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Amrit Vachan |
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"It is only the petty-minded who entertain thoughts like 'This person is from my clan', 'This person is an outsider' etc. In contrast the large-hearted look upon the entire world as their own family." -- Hitopadesha |
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Hindu Education Foundation Hosts Guru Vandana, Teacher Appreciation Day |
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 On Saturday, April 12, over thirty teachers and a principal from seven school districts in the Houston area attended Guru Vandana (Teacher Appreciation), at Keshav Smriti. Organized by the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), a project of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, the utsav allowed hardworking teachers to be honored and appreciated for their endless work by their own students. In the spirit of respect for their Gurus (Teachers), children from Houston area Balagokulams invited their teachers to the event and presented them with a token of appreciation.
To commence the program, Acharya Premchand Sridhar of Arya Samaj
Houston was invited forward to the beautifully decorated altar, where
he lit a lamp, symbolically awaking the raging fire in every student’s
soul. With the lighting of the lamp, the cultural portion of the
evening followed, filled with dances, songs, skits and explanation on
the Hindu concept of Gurus.
To begin, the children of Meenakshi Balagokulam in Pearland performed
an incredibly graceful Ganesha Vandana dance, followed by a humorous
skit, comparing the wisdom of pursuing knowledge with the foolishness
of chasing wealth. Performed by children from Alief and Sugar Land
Balagokulams, the skit taught all of the audience a lesson in the
importance of knowledge. One of the participants, Ayush Sharma, played
the role of a foolish man who had never paid attention in school yet
inherited his family’s fortune. “In the skit, my character makes a
mistake and loses all the money he had because he didn’t work hard in
school,” Ayush explained. “Afterwards, my character learns how
important school was and how important it was listening to his teacher.
My character wasn’t real, but after acting like him, I myself started
working harder.” History teacher at Clements High School, Jennifer
Craddock, commented after the event. “We especially enjoyed the dancing
and the music. So many talented kids! The preparations must have taken
much planning and coordination.”
After the memorable skit, several cultural performances followed,
emphasizing the importance of the arts in the Hindu tradition of
education. Keertana, a student of Ms. Asha Bhaktavatsalam, presented
Carnatic music, Mrs. Chandrakantha Courtney accompanied on the tabla by
Dr. David Courtney presented Hindustani music, and Ms. Neha Gupta, a
student of Mrs. Courtney, sang a film song based on Raga Bhoopali. The
eloquent musical pieces were followed by an explanation of the origins
of Hindu dance and a Bharatanatyam performance by students of Yamuna
Srinidhi’s Nrityasiri Dance School. The cultural program ended with the
Veda Vrinda group chanting from the section of the Taittariya Upanishad
known as the Vedic Commencement Address.
As the program winded down to a close, teachers enjoyed chatting with
the parents and students over a delicious dinner catered by Gourmet
India. Many teachers voiced their positive comments of the utsav. Donna
Court, a teacher at First Colony Middle School, mentioned that she was
“honored to attend the Teacher’s Day Celebration. It was a wonderful
introduction to Hindu culture and traditions.” “It was an amazing
experience and an honor,” commented Karen Staley, an 8th grade science
teacher at Fort Settlement Middle School. Several teachers even
expressed the desire to help organize seminars on Hinduism in their
schools.
Photo Gallery of the Guru Vandana
For more information on HSS visit www.hssus.org or www.hindueducation.org for Hindu Education foundation. |
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