Students in Navi Mumbai revel in patriotic song and dance amid Independence Day celebrations

Students of Apeejay School, Nerul, participated in a week-long bonanza dedicated to the completion of 75 years of Independence Day this year. The celebrations are being held amid the government-led ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to honour the nation’s rich culture and heritage.

Special assembly on the importance of Independence Day

The students of the Nalanda House at Apeejay Nerul organised a special Independence Day-themed assembly. It was hosted by Srishti and Samiksha, students of class 12. After a prayer, Ashaz Sayyed of class 10, announced the thought for the day, which was, “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

Shaurya Chaturvedi of class 8 shared her thoughts on Dr Kiran Bedi’s speech on “Visionary Leadership”. Class 10 student Aayaan Vats, on the other hand, presented a melodious rendition of “Ae mere wattan ke logon”. “I chose the song to pay tribute to late Lata Mangeshkar as well as the nation. I chose the song after consulting my parents. I practised for around three-four days before presenting the song,” the young talent expressed.  Ayaan is learning music under the guidance of Padma Shri awardee Suresh Wadkar. He is undertaking training in Hindustani classical music. He has also recorded some songs including those for “Hungama 2”, clothing brand Allen Solly’s title track, and more.

The special assembly was followed by a mesmerising kathak dance by class 8 students Alina Patel and Anaya Deshpande. Aparajit of class 8 played the synthesizer, Mrigank of class 7 played the tabla while Shravani, Vedika, and Diksha from class 6 played the tambourines in a “jugalbandi” on Raag Desh on the tune of “Vande Mataram”. Students also sang the national anthem, creating an atmosphere of enthusiasm and patriotism.

At a similar special assembly held the following day, Shubrhonil Chattoraj of class 11 narrated the thought of the day: “There is no reality, only perception”, which was further explained by the teacher. Nihal Kumar of class 8 gave a speech on ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Priyanshi Mahajan of class 7 recited a poem on Rani Lakshmibai, and class 8 students Vagisha Kumar and Samyak Sinha sang patriotic songs.

The assembly was conducted by Sharvari Phadtare and Arya Shaju of class 11. “We took some time in finding the performers from different classes. All the students showed a lot of enthusiasm. While we planned the programme quickly, we made sure everybody practised thoroughly,” Arya said.

She added, “This was a good initiative where we learned about ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and about our country in general. It feels nice and refreshing to engage in extracurricular activities like these,” she added.  

Among the other performances was an Odissi dance by Samyukta Raghawan of class 9, and a self-composed poem on humanity by faculty member Anju Sharma. Shakuntala Singh, the academic coordinator also applauded all the performances in an encouraging speech.

Tricolour crafts and patriotic activities  

Likewise, students from the school’s primary wing also participated in a range of creative activities. The teachers explained the significance of the tricolour national flag to the young students and also told them about ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. Children enthusiastically prepared tricolour fruit and vegetable salads and enjoyed eating with friends. The following day, they also prepared a special assembly based on the national symbols. They sang “Hum honge kaamyaab” in chorus.

Class 1 students had a patriotic group song competition for which they dressed up and used various props and national symbols.

Meanwhile, Kindergarten students prepared tricolour bookmarks or drew the Indian flag in their colouring books. They also coloured national symbols which were put on display along the corridors. In another interesting activity, class 2 students prepared tricolour kites with quotes by freedom fighters or catchy slogans on freedom written on them. They also participated in a patriotic group song competition organised by the Hindi department. They emulated freedom fighters, doctors, farmers, policemen, army soldiers, etc, as they sang the songs.

Students of class 3, on the other hand, prepared tricolour paper fans using saffron, white, and green-coloured craft papers, and many other decorative items. They even dressed up as their favourite freedom fighters in a role-play activity and spoke about their respective contributions to the country.

For the students of class 4, the teachers came up with a similar activity called “Dress up and speak about freedom fighters”. Children dressed up as various great leaders including Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Rani Laxmi Bai, Dr BR Ambedkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sarojini Naidu, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and so on. They also made beautiful tricolour badges the next day.

Students of class 5 were encouraged to speak on the topic “Our Heritage”, to showcase the uniqueness of the country known for its diverse festivals, dances, music, architecture, and so on. A wide number of colourful and bright Independence Day-themed bookmarks were also made by these students using decorative materials that children brought to school. The bookmarks were very creative and innovative.