CHILDRENS DAY AN EVENT TO RELISH

Sirigere is a tiny village in Chitradurga District. It is a well-known place in our Karnataka, as a religious spot, thanks to immense societal initiatives of Sri Taralabalu Mutt. The pontiff Dr. Shivamurthy Shivacharya Maha swamy, who heads the religious institution, is a university by himself thanks to the enormous literary achievements of him. The mutt runs numerous educational Institutions, especially in Rural Karnataka.  It is a real yeomen service to the rural poor families, whose children are being given quality education, more so the value based education.

Yesterday being former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Birthday, which is observed all over the country as Children’s Day because of Nehru’s immense love and affection for the children, I was invited to a function organised by ‘SRI JAGADGURU TARALABALU MUTT’. It was truly a programme with a difference. It was Of the children, By the children and For the Children anyway. The Dignitary who presided over the entire function was Ku. Manvitha B Patil.

Who is this person?  It is interesting to know that this very young dignitary is a 6^th standard student in Sirigere’s Higher Primary School.  How she was selected?  In a debate competition held exclusively to select the right person to chair this November-14 occasion, she was the victor. And her victory was really, really, well deserved.

The whole audience consisting children, their Parents and Teachers, were flowered by this young lady’s oratory when without an iota of any sort of inhibitions, Chi Manvitha narrated the purpose of the Childerns Day, and also highlighted in Nehruji’s life in a wonderful manner.

I must have been a witness to nearly thousands of welcome speeches in all my working years, but it was the little girl “PRAKRUTHI’ another 6^th standard student who brought life and meaning to the Welcome Speech, which otherwise will normally be lifeless and just ritualistic. 

I must appreciate that the Talents exhibited by those rural students were in no way inferior to any of our sophisticated, so called 5 star schools.

And the way in which Swamiji who had his education in Vienna (Germany) about 3 decades back, connected himself to the children was something marvellous.  He sang a Nursery Rhyme in German language as he cherished the sweet memories of those 30 years. He translated it to Kannada too, for us to relish.

Yes! It was a children’s Day in the real sense, For the Children, Of the children and By the children. My best wishes for all those young, talented, disciplined students of those rural schools of quality managed by the great Sri Jagadguru Taralabalu Vidya Samsthe. My heartfelt salutes to Swamiji.

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-         S.Sureshkumar