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Shri G. K. Sundaram,
Member of Bhavan's Council, as well as a Member of its
Executive Committee, Founder Chairman and Patron of its
Coimbatore Kendra, passed away peacefully on 18th May, 2009.
He was 95. A great patriot, industrialist, and philanthropist,
Shri Sundaram was totally committed to the ideals of Bhavan.
We will be missing his wise counsel.
Shri Vineet Gandhi,
son of Bhavan's auditor Shri Nalin Gandhi & Lakhani, passed
away at a very young age of 31, on 9th August,2009.
Shri S. Krishna Raj,
Hon. Treasurer, Bhavan's Mysore Kendra, passed away on 8th
January, 2010. He was 52.
Dr. C. Padmanabhan
Nair, Vice Chairman of Bhavan's Ottapalam Kendra since its
inception in 2005, passed away on 13th October,2009. He was
63. He was the owner of Aswini Hospital, Ottapalam.
Smt. Leela Sivaswamy,
wife of Shri G. Sivaswamy, Chairman of Bhavan's Wadakkanchery
Kendra passed away on 17th October, 2009. She was 67.
Prof. P. Gopalaraman,
Honorary Secretary of Bhavan's Thiruvananthapuram Kendra
passed away on 5th January, 2010 after a brief illness at the
age of 85. He was a dedicated Honorary worker of the Bhavan
and served the Bhavan till the last moment.
Shri K. V.
Gopalakrishnan, Director of Bhavan's Kolkata Kendra passed
away on 14th January, 2010 at the age of 84 after a brief
illness. He served the Bhavan with full dedication for nearly
three decades.
May the souls of the
departed rest in Eternal Peace!
During the period under
review, individuals and institutions of Bhavan's family
worldwide have brought it laurels with their notable
achievements.
Navneet Hindi Monthly
has been given the prestigious Kamleshwar award for
excellence.
The Duke of Edinburgh
Award, an International Award for outstanding achievement,
was conferred upon nine students of Bhavan's Sawan Public
School, New Delhi. The proud winners received the Award at the
hands of India's Vice President of India, Shri Mohammed Hamid
Ansari, on April 20, 2009.
Digital Learning India
Award 2009 was won by Bhavan's Public School, Jubilee
Hills, Hyderabad. This is the only school in India so honoured
on the basis of the verdict of the Juries.
Birth Centenary Year
of Mahamahopadhyaya Shri Jayantkrishna Dave, one of the
Founder Members of Bhavan was observed with solemn dignity by
Bhavan on September 5, 2009. Justice Shri Srikrishna, Vice
President and Trustee of Bhavan, presided.
Grant of Financial
Assistance of Rs. 10 crores from Prime Minister's National
Relief Fund to expand activities of Bhavan's Gandhi Institute
of Computer Education & Information Technology, particularly
in North Eastern region, Jammu & Kashmir and in tribal areas:
Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime
Minister of India, during his visit to Bhavan in 2006, to
dedicate the first unit of the Bhavan's Gandhi Institute in
the memory of late Shri C. Subramaniam complimented Bhavan for
its unceasing efforts to remain relevant to the needs of the
Society and assured that he would support and encourage the
good work of Bhavan. He sanctioned a sum of Rs.10 crores from
the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to expand the
activities of the Gandhi Institute in North¬Eastern Regions,
Jammu & Kashmir and in rural areas.
The responsibility was
given to Bhavan's New Delhi Kendra which in spite of
difficulties of communication and administration, has
succeeded in opening 8 centres in North-Eastern regions,
Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, etc. A Centre in the tribal belt of
Seethampet, Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradesh and another
Centre at Dedipada in District Bharuch, Gujarat are also being
organized. More sites at Udaipur, Rajasthan, Chalbasa,
Jharkhand and Jagdalpur, Chattisgarh have also been identified
for opening of Centres of the Institute.
The sanction of funds by
the Prime Minister and the consequent expansion of the
Institute's Centres have been possible due to the efforts of
Shri Murli S. Deora, our Vice President, who also is the
Vice-Chairman of Bhavan's Gandhi Institute.
Bhavan's Shikshan
Bharati :
The Department of Education of Bhavan had organized several
programmes involving teachers, parents and students of several
of Bhavan's schools in India. The Second All India Principals'
Conference of Bhavan's schools was held in Chennai from
3.12.2009 to 5.12.2009.
The Abhyudaya Welfare
and Development Project:
It is an innovative welfare project conceived and implemented
by Dr.
M. L. Shrikant, Hon. Dean of SPJIMR and Chairman, Bhavan's
Campus, Andheri, Mumbai. The project involves students of
SPJIMR adopting a student, belonging to economically weaker
section of the society and spending quality time with the
child, guiding and helping. This project builds
self-confidence and courage in the child while it widens the
vision of the Management student, especially in the realm of
social realities and the need to lift up someone less
fortunate than oneself. The Mentor, the student of SPJIMR,
spends some time every week with the mentee, described as
Sitara, and his family, in the various academic and
non¬academic areas.
Year long Golden
Jubilee Celebrations of Bhavan's Chennai Kendra:
The celebrations came to a conclusion on 26th April,2009,
during a function at Chennai in which my colleague, Justice
Shri B N Srikrishna, was the Chief Guest. As part of the
Golden Jubilee Celebrations, the Kendra has announced starting
of several projects at Tiruporur.
A bust of the founder of Bhavan Dr.K M Munshi, was installed
at the Bhavan's premises at Mylapore and a bust of Rajaji was
installed at Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram, Kilpauk. The Members
will be happy to know that Shri T. S. Krishnamurthy, former
Chief Election Commissioner, is the new Chairman of the
Bhavan's Chennai Kendra.
Rajaji Vidyashram:
Bhavan's Chennai Kendra had organized a visit by 17 of its
students to take part in a 'Space School Programme', organized
by NASA at its Johnson Space Centre in Houston, USA. The
programme was designed to test the students' engineering
skills and talents with a focus on team work, problem solving,
communications and adaptation to unexpected problems. At the
end of the programme Rajaji Vidyashram team was declared as
one of the best among the participating schools.
Kochi Kendra Silver
Jubilee Celebrations of Mahila Vibhag:
Mahila Vibhag of Bhavan's Kochi Kendra has been doing
excellent work by adopting slums and empowering poor women and
widows. They are doing it on a large scale. It celebrated its
Silver Jubilee during the last week of August, 2009.
Visit by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India to
the Bhavan's Centre at New York, USA, on April 28, 2009 :
The former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam interacted with
the students and described Kulapati Munshi as a visionary and
creator of several institutions to inculcate the value systems
among the youth as part of educational process.
102nd Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Harivansh Rai
Bachchan:
The 102nd Birth Anniversary of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, the
renowned Hindi poet was celebrated by Bhavan in its packed
auditorium on November 28, 2009. The event called "Bachchan
Sandhya" was presented by Harivansh Rai's son Amitabh Bachchan,
who recited and sang some of the poems penned by his father.
The event was well presented by the eminent Hindi poetess, a
close friend of the Bachchan and the Bhavan families,
Smt.Pushpa Bharati. Earlier, Navneet, Bhavan's Hindi Monthly
had brought out special edition on the great Hindi poet. Shri
Amitabh Bachchan expressed his gratitude and said that in
times to come, the relationship between Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
and Bachchan family would become more intimate and fruitful.
Bhavan's Holistic
Institute Of Sciences:
The Institute was inaugurated at Bhavan's Campus at Andheri
jointly by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and the Health Charity Trust
(Nature Cure & Holistic Health Awareness Centre). The
facilities would include Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Yoga, Oriental
Therapy, Physiotherapy, Ozone Therapy etc.
Sri Ramkatha By Poojya
Shri Morari Bapu:
Mumbai was immersed in a profound spiritual experience from
January 9 to January 17, 2010, when Poojya Shri Morari Bapu
conducted Sri Ramkatha. The event, in which tens of thousands
of people participated, was a most memorable experience.
While the Katha was presented by Poojya Morari Bapu during the
day, several cultural programmes by renowned artistes had been
arranged during the evening. The participating artistes
included Smt. Kishori Amonkar, Ustad Rashid Khan and Usman
Mir. "Little Wonders" programme was presented by the famous
Music Director, Shri Viju Shah in which over 60 children
participated. A Kavi-Sammelan was organized at which the poets
from Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and Gujarati poetry participated.
They included Gulzar, Surya Bhanu Gupt, Vinda Karandikar,
Suresh Dalal, Mangesh Padgaonkar, Rajesh Reddy, Anil Joshi,
Pushpa Bharati, etc.
Birju Maharaj, the renowned exponent of Kathak, Manna Dey who
had sung memorable melodies for decades, Kashikanandaji
Maharaj, the great Sanskrit Scholar, the Gyanpeeth Awardee
Poet, Vinda Karandikar, the renowned theatre personality,
Pandit Satyadev Dubey and Shri S. H. Raza for his
contributions to the field of Fine Arts, were felicitated by
the Bhavan.
The event has brought forth a surge of appreciation from the
general public for Bhavan. Poojya Morari Bapu paid glowing
tributes to the work and ideals of Bhavan. His Holiness, the
Dalai Lama sent a special Message of congratulations and good
wishes in which he writes: "I am encouraged to see the
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan continues to thrive in its various
activities, seeking to preserve and promote India's spiritual
ethical, social and educational heritage".
Conclusion:
During the seven decades that have passed us by, since the
Bhavan was founded by Dr. K. M.Munshi, as an adventure in
faith, as he chose to describe it, Bhavan has grown and
expanded contributing to the spiritual and cultural awareness
of people, helping them to find meaning and substance to their
existence, in spite of presence or absence of material
affluence. I have had the opportunity to watch closely and to
participate in its endeavours for over four decades.
True, Bhavan has had the blessings, guidance and support of a
galaxy of personalities of great achievement, integrity and
performance as it grew gradually into a movement of the
people, for the people and by the people.
But running through it all, there has always been a thread,
which I sense is the will of God. If Bhavan is what it is
today, it is so only because God has so willed it. Those who
erected the Bhavan, nurtured it, saw it grow and have been
swallowed up by time, and those of us, who are privileged to
serve the institution and all that it stands for, all are mere
Instruments of God.
I am happy and proud that in Shri H.N. Dastur, the Bhavan's
Executive Secretary, we have a CEO whose hard work,
dedication, total integrity and commitment to the Bhavan's
values have contributed vitally to the consolidation and
growth that the Bhavan has achieved in recent times. Shri
Dastur has won over for Bhavan many new friends who are men
and women of eminence and substance in their respective fields
of human endeavour. The recently concluded Ramkatha by revered
Morari Bapu and the huge cultural programmes associated with
it and the Bachchan Sandhya before that shows the strength of
Shri Dastur's organizational acumen and ability to create team
work by providing humble, yet inspirational leadership.
Thanks And
Appreciation:
I convey my deepest gratitude to our Vice Presidents, our
colleagues, in the Executive Committee and the Board of
Trustees and the Council for their help, support and wise
counsel. It is the team that makes all the difference.
I convey my grateful thanks to all the Chairmen and office
bearers of all our Kendras in India and abroad. Their vision
and sustained efforts have contributed immensely to the growth
of the Bhavan.
I must also record my deep appreciation and thanks to the
totally dedicated and loyal staff members at all levels in
India in overseas centres. The founder of Bhavan has always
described them to be the greatest asset of Bhavan. To this
day, they remain so.
Thank you.
Yours in-the-service of the Bhavan,
Mumbai,
January 24, 2010
Surendralal G. Mehta |
