Independence Day Celebrations

Traditionally Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan are celebrated together at The Indian School.The hoisting of our national flag is accompanied by a Science Exhibition and the tying of rakhis not only by the girls to the boys but also the other way round. This is because we believe that both technological progress and an equal acceptance of the girl child are essential pre-requisites for an independent India. The rakhis made in the three colours of our national flag symbolise not merely national harmony but also convey gender equality. We are recall that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore used the rakhi to unite our countrymen and women to protest against Lord Curzons partition of Bengal in 1905.

Indias 70th Independence Day was celebrated with much enthusiasm and fanfare on 12th August 2016, in the auditorium .The unfurling of the flag was done by Prof. BN Jain, Retd VC, BITS Pilani, our chief guest on the occasion before inaugurating the Annual Exhibition.

The children marched in step as a company to the the patriotic song Aaoo bachoon tumhe dikhaen jhanki Hindustan ki. The assembly commenced with a invocation followed by a soulful rendition to the inspiring patriotic song Jahaan daal daal par sonae ki chiriya karti hae basera woh Bharat Desh hae mera. This song set the tone for the celebrations of this special day; invigorating the spirit of patriotism.

The stage was beautifully decorated with tricolor balloons and a string of flags lined the were well placed on the stage .All students who had gathered for this special occasion also carried one tricolor each in their hands, very proudly. A tree was positioned in the corner of the stage to display the cutouts of freedom fighters, to remind us of the sacrifices they made for the freedom of our motherland.

In the backdrop, ran a presentation depicting scenes of Indias struggle for independence ,prepared by Pearl Gupta and Aarushi of class VE. The ambience , our National colours and songs served to create an atmosphere of celebration and patriotic zeal. The MC for the occasion, Manya Arora of VC and Uday Soni of VB, started the proceedings by reminding the audience to recall the history of our Independence. How at midnight, on August 15, 1947 awoke to freedom . Speaking at length , both students gave an elaborate description of the Indian Independence struggle. A group of students masqueraded as Freedom fighters . Chacha Nehru , Rani Laxmi Bai, Sardar Patel, Bhagat Singh, Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Begam Hazarat Mahal and Gandhiji seemed to come alive as students dressed for the role occupied the stage and enacted their respective roles in an emphatic and elated manner. This was indeed a small tribute to the innumerous valiant freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for our Independence. The students who participated in this event were: Prayansh Markandae, Amrita Arun of VA, Sddharth Pandey, Hrdya Jain and Fariyah Sughra of VD, Shaurya, Garvit and Ekveer Sahu of VE. This was followed by a speech on Independence Day by Yahvi Rishi and Anshika Keswani of VD. A small and poem written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji was presented by Riddhi Anand of VD. A few students of Class V enthralled the audience with the recitation of a beautiful patriotic poem by an unknown poet . A mesmerizing dance performance with extremely graceful movements was presented by the students. Their costume was perfect for the occasion, a white Kurta churridar and tricolored dupattas. Students then witnessed a power packed skit based on Indias Mutiny of 1857 spear headed by the great freedom fighter Mangal Pandey. The participants in the skit were: Raghav Guptaof VA, Kabir Mongia of VD, Ashvi VB, Neeyati and Dhruv of IVE and Aditya Khandpal of IV B.There was pin drop silence during this enactment. Finally as per our tradition , there were Rakshabandhan Celebrations.The Indian School believes in gender equality and therefore it was a boy tying the rakhi thread on the girls wrist, instead of the traditional way Rakshabandhan is celebrated. Twelve students from junior classes lined up on stage; all dressed for the occasion. They performed the ceremonial tying of the threads with a background music provided by the music teachers. The MCs for the event were Mannat Suri of VC and Shamit Sharma of VD. The Head Mistress, Neena Maini then addressed the assembly. She congratulated and wished everyone a Happy Independence Day and appreciated the efforts of all the students and teachers for putting together a magnificent assembly. She discussed briefly the difference between Independence Day and Republic Day, and further emphasized on the importance and significance of being good citizens. The assembled audience stood in attention to sing the Indian National Anthem together, with tremendous enthusiasm and patriotic fervor.

Prepared by PURNIMA DWIVEDI