Independence Day 2014 in KS Garden Slum
Mahatma Gandhi once said; ‘To
see India, go to our villages’. Students of St. Joseph’s College,
Bangalore thought the same with Gandhi and realized what he actually meant, on
this Independence Day, perhaps the best day to have such a profound and
pragmatic realization of one’s own country. Standing beneath our tricolor flag,
67 years after that August 15, it is good that we relive the memory of many
years of toil and struggle and also remind ourselves that everything is not
settled yet. On that day we saw the real India, her reality amidst the lavish,
luxury lives, by our visit to the K.S Garden slum, near our college.
It was the initiative of a
student movement of the college called AICUF (All India Catholic University
Federation). We were around 130 students. And the visit left a mark in our
memories that day. We were taken aback by the hospitality of the people of K.
S. Garden. They had lots of energy and joy and an air of celebration filled
even the narrow lanes of the slum. They along with the coordinator Mr. Manohar
Ranganathan, who is a native of the place and who also takes classes on human
rights in various colleges, made all the arrangement.
We had a flag post at the
entrance and a rangoli in the shape of Indian map decked the area just beneath
it. There were a lot of children that day, each one proudly carrying the Indian
flags waving them as they ran around. We taught them a few action songs and
conducted games. A few students from Mount Carmel College also joined us and
performed dances and songs making the atmosphere still bright and colorful. The
main event was a visit to different families, wishing and chatting with them.
Language did not really hamper our relating with people.
Classrooms teach us only a
little of the world, we realize what the world is when we keep our bags down
and take steps that take us to the interiors of the world we live in. One among
the many commendable initiatives AICUF takes!!
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