Celebrations @ CIRS.... Click here to View the Photographs

Vishu Kani (14th March 2010)

The night before the festival “Vishu Kani” was arranged in dorms with auspicious items including image of Lord Vishnu, mirror, fruits, vegetables, etc. ‘Kanikonna’ a golden yellow flower associated with Sri Krishna was the specialty of this festival. Children were shown Vishu Kani early morning with eyes closed guided by the teachers. A traditional lunch was also served. In the evening Arati one of the dance form of Kerala ‘Thiruvathirakali’ was performed followed by bajans.

Ramanavami (24th March 2010)

The Ramanavami celebration began with chanting of Lord’s name in the morning (7.20am to 7.50am) by the senior students and teachers. At 12 noon a special pooja was conducted to welcome the Lord. During the pooja Br.Rishi Chaitanya spoke about the significance of the birth of Lord Rama and how it is to be applied in our own life. In the evening 5.30pm to 6.20 pm Nama Japa was done by the teachers and students guided by the music department. The highlight of the celebration was a short play  by Br. Rishi Chaitanya and one of our student Kritika Kaul on an episode from Ramacharitamanas, in the evening Arati. The play depicted a scene prior to the birth of Lord Rama and the joyous occasion in Ayodhya after His birth. This was followed by a colorful dance from the students celebrating the ‘Shishu Leela’(Lord Rama’s childhood).

Holika Dahan (28th Feb. 8.30pm to 9.30pm)

Holika Dahan or the lighting of bon fire takes place on the eve of Holi. The Programme started by offering pooja to Lord Narayana, followed by Swamiji,s talk on the significance of Holika Dahan. Swamiji narrated the story of Prahlad and Holika who symbolizes good and evil. The message conveyed through the story was that those who are devoted to Lord, not only no harm can destroy them but also their evils get burnt. The fire is meant to signify the destruction of evil – the burning of the Holika and the triumph of good as symbolized by Prahlad. The programme concluded with bhajans and pouring water showing getting purified by washing our negatives.

01-03-10

In the morning Br.Rishi Chaitnaya explained the importance of Holi and its association with various legends emphasizing the greatness of our culture. After the pooja and arati, children enjoyed playing with holi powder which was considered as Prasad from one of the biggest yaga called ‘Soma Yaga’.

In the evening common Arati, Rishiji spoke about , how ‘Bhaagawat’ the story of Krishna came into being like epics. Through the story of ‘Gajendra Moksham’ he conveyed the message ‘Pride goes before a fall’, one can get saved only by surrendering to the lord.

Pongal (14.01.2010)

The celebration of pongal started the day before by decorating “Pongal Pots”. On the day of pongal Swamiji blessed the gatherings explaining the relevance of pongal saying from this day onwards the sun starts moving from south to north, making the days longer.Relating to this movement of sun from lower to higher, Swamiji inspired everyone to rise higher and higher in life. It was a well planned programme of making pongal dividing the children into groups guided by two teachers, thus making salt or sugar pongal. It was a funfilled filled activity, and children enjoyed very much. The session ended by offering pooja to Sun God.

The next day evening at ashram “Mattu Pongal” was celebrated. All junior school students along with the class teachers joined the celebration. Swamini Amma addressed the students, explaining how Cow was worshipped in olden days and its significance. ‘Save Cows’ is one of the movement organized to protect cows and to sustain them which is a part of our culture.

Diwali & Bhaidooj(17.10.2009 - 19.10.2009)

The day before Diwali all the children cleaned the classes and dorms. In the morning they began with oil bath worshipping Mother Ganga, who arrives as water on the day.Sri Krishna pooja was conducted, followed by Swamiji’s talk on the significance of Diwali.During the day children were busy participating in rangoli competition. In the evening Arati Laxmi Pooja was done , addressed by Swamiji highlighting how not ot allow greed and fear to govern our investment decision.

Children then were made to light lamps in all the dorms and school block showing truly a row of light.The day concluded with the big bang of fireworks and crackers.

The highest of Bhaidooj programme was the performance show by the sisters for their brothers in respective classes. All the girls put a creative and wonderful show for their brothers.

ANAND UTSAV 2009 (06.10.2009 - 08.10.2009):( Please click here to view the photographs)

October 6th, marked the beginning on Anand Utsav with the welcome address by the Principal Smt.Shanti Krishnamurthy and the Anand Utsav song by the school choir. Flag hoisting was done by the school council.The talk by Swami.Swaroopanandaji in the evening to the parents shed great insights on the importance of good parenting and education, as well as its relevance in the current scenario.

On the 2nd day evening Principal presented the annual report, followed by prize distribution to the rank holders of each class. The evening was made delightful by the cultural show on the theme ‘I LOVE YOU – DIMENSIONS OF LOVE’ performed by more than hundred children. The show conveyed the message that love should grow from the personal level to patriotism, blossom into a relationship with God and finally merge in the oneness with God. The entire show conveyed the strong message one should ‘rise in love not fall in love’. The programme was highly appreciated by the parents.

Apart from this, sessions on counseling for parents and students of classes X was conducted. Career counseling for students and parents of Class XII was another focus area of the Anand Utsav.

The Anand Utsav was grant success, blessed with warm weather, good organization of food, pandals, and movement between events. This was only possible due to the comradeship and good team work of CIRS family.

05.09.2009 - Teachers Day:

Students from standard eleven performed a snippet of dance during the break time in the quadrangle of Mathura block inviting the teachers for the evening programme. At three in the afternoon all the teaching and non teaching staffs assembled in the MPH for a special assembly programme organized completely by the students. Each teacher was thanked in a special way. They were escorted by the students to the stage. They were presented with a card as a token of honour for their contributions and thanked for their valuable services. The programme was concluded by inspiring words from Sw.Swaroopanandaji. He fondly remembered all his teachers who had inspired him and acknowledged the great Hindu tradition where teachers are respected as God ( Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu…). The students had also organized an evening of fun filled activities for the teachers followed by a special Aarti in which a film clip was shown depicting the greatness of teachers.

23.08.09 to 03.09.2009 - Ganesh Chathurti:

Lord Ganesha was worshipped for 10 days. At the end of the eleventh day, the idol was immersed in the pond in the campus during the “Visarjan” ceremony. Every day students and staff members gathered during assembly time and were addressed by Swamiji on the relevance of Ganesh Chaturti followed by pooja. Each class did the pooja, made Rangolis, sang Bhajans, told Ganesha stories and performed Aaratis keeping up the spirit of the festival. The highlight of the celebration was each and every student, teaching and non teaching staff, the catering service staff and security too participated in performing the pooja.

02.09.2009 - Onam Festival:

The dining hall and other important prominent venues were specially decorated with flower Rangolis which is one of the important rituals of the festival. A special Kerala lunch was arranged by the canteen staff, served in a traditional way on banana leaves. Children and staffs wore traditional dresses for lunch. A special Aarati was held in the evening where a presentation consisting of the various aspects of the Onam festival like the boat race, the Kathakali dance, the Kaikottikali dance forms of Kerala were shown. The programme ended with a Malayalam Bhajan devoted to Poojya Gurudev that was sung as a ‘Vanchi Pattu’( Boat Race song ).

15.8.2009 - Independence Day:

The function started with the welcoming of our Chief Guest Sw.Swaroopananda by the NCC Cadets of our school. After the flag hoisting, Swamiji addressed the gathering, explaining the true meaning of freedom and the symbolism of our National Flag. Swamiji also spoke about the challenges faced by our country today. He emphasized that surmounting these challenges is the responsibility of every citizen of the country not only in the role of a politician but also as a child in the country we live in. He went on to speak about the role of spiritual knowledge without which our country would not have achieved its past or present glory. The day ended with special programme and Aarti.

13.8.2009 - KrishnaJayanti:

The day’s programme started at ten in the night. We were all in for a special treat as Swami. Swaroopanandaji took the stage and lead us through a dance drama while he himself narrated and explained Shri Krishna Janma Mahima through a story how mother earth went and begged to Lord Narayana, to save the world due to the havoc created by the atrocious Kamsa. While Swamiji narrated the story of Lord Krishna’s birth, children enacted those incidents in a series of beautifully choreographed scenes. Then at midnight, the birth of Shri Krishna was celebrated by pooja and crackers. The programme concluded with an enjoyable and exciting “Matki Phod”

5.8.2009 - Raksha Bandan:

The day began with the ceremony of changing of the Sacred Thread. Then Archana was done to Lord Krishna. Swamiji addressed the gatherings by highlighting the importance of Raksha Bandan in the present world. The message conveyed through his talk was ‘Love is the greatest protector’. Sisters should protect the brothers with love. Then the sisters tied Rakhi to their brothers thus reminding and strengthening the bond between them. In the evening classes, the brothers showed their love and affection through a small performance. The faculty members also joined the celebrations. The day concluded with Swamiji’s talk and Arati.

3. 8.2009 - Gurudev’s Mahsamadi day:

The day began with Swamiji’s talk on the importance of “Aradhana Day” followed by Paduka Pooja. Swamiji spoke about how saints are remembered thousands of years even after their departure from the world, because of the way they lived their life. On this auspicious occasion the new student council members were inducted in a formal investiture ceremony. The Oath taking ceremony was presided over by the Principal, Smt. Shanti Krishnamurthy. She reminded the council members of their new roles and responsibilities, while the outgoing council members were presented with a memento in appreciation of their wonderful service for the last one year. In the Bhandara, both the students and teachers were reminded about the age old tradition of feeding the sages, followed by Vashtra Dana, which is a part of our Indian Culture. An inter house skit competition was organized where students had to use quotes by Swamiji. The day was concluded by a Melodious Bhajans sung by students along with staffs sharing their personal experiences with Gurudev.

7.7.2009 - Guru purnima :

The programme started by offering prayers of Bhagwan Veda Vyasa. Then Swami Swaroopanandaji addressed the gatherings, explaining the role and importance of teachers in our life. Swamiji mentioned worshipping Guru, is one of the unique feature of Indian Philosophy. Swamiji also pointed out the importance of dedicating some day to remember the people who had given immense love in life. So, today we celebrate Guru Poornima not only because he is the avatar of Lord Vishnu himself but also what is not written by him does not exist in world. We did Paduka Pooja of Veda Vyasji thus invoking blessings of entire Guru Parampara. In the evening 6.45pm to 7.30pm there was a beautiful Bhajan session by our children, power point presentation on Guru Parampara, also Swamiji narrated a story to prove devotion to the Guru. The entire students took the blessings of all teachers and it helped to build a strong bondage between the teacher and student.

8.5.2009 - Gurudev Jayanti:

The day started with the Paduka Pooja, Pradikshana Japa and Likitha Japa of Poojya Gurudev. All staff members and students participated with great enthusiasm as they participated in Gurudev’s Life Yatra. The various incidents in Gurudev’s life were displayed in the form of activities. This included the birth of Gurudev, school and college life, life in Swami Sivanandaji’s ashram, sanyas deeksha, meeting Tapovanji Maharaj at Uttarkashi, Guruji’s escape from The British surveillance during the freedom movement, to Ganga snan, first yagna, to name a few. One of the knowledge based activity of the entire Yatra was when the children had to display self control and self discipline through a primary test -keeping Jaggery in ones mouth without wetting it and then throw away chocolates without giving in to the temptation to eat them. The students who succeeded got to meet our very own student swami ‘Tapovan Maharaj’. The ones who succeeded met the great master and got to learn the famous four Mahavakyas along with the meaning. It was a memorable day for all of us who are dedicated to make His vision come true. The day ended with Bhajans and Aarti.

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