Teacher’s Day Celebration
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”
-Rabindranath Tagore
A teacher holds our hand, opens our mind and touches our heart. In Shikshantar each day is a celebration of the beautiful bond between the teacher and a child. The essence of ‘Teacher’s day’ is to remember and reinstate the crucial role a teacher plays in a student’s life by just being there, learning from her students and enabling facilitation for their continuous wholesome growth.
Every year on Teacher’s day, the entire team of Shikshantar is treated to beautiful experiences facilitated by veterans and masters from different fields of life. This year was another gem of an experience offered to the team to nourish their soul.
As every ocassion must, this one too had an auspicious beginning. Sudha didi and Subarna didi set the tone for the evening with creative movements on ‘Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Agni ki Parasmani’. This delightful performance was followed by another one to pay respect to all our teachers as the duo expressed the meaning of the shloka ‘Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu’ through hasta mudras.
This was the perfect ocassion for teachers to have the opportunity to listen to their mentor Minoti didi share her valuable thoughts. She dwelled on how being a teacher was the most fortunate job anyone can have. Its a privilege to work with children on a daily basis. Her thoughts on living in the moment like children do, revelling in the joys of connecting with children and creating safe places for the children and adults, were enriching for one and all.
The highlight of the day was an absolutely mesmerising performance by Ustad Anwar Khan, a professional Manganiar musician who is one of the leading vocalists of folk, Sufi and traditional music of western Rajasthan.
Ustaadji began the evening by invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha as he sang ‘Gajanan’. He set a beautiful environment with heart touching evergreen renditions such as ‘Kesariya balam’, ‘sawan bitho jaaye’, ‘mast kalandar’ and many more. His intelligence in establishing communication with audiences from varied cultural backgrounds, understanding and tradition, the correctness of his lyrics and his commitment to inter faith worship, lent immense richness and depth to his rendition.
