“The child is both the hope and promise for mankind”
– Maria Montessori
Independence day celebration at ILM
August 15 was an emotional day for us at ILM. We celebrated our first Independence Day as a school community together. Children looked resplendent in their white attire as if angels had descended from the heavens. Parents participated enthusiastically in a tricolor rangoli activity along with children as we all assembled for flag hoisting. Children sang the National Anthem with gusto along with teachers and parents, somehow instinctively knowing its significance.
The youngest child present, Vritti hoisted the Tricolor. She was helped by Anusree’s Grandpa; thus two generations came together to make a historic day at ILM. Varun, Vritti’s dad recited a beautiful poem in Hindi by Ram Prasad Bismil, an Indian revolutionary. Varun shared with us that he had learned this poem in school.
ILM children do us proud:
Did you know that Pingali Venkayya was the man who designed our National Flag? I learned it from Maryam on Independence Day as she and other children came together to talk about various National symbols. John shared with us that the National Anthem was written by Rabindra Nath Tagore. Rafa informed us that our National Fruit Mango is a source of Vitamin A, C & D. There are more than a hundred varieties of mangoes in India. Saud talked about the National Animal, the tiger; he cautioned that if people will not stop killing the tiger for its skin and teeth, very soon we will see tigers only in books. He raised the slogan for saving the tiger! Eva shared her thoughts on the National Flower Lotus. She explained that the Lotus is a symbol of purity of heart and mind, a sacred flower in Indian culture.
Siddharth talked about our beautiful National Bird Peacock. He informed us that the peacock has a train of around 200 bronze-greenish blue feathers. Sadly, it is also being killed for its feathers instead of being admired and protected for its beauty. He also warned us that if we will not make an effort to save the 
peacock, it will become extinct soon. Nuha talked about the National Game Hockey though I must share with you that she and other kids were very perplexed that our national game is hockey and not cricket! They now want to learn more about the game. Tanav talked about the National Tree – the Grand Old Banyan! He said that the banyan is till date the hub of village life. It’s where the villagers have their Circle Time.
The days celebrations ended by singing, “Hum hongay kamyaab”. Do watch a recording of the song at the end of this post.
Happy Birthday Saket!
On August 19, we celebrated Saket’s birthday and the World Humanitarian Day.
There couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate his birthday. Saket’s mom and several other parents brought in art material to be gifted to the children who are under treatment at the HBS hospital founded by our trustee, Dr. Mateen. We will keep you posted on this initiative as it takes shape. Meanwhile, if any of you want to contribute to this project, please reach out to me at sheeba@ilm-foundation.com.
I will end on a thoughtful note from a book I read recently, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch – “Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other”.
Till next time do enjoy some more pictures of our Independence day celebration and a video of the children singing, “Hum hongay Kamyaab!”
