulness) and taal (rhythm); development of ability to present a brief classical music composition and ability to appreciate and relate to Raag music. No specifi c knowledge or skill level of vocal/instrumental music is necessary.

Anuradha Khanna is a Hindustani Classical vocalist and a disciple of renowned vocalist Shree Vaman Acharya Ji. She has a Masters degree in classical vocals from Allahabad University. She developed an interest in music at a young age due to the infl uence of her father, who was a great musician and performer of classical songs, bhajans and ghazals. She has performed widely in India and the US, been featured on Disha, Sanskar, TVAsia, and ITV, and her vocals have been used in the making of documentary fi lms. She regularly performs and collaborates with touring artists.

Special Requirements: Students should have a harmonium at home for practicing; harmoniums can be purchased from teacher; Contact: Anuradha@RGDNY.org

Tabla

Teacher: Anuradha Khanna. Fee: $120/semester. Ages 5 and up plus adults.

In this course, students will learn how to “set their hand”, and how to play basic taals, kaida, paran, peshkar, tukre and tihai.

This is the foundation of playing tabla, which must be mastered before moving on to higher studies.
Special Requirements: Students should have a tabla at home for practicing; tabla can be purchased from teacher; Contact: Anuradha@RGDNY.org

Satsang Dholak

Teachers: Rohit Sharma & Jasvinder Gulati. Fee: $80/semester Ages 5 & up

Students will learn a modifi ed version of Keharwa taal which is used to accompany most bhajans and kirtan in satang. Two variations of the taal will be introduced: one in slow rhythm and one in fast rhythm, along with their accompanying tukras. Cymbals (manjheera) play an important role as accompanying instruments. Students will learn how to accompany both the fast rhythm Keharwa taal and slow rhythm Keharwa taal with cymbals.

Rohit Sharma & Jasvinder Gulati have been playing dholak with bhajan groups in New York for a combined total of 17 years. Their focus while teaching the dholak is on uplifting the kirtan session through the quality of sound, timing and rhythm. Their method of teaching is very methodical and lively and they encourage everyone to play during the satsang in some capacity
to gain the practical experience of a real time performance.

Hindi

Teacher: Avinash Pancholi and Swarna Sharma. Fee: $80semester. Ages 6 & up

Second language and foreign language learning strategies will be applied to teach Hindi to students aged six and up. Scaffolding to promote language learning such as manipulatives and visuals will be used extensively. Multiple intelligences approach incorporating role-play, learning by doing, drawing and coloring will be applied to address needs and learning styles of all the learners as far as possible. All the four modalities of the language – listening, speaking, reading and writing – will be introduced to the students in phases. Initially, the pupils will be introduced to the letters of alphabet, some salient features of the language being learned and what way the language differs from English. As the students start acquiring the language, they will be gradually weaned away from English, as the teacher will increasingly use Hindi and encourage them to respond in the language being learned.

Avinash Pancholi has been teaching English as a second language (ESL) at Department of Education New York City Public Schools for over 18 years. As an ESL coordinator, he has taught English to students of various linguistic and cultural backgrounds; and also trained teachers. He has taught Hindi as a foreign language to native and non-native speakers of the language. As an honorary teacher, he has taught Hindi and Gujarati at a number of Indian cultural organizations. He has earned three masters degrees – an M.A. in English/linguistics from India and an M.S. in journalism from Iowa State University (ISU) and an M.S.Ed from a New York college in ESL. A winner of one gold and two silver medals from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, and a graduate scholarship from ISU, Avinash was a professional journalist for over 12 years with prestigious international news agencies and newspapers in India and America.

Mandir Seva

Teachers: Rohit Sharma. Fee: free. Ages 5 & up

Students will learn 2 things in this class:

Students will receive credit for volunteer work done at mandir to show their school and colleges.

Rohit Sharma manages many areas of Radha Govind Dham, and looks forward to sharing his knowledge with the students and inspiring them to develop their personal skills while performing seva to the Mandir.

Kirtan Class

Teachers: Rohit Sharma. Fee: $80/semester. Ages 5 & up.

Learn tunes and how to sing on Harmonium, Kirtans along with it’s tunes revealed by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj ji and sing in satsang.

Rohit Sharma has been associated with Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj for over 10 years and teaches the tunes he learnt in satsang in a very simple and easy manner which even a beginner with no musical background can understand.

Dance class (Kathak, Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi)

Teacher: Anil Kumar. Fee: $120/semester. Ages 6 & up.

Anil Kumar’s EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

Diploma for Kathak classical dance, 5 year program (1977-1982).Government College of Music and Dance of India (Bhartya Kala Vishva Vidhyalaya)(1983-1986) Concentration: Bharta Natyam classical dance.
Kuchipudi Fine Arts Academy (1983-1986) in Madras and Hyderabad Concentration: Kuchipudi classical dance.
University of Hyderabad (1989). Two semesters in Master’s program.

Concentration: Kuchipudi classical dance
DANCE AND CHOREOGRAPHIC CAREER:

Received “Grade A Artist” status from the Doordarshan Government of India. Would now perform in India’s most prestigious arts and dance festivals and recitals

MAIN GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS in which Mr. Rambadri participated and for which he has certifi cates of acknowledgement: Apna Utsau (1980), Film Festival of India (1985), South Zone Cultural Center of India Festival (1985),Festival of India (1985), Belgaoun Festival (1986), Andaman Nicobar Island Festival (1989), World Telugu Conference (1990), Republic Day of India at Delhi: 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995.