The Cold FOGGY Morning
Usually a late riser, I got up at 7 am yesterday and was bubbling with excitement to celebrate Republic day at Pehal. After I finished schooling, I had never paid much heed to national holidays. Thus Republic Day and Independence Day were just like any other holiday for me. However, this year I went through a fantastic experience.
We had spent almost 2 weeks preparing the children for all the activities. As most of them are of Bengali origin, it had been a constant fight to make them learn Hindi for last 3 months.
It was a foggy morning and sun was nowhere to be seen. After idling around for some time we decided to start the decorations at around 10am. More volunteers and children along with their parents poured in and within an hour, the stage was set. The walls were covered with frills and balloons. Almost all the volunteers were in dressed in one of the tri colours and the children, as always, looked adorable.
Flag hoisting and salutation
At 11:30 we started our program. Our teacher, Uttam sir, at Pehal centre was the chief guest. Sir addressed the parents and children and spoke to them about the importance of Republic day. This was followed by a prayer, flag hoisting and rendition of the Indian National Anthem. The children saluted the National Flag and then performed a well organized drill and March past which was the highlight of the day.
Cultural Events
Everyone was then seated and the cultural event began. The children sang a patriotic song “ Saare jahan se accha, Hindustan hamara” to perfection. Next was role playing, where 6 children from basic elementary level enacted as freedom fighters, Ashadul as Mahatama Gandhi, Babu as Subash Chandra bose, Arijina as Indira Gandhi, Ayub as Pandit Nehru, Sapna as Rani Lakshmi bai and Debashish as Bhagat singh. The last act in this segment was a dance performance on “Suno ghor se duniya walo” by the children and volunteers.
Literary Events
Next in line were two plays performed by the children- The first was a funny act and the second was to communicate the message - ‘how to stay away from addiction’. There were poem and story recitations by the children from beginner’s level. The audience applauded enthusiastically to each act.
The children were, then, given fruits and Rasgullas were distributed to everyone.
Sports
Then, came the much awaited sports event! It started with the Frog race between the children of age group 4-7 years. The winner in this race was Ajidul.
Three legged race between boys of age group 8 and above was sheer fun. Some fell, some cheated but Debashish and Ayub emerged as clear winners as they finished the race with no hassles. Om and Babu came second.
Book balancing race between girls was really difficult. Ajima came first followed by Sharda.
Prize Distribution
It was then the time for the Prize Distribution ceremony. All the first prize winners were awarded with Sweatshirts and second prize winners were given Pencil boxes.
Two students, Ashadul and Arizina were given the best students award for their dedication, regularity and discipline.
Community connect
In the end, Kamesh and Ashish spoke to the parents about the importance of education. They urged everyone to send their children to school regularly. They were advised not to carry out any activities that may negatively influence their children.
Pehal volunteers were rewarded by the positive response from the community. The families were really happy watching their children perform. The feeling to give to the society is always pleasant, however, the feeling is unmatched when the society gives back. We at Pehal today are proud that within a span of 3 months, we have been able to achieve much more than what was expected. We all walked back from the site beaming from ear to ear. A well deserved pat to our volunteers,Nikita, Zulaikha, Deboshree, Ashish, Anandita, Reetu, Preeti, Vipra, Swastik, Asam, Surabhi, Kamesh, Pinky. Also thanks to all the friends who attended the event.
Pehal wishes everyone a Happy Republic Day. May we always stand United for our cause.
For pictures, please visit
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=140155&id=516999320&l=adb94b42f8
