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.
