Inaugural Function of Bhavans Service Scheme

Sandra Santhosh 6-D, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans, Kuwait

On 11th April 2015, Saturday, the inaugural function of the BSS (Bhavans Service Scheme) was conducted. The Indian Educational School of Kuwait made the BSS to give children a part of a fun student's life that they usually miss: trekking and camping being some part of it. Since many children in Kuwait are missing the chance to join many public service organizations like NSS, Bhavans decided to create their own public service organization, whose motto is "Service to Mankind is Service to God."

The function was a full hour, starting from 10:30 am and ending at 11:30 am. The chief guest of the day was MG Retd. Mr Mohammad Mubarak (Kuwait Air Force), who was one of the POWs (Prisoner of War) in the First Gulf War. The programme started with some good quotes on service and an exuberant welcome, which was followed by recitation from the Holy Quran, an English prayer song and the Kuwait National Anthem. A bouquet was presented to the chief guest.

Then, Mr Suresh. V Balakrishnan, the newly appointed CBSE-I vice-principal, stepped up the dais confidently and talked about Jawaharlal Nehru's famous speech "A Tryst with Destiny" and about how aptly that applied to the event. His speech was received with great applause and it gave us many things to ponder about.

Next, Mr Murugaiyan, head of the Physical Education department and the coordinator of the function, came up on the platform and spoke to us about the BSS, what it stands for, what we receive and what we give back to this organization. During his speech, I felt very excited at the thought of what was going to be done during future BSS sessions. He gave us the timings and every important detail regarding the BSS.

Afterwards came the unveiling of the BSS flag, where the chief guest came on stage escorted by the principal Mr T. Premkumar and the chairman Mr N. K. Ramachandra Menon and proudly unfurled the flag. The flag was then handed over to the chairman, from whom Mr Murugaiyan received it.

Next was the oath-taking ceremony, administered by the principal, where the BSS volunteers rose up from their seats, clenched their right hand into a fist and put it forward to take the oath on service and using the given authority firmly but fairly.

This was followed by an emotional and fantastic speech from the chief guest MG Ret. Mr Mohammad Mubarak, on how discipline is a primary part of our lives and about the hardships he faced when he entered the military academy at the age of 22 and the 49 days he spend as a prisoner of war. He ended his speech with his feelings of the BSS and he hardened our resolves to work with full conviction.

Just after the chief guest finished, a memento was presented to him by the chairman as a token of love.

The vote of thanks and the felicitation of the grandstand were done by Mrs Lalitha Premkumar, vice-principal of the primary section. She spoke very clearly and precisely, speaking to us about how the idea for BSS was formed and who initiated it and also thanked the parents for their undying support in the BSS.

After the vote of thanks was the Indian National Anthem, after which photos were taken of the BSS volunteers along with the flag and everyone returned home after a wonderful hour filled with awe-inspiring words of wisdom.