It’s not just any other holiday. On 26th January 1950, the constitution of India came into existence.
The children from the Delhi Public School, Pune are up early in the morning enthusiastically participating in a ‘Prabhat Pheri’ singing patriotic songs.
Their loud voices charged with patriotic fervor they assure us of our country’s march forward – “Onwards to Glory”!
Three cheers to the children of Delhi Public School Pune, and all children of India! JAI HIND!
Breath of Joy 
A great mathematician. Without the inventions the world would be different.
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You are welcome, Sir. 🙂 This song is in my very psyche!
And I really like this article by the Gardener:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/Corporate_Dossier/Even_the_image_of_motherland_is_a_mirage/articleshow/3367382.cms
Thanks and regards,
Geetha
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A beautiful article by Subroto Bagchi .. have read it before but enjoyed reading it again – every reading gives a new learning.
Thank you Geetha.
Kind regards
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Dear Sir,
Thank you! I was awash with nostalgia on reading this post and seeing the pictures.
Like already mentioned by a few others in this space, this post brings back a lot of fond memories of my childhood days in Calcutta when I would take part in the Republic Day Parade and also used to gather at our school for the Independence Day celebrations. We would sing patriotic songs with great fervour and gusto in Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. The lyrics of one favourite Hindi song goes like this:
“Naujawano Bharat Ki Taqdeer Bana Do
Phoolon Kee Is Gulshan Se Katon Ko Hata Do”
http://www.bollyclips.com/classic/video/ZDXOijffk-E/India-s-Republic-Day-Naujawano-Bharat-Ki-Taqdeer-Bana-Do-Kundan-1955-Rafi.html
And one of the most beautiful patriotic songs ever is a Bengali song by Dwijendralal Roy.
dhonO dhanne pushpe bhorA AmAder ei boshundhorA
tAhAr Majhe Ache desh ek shokol dhesher sherA
she je shopnO diye toirI she desh sritI diye gherA
emon deshti kothao khuje pAbe nAkO tumI
she je shokol desher rAnI she je AmAr jonmobhumI
she je AmAr jonmobhumi she je AmAr jonmobhumI”
And who can forget Tagore’s songs or Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiar’s fiery compositions in Tamil?
And Sir, the picture here of the children dressed up as Gandhi, Nehru et al reminds me of this very thought-provoking article by Mr. Ramachandra Guha that I read in a recent Outlook issue. Here’s a relevant excerpt and let’s have oodles of faith for our dear Motherland!
Regards,
Geetha
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?270136
Then we turned off the Mysore highway, and the countryside became more varied and interesting. Somewhere between Mandya and Melkote, we passed a bullock cart. Three young boys were sitting in it; one wore a suit with spectacles, a second a bandgala with a Mysore peta atop his little head, the third a mere loin cloth.
The boys had evidently just come back from a function in their school, where, to mark August 15, they had chosen to play the roles of B.R. Ambedkar, M. Visvesvaraya and M.K. Gandhi respectively. Remarkably, none of their heroes was a native Kannada speaker. Yet all spoke directly to their present and future. The boys knew and revered Ambedkar as the person who gave dignity and hope for the oppressed; knew and revered Visvesvaraya for using modern technology for the social good, as in the canals from the Kaveri that irrigated their own fathers’ fields; and knew and revered Gandhi for promoting religious harmony and leading, non-violently, the country’s fight for freedom.
The vision of those young boys was capaciously inclusive. Ideologists may oppose Ambedkar to Gandhi; historians may know that Gandhi and Visvesvaraya disagreed on the importance of industrialisation in economic development. Yet, the boys understood what partisans and scholars do not—that our country today needs all three, for all were Indians of decency and integrity, all seeking sincerely to mitigate human suffering, all embodying legacies worthy of being deepened in our own age. What I saw that day was a spontaneous, magnificent illustration of the idea of India. To more fully redeem that idea would mean, among other things, matching the pluralism that those schoolboys articulated with the democracy defended so precisely by the Muria school-teacher in Dantewada.
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Dear Geetha,
Befitting and touching thoughts on our motherland. Children do have something lovely and wonderful about them – so sincere and so innocent and always cheerful. The Outlook article by Ramachandra Guha contains a powerful and inspiring message. And I enjoyed the Utube patriotic song – Naujawano Bharat Ki Taqdeer Bana Do.
My turn for nostalgia – ’emon deshti kothao khuje pAbe nAkO tum I’… yes these words take me back to my childhood – my dad (who had studied in Presidency College Kolkota)very often used to sing these lines and after so many years I’ve got the full song and the name of Dwijendralal Roy. Wow many thanks to you!
Thank you once again and best regards.
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Geetha,
I will never be able to thank you enough as this patriotic song means so much to me. I am pasting the link of this soul stirring song to listen once in a way –
My salutes to you 🙂
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Hi! Keep up the good work by providing students with quality instruction. Jai Hind!
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Hi Jeric welcome to my blog and thanks for your encouraging words.
Best regards
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Happy Republic Day, Dilip Sir,
i miss our school days
JAI HIND!
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अरे वाह Pradip! a Happy Republic Day to you too! Ya our happy school days are etched in our memories forever!
Wish you all the best!
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This reminds me a good old school days. Sigh.
We used to give speeches, perform cultural events and of course, look forward to the customary sweets.
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Hi and a warm welcome to you!
Yes. There’s something about children that’s makes us nostalgic. Yesterday when the kids started their ‘प्रभात फेरी’ and singing ‘सारे जहाँ से अच्छा हिंदुस्तान हमारा’ it was electrifying and the onlookers too joined in.
Thanks for dropping-in and regards
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VANNDEMATARAM!! !
Our constitution was made in 1950 and this day we called Republic Day. We are “Sone ki Chidiya” (golden bird) from history that dates back to over 5000 years. We are a ‘Culturally Strong Country’.I am very Proud to say that world respect us. Even the developed countries like America, Britain and others are eager to work with us for further global developments. When all other countries are facing economic problems, Our GDP is growing by 9 percent p.a.
Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
I would like to state some of the facts that were recently published in a German magazine, which deals with world History facts about India.
1)India invented the Number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
2)The world’s first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
3)According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.
4)Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
5)Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty striken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth.
6)The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word “Navigation” is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH.
7) The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have last year (1999) officially published that Budhayan’s works dates to the 6 th Century which is long before the European mathematicians.
8) According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world.
9)USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.
10)The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
11) Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India.
There are 3.22 Million Indians in America.
38% of Doctors in America are Indians.
12% of Scientists in America are
36% of NASA employees are Indians.
34% of MICROSOFT employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL employees are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are Indians.
Let’s have Freedom in Mind and Pride in our Heart on this Republic Day.
Salute to India.
Jai Hind
Gaurav R Arora
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Hey Gaurav,
Nice to read your narration of India’s achievements. It is a fitting tribute for the day! Its always good to highlight the positives so that the we all remain upbeat. The weaknesses need to be worked upon rather than crib about them – isn’t it?
Kind regards
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Happy Republic Day, Dilip Sir, to you and all your students and readers. Just the other day, a kid asked me what Republic Day was all about. Whenever he posed this question, he got a vague reply – Oh, it was the day we became a Republic. No one explained to him about the fact that it is today that our Constitution came into existence. I think The Constitution of India is the best charter ever written, if only it was implemented even in spirit.
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Hi Lubna,
Yes I fully agree there is a mismatch between the two. Even at much lower organizational levels implementation is always a challenge.
Thank you and many regards!
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