“REVERENCE TO THE MOTHERLAND”
Amidst the wintry breeze, the frosty weather and the congenial atmosphere, the students and the staff of Bhavans Indian Educational School, Kuwait, paid glowing tribute to their motherland by celebrating the 74th Republic Day of India on January 26, 2023, on the school premises with a great éclat.
The joyous celebration organized by the Department of Social Science in association with the Department of Physical Education commenced at 7.30 a.m. with a warm welcome note by the emcees of the day Manha Anees of 9B and Abigail Lisa Abraham of 9D who extended a convivial welcome to the Principal, Mr. T Premkumar, the Vice-principals, Ms. Meenakshi Nayyar and Mr. Binoy Mathew, the Headmistress, Ms. Muneera Mammikutty, the parents, the teachers, and the students.
The proceedings of the day rolled on as the principal, the vice-principals and the headmistress received a guard of honor from the cadets of Bhavans Service Scheme and the members of the student parliament. The significance of the day was marked by the unfurling of the Indian national flag by the principal, followed by the singing of the national anthem of India by the school choir. The principal then extended the Republic Day greetings to everyone and read out an excerpt from the message delivered by the President of India on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day while the spectators listened to him with utmost veneration and patriotism. Referring to the President’s address, he emphasized the importance of educating girl children who could make their country and families proud one day. He also expressed his high hopes that India would gradually move away from paddy-centric cultivation to the cultivation of millets that could convert more carbon dioxide to oxygen, contributing in mitigating climate change. He expressed his endless delight in sharing the information with the gathering that a strong proponent of millets, the Millet Man of India, Dr. Khader Vali, had been his college mate, and with a glow of pride, he shared his intense happiness in the news that Dr. Khadar Valli would receive the Padma Shri award 2023 for his contributions to the field of Science and Engineering.
To add merriment to the celebration, an array of cultural activities was showcased by the talented students of IES. The melodious patriotic songs rendered by the school choir and a group of teachers made everyone sink into the depth of patriotism. One of the highlights of the event was the special assembly by class 2B under the guidance of the class teacher, Ms. Ammaji Venkata Yanamadala. The assembly emceed by Abel Varghese John and Amelia Elsa had a variety of segments: recitation of a few verses from the Holy Quran, Sanskrit Shloka with English and Hindi translations, Hindi prayer, Hindi doha recitation, patriotic choral song, Hindi speech about Republic Day and dance. While concluding the assembly, the students of 2B handed over the money that they had collected for the Indian soldiers to the principal. The noble act of charity won the hearts of all the spectators, and the young citizens were appreciated with a rapturous round of applause.
A classical dance performance by Dyuthi Vandana Prasanth Kumar of 8C and Pradyoth Praveen of 7F brought out the colourful spirit of India. A fusion dance by the students of grade 7, Arya Anoop, Nanditha Vinod, Sukruti Krishnamurthy, Devapriya Abhilash and Arundhathi Jayadevan, a solo guitar performance by Daya Vinil of 8E and a kalari display by Arjun Surendra Poojary of 10A too added a patriotic flavor to the celebration. .
Mr. Binoy Mathew, Vice-principal, Middle Wing, while addressing the gathering, vividly remembered the enormous contributions of leaders like Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar in making India a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic with a parliamentary system of government. Ms. Meenakshi Nayyar, Vice-principal, Senior Wing, proposed the vote of thanks expressing her undying gratitude to everyone, especially the coordinator of the celebration, Mr. Nagarajan Murugesh, faculty member of the Department of Social Science, Mr Ratnesh Kumar and Mr. Prasanthan M, faculty members of the Department of Art and Music, whose efforts made the Republic Day celebrations a phenomenal success. The celebration that lasted for almost two hours came to a close with the distribution of sweets.
The Republic Day Celebration is yet another occasion that bears testimony to the well-known fact that Bhavanites are the real flag bearers of Indian ethos in the state of Kuwait.