Sunday, August 28, 2011

Inducing Patriotic Fervour: Sundaram House

In the darkness of despair we saw a vision,
We lit the light of hope, and it was not extinguished…
The vision became reality…Bondage became freedom.
And this we left to you as your heritage.
O generation of freedom remember us, the generation of the vision…

-Liam Mac Uistin

These lines of thankfulness are written by an Irish poetic genre…..for the sacrifices of martyrs who brought independence. On the very auspicious occasion of India’s 64th Independence day and its following week, Sundaram House got an opportunity to evoke the solemn passing on of a legacy by those who envisioned freedom and struggled to achieve it, to those generations, who were to enjoy its fruits. Sundaram House students were encouraged to explore and explain Patriotism as a nationalist feeling of pride in or support for our country. And also….how it manifests itself in many forms, both small and large, creating a sense of national pride.

With many activities and presentations, throughout the week, Sundaram House made sincere efforts promoting national unity which starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country that got to being rooted in the young children in the earliest days of their life.


The patriotic fervour got into the air from Monday 15 August with Independence Day Celebration. On Tuesday, Yash Pachhigar from X A took the audience to a heart-throbbing account of the great sacrifice of Indian Martyrs. He showed a video presentation that of India’s freedom struggle from 1957 till the date of complete independence. Next day was all about India’s achievements in various fields since Independence. Karan of XI Commerce very well presented India’s progressive stride making an impressive stand at International level triggering a feeling of proud for our country for its achievements. Even small things like making others aware of what is so special about our country and at the same time having respect for other countries as well.

On the fourth day of the week, Vishwajeet Solanki and Tanmay Patel from IX made the students aware of some of the prominent problems the nation is fighting with. The next day, on Friday, Kshitij Patankar Sir explained the students what does patriotism mean to the common person of India? How are we to show (show to ourselves, not to others) that we love our country? How do we express the surge of feeling for country... He also mention that the demand of the time is to have a better tomorrow by doing our bit from our side.
Then on Saturday, the cultural bonanza grabbed the interest of the audience as the Drama and dance were performed by students of Sundaram House. Fifty participants, lives of a few Indian martyrs, twenty five minutes and only one mission… a sensational tribute to the martyrs, who had laid down their lives during the freedom struggle, The students looked splendid in their ethnic dresses. It was a real treat to the eyes as well as to the intellect to observe the stirring performance of the young boys attired as freedom fighters and Britishers as rulers of that time. It was altogether a mesmerizing presentation. The creative assembly had been in sync with the mood of the month –season-value , which was patriotism and thereby catching the right pulse of its audience.

The students of Sundaram House prepared a special program to mark the Independence Day. Depicting the life of Mangal Pandey, who was one of the pioneers of the Indian freedom struggle and is believed to be the first Indian hero who rose against the British. He played a major role in the Sepoy Uprising of 1857 that led to the first Indian War of Independence. The role of Mangal Pandey was played by Harshal Gadhiya from X B. The, unforgettable freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, who had imparted the teaching of sacrifice, devotion to righteousness, devotion to nation, helping the society, His role was played by Sonak Ramani of IX A.

Through the soft board displays Sundaram House presented an impressive array of Indian Civilian and Gallantry awards along with short details about them written in an interesting manner. With an extreme elegance and unsurpassable appeal, this short information on prestigious Indian Awards exhibited the virtues as well as value of these honours in the field of art, science, social and civil services, sports as well as military services. This soft board display presented an irresistible appeal to the students to bag these honours in future.

Thus Sundaram House has persuasively conveyed the value or the moral message of patriotism explaining If the new generation of India wants to bring about a real change in feeling and outlook, they will have to rediscover these courageous martyrs who loved India as the mother and approached the fundamental questions of life with a robust physique, sharp intellect, and immense purity of character.

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