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Diwali Celebration
2005
Report Written by Sheela
Krishnan & Vrunjal Parikh
On Saturday,
November 12, 2005, Vivekananda Vidyapith celebrated
Diwali at George Washington Middle School in Ridgewood,
New Jersey. Although the function began at nine o’clock
Saturday morning, teachers and students had come the
night before to set up and organize the tables. The
Saturday school students arrived at 8:30 in the morning
to set up their projects and help their teachers with
any other class organization that was needed.
By nine
o’clock, all the students and their families were seated
in the auditorium. Some of the elder students presented
Shanti Mantra as an invocation to bless the morning’s
function. The students of Suba Parmar then performed a
beautiful Bharata Natyam dance for the audience.
Everyone enjoyed it immensely. Following that, a slide
show was projected for the audience, consisting of
photographs taken from all the special Vidyapith events
of 2005, from Youth Day to Summer Camp to various annual
celebrations. The entire assembly thoroughly enjoyed it.
Uma Aunty then inaugurated the 2006 Vidaypith calendar,
prepared by Aunty (Dr. Vandana Jani), Neirah Aunty (Neirah
Bhargava), Uma Aunty (Uma Ramakrishnan), and student
Dhairya Dalal. The calendar contains beautiful pictures
on the theme of light, and quotes and sayings from
various world religions on the symbolism of light. Uncle
(Dr. Mahendra Jani) then addressed the assembly of
friends and family members. He greeted all with Diwali
wishes, welcomed them to this special celebration, and
talked about the importance of the exhibition of
students’ Diwali projects. Uncle encouraged parents to
get involved in the Vidyapith’s various activities of
character building education. After this, he sent all
the students by grade to the exhibition. At
approximately 10:15, all the family members went
downstairs to the gym to see the students’ projects and
displays.
The
kindergarteners had made rangolis and Ganesha idols
with clay. The first grade class made laterns out
of colored paper and foil. The second graders
decorated CDs and CD cases with various Hindu gods and
goddesses. The third graders made dioramas
depicting significant events in the Ramayana. They set
their projects up in such a way that the events were in
chronological order. The fourth graders made
posters explaining the significance of “Namaste,” Light,
and Prayer. The fifth grade did their projects
on the theme of Diwali, India, and Rama. The sixth
graders made family trees tracing their roots back
as far as they could. As a class they connected on a
world map the various parts of India they were from to
Wayne, New Jersey with multicolored string. The
seventh grade made posters on the theme of Ecology
through religion, linking relevant topics like
conservation to Hinduism. The eighth graders
created games like “Advesta Jeopardy,” testing viewers
on their knowledge of the 12th chapter of the
Bhagavad Gita. They also created projects informing
viewers on a variety of Indian pilgrimage sites. The
ninth graders displayed posters on the various
aspects and ways to worship Lord Ganesha, while the
tenth grade made posters on the three gunas
as they impact on us in everyday life. The eleventh
graders had an open topic; some of them chose to do
projects on Indigo, while others made poster
presentations on Cotton and the Tulasi plant. Finally,
the twelfth graders did their projects on Indian
Spices using a variety of methods to display their work.
Some chose to make spice racks while others cooked food
containing different spices to hand out to parents. By
twelve o’clock, the presentations were finished and most
of the students headed home for lunch while volunteer
students and teachers remained to help with the Sunday
school’s Diwali function.
The
Vidyapith Diwali celebration was a huge success and all
who attended agreed that it had been very enjoyable. The
projects displayed showed the talent and creativity
Vidyapith students had thoughtfully and carefully used,
and the guests learned much from their children and
other students. Overall, it was a wonderful way of
celebrating Diwali with friends and family.
After all the wonderful
projects revealed in the morning, everyone was looking
forward to the Sunday student’s projects. Sunday
students started coming at 1:00 p.m. and immediately
arranged their projects in the gym. At 1:30 began the
Sunday school’s Diwali Exhibition. Exactly as in the
morning, the celebration started with the Shanti Mantra
by the Sunday School Choir and was followed by a
spectacular Bharata Natyam dance called Tillana,
performed by Subha Aunty’s dance class. The program in
the auditorium was similar to the morning program.
Students were sent to the gym to see each other’s
projects and then stand behind their own projects, ready
to welcome parents and guests as they entered the hall.
Around 2:45 p.m., parents came to the exhibition and
enjoyed the 200 projects prepared by the students on
various topics. The students had been given a project
theme by their teachers in class. In addition to what
they learned in class, they did their own research and
collected material for the projects. The display of the
projects showed the creativity and originality of the
students. Some groups made games from their projects and
gave out little prizes. Other classes made impressive
and eye-catching models based on their topic.
The
Kindergarteners and the first graders made
little lamps. They put a candle in the middle of the
plate and decorated it beautifully. The second
graders made colorful rangoli designs. The third
graders put together different materials and came up
with models relating to the incidents from the life of
Sri Sarada Devi and Lord Ganesha. The fourth graders
also made beautiful rangolis. Just like the third
graders, the fifth graders created models. Their
models were based on the Ramayana stories and events.
The Sixth graders’ topic was Gandhiji and they
presented pictures and facts on Gandhiji and his life.
The Seventh graders filled their posters with
lots of fascinating information and stories on Swami
Vivekananda as a wandering monk. Eighth graders
had a unique project. The students prepared
biography-trees. Each student had a significant person
whom they researched, such as Martin Luther King or
Mother Teresa. They put the life story and inspiring
quotes of that person on the leaves of their trees. As
the grades got higher, their topics also grew broader
and deeper. The Ninth grade’s topic was Indian
Culture. Their projects were on India’s music, dance,
and spices. The tenth grade class did their
project on what they were learning in class, such as the
Three Gunas: Sattvic, Rajasic, and Tamasic and
Science/Religion. The eleventh graders had an
impressive topic, Philosophy. The students had
information on the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Practical
Vedanta, and the philosophy of mind. The Twelfth
graders made three pillars of character-building:
Prayer, Service, and Respect. They had collected
quotations on these topics and artistically displayed
them on the rotating pillars.
Diwali
Celebration is a fun occasion because while the students
enjoy working on their projects, they also gather and
learn new things. They also learn a lot by looking at
each others’ projects. That is the advantage of projects
exhibition. It is a great way to learn while having fun
and a great way to celebrate Diwali!
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