2nd October, 2019, on the auspicious occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birth Anniversary Gravis organized a program at its Gagadi centre, in the remembrance of Gandhi Ji. Deeply rooted in the Gandhian Philosophy, GRAVIS celebrated the day in its own unique way.
The day started with the entire team of GRAVIS and the local people of the Gagadi village participating in the “Prabhat Pheri” (morning procession). It started at 6 AM from the Gagadi Field Centre to the Gagadi Village. The procession consisted of people from all the age groups starting from children to the old. People ranted the air with the slogans of various Gandhian ideologies playing “Dholaks” on the road and singing “Bhajans” with great enthusiasm during the entire procession. This continued even while coming back from the village to the centre.
After coming back to the centre, a program was organized at “GRAVIS Baal Vikas Ucch Prathmeek Vidyalaya, Gagadi” amongst the children to make them more aware about this day and why it is celebrated? The program started with offering flowers to Gandhi Ji’s portrait. All the children gathered together outside the school and with beaming smile on their faces sang different “Bhajans” along with few children playing the musical instruments which felt soothing to the ears. Few children also spoke about Gandhi Ji. The teachers of the school taught the children about the four main components of the Gandhian philosophy: truth; non-violence; Sarvodaya and Satyagraha and its significance. The children were also motivated to learn from it and implement at least any one of these principles in their life. Keeping in mind the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, with Gandhi Ji as its inspiration, children were also made aware to keep their surroundings clean and practice good sanitation habits. The program ended with singing the national anthem and distribution of chocolates among the children.
In the noon, the GRAVIS team was invited to a nearby school named “Shree Saraswati Ucch Prathmeek Vidya Mandir” at Jelu, Gagadi for the 2nd October celebration. The staff and the children of the school were very warm and welcoming. A Rally was organized by the school in which students from class 3 to 8 had participated along with their teachers. The GRAVIS team was also lucky to be a part of it. The main theme of the rally was “Swachh Bharat”. Students carried posters and banners and marched through the Gagadi villages ranting the air with slogans like “Gandhi ji ka nara hai, Swachh Bharat hamara hai” and “Swachh Bharat, Swachh Abhiyaan, yaad rakhega Hindustan”. They also burnt garbage found on streets. It was a good initiative taken by the school. Thus, the day ended with lot of activities, remembering Gandhi ji and his contributions towards our nation. His ideologies and philosophies remain greatly imbibed in our hearts.
Ridhi Dave Volunteer
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