|
 What
is love? Is it just affection or liking as often depicted in
cinemas? Or is it something deeper than that?
Today, in a period when elders themselves
cannot make the difference between ephemeral, worldly attraction
and the ever-existing bond between all of God’s creation, the
students and teachers of
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Educare depicted in myriad ways
that love or Prema is the single thread that binds us all
together.
Samarpan 2007, the first of a series of
annual events dedicated to the various facets of higher human
values, was conducted on Saturday, November 17, 2007.
This year’s theme was Love. It was depicted
in multiple ways – through song, dance, Bhajan Anthaksharis,
skit, talk and yes (!) even a ‘match-the-following’ type of
game; not to forget a human pyramid!
The programme started at 9 a.m. with loud
Veda chanting by all students that reverberated in the entire
prayer hall, followed by Sai bhajans. School correspondent P
Kumaraswami lit the Lamp of Love.
 What
followed was a brief introduction by a former student of Sri
Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Puttaparthy.
The school was divided into four houses:
Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, and Prema. Each house proportionately
comprised students from class-1 to class-10.
 Students
brought out Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s universal message of love
through colorful posters, songs, skits, and dance.
Even teachers chipped in! They came out with
their version of a popular drama written by Sri Sathya Sai Baba,
called Cheppinattu Chestara? (Do you do as you say?). The skit
essentially questions the bipartite concurrence of man’s word
and deed.
 The
Bhajan Anthakshari was conducted by former Puttaparthy students,
P Shyam Sunder and Sriram S, who were active members of the
music group at Puttaparthy.
Interspersed between the programmes were
random questions thrown at the students on the life and
teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Those who answered correctly
were instantly rewarded!
Latha, a teaching faculty of the school,
spoke of her and her family’s experiences with Sri Sathya Sai
Baba. The correspondent spoke on the school’s vision and
mission. Shyam Sunder laid out the institute alumni’s vision and
plan of action for the school in the months to come.
 The
programme concluded with the grand finale - prize distribution!
To the cheering applause of all present, Sathya house won the
trophy this year. The trophy was given away by Ritesh Kumar
Patnaik, a senior alumnus of Sai Baba’s Institute. The teachers’
trophy was handed over by the school correspondent.
The event was the brainchild of a couple of
former students of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning,
Puttaparthy.
Correspondent Kumaraswami was all praise for
the event.
Ramakrishnan Ramani
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