Amrita Vidyalayam Palakkad celebrated the Independence Day 2009 with pomp and splendor, as in every year.  The chief guest, Brigadier Narayana Menon graced the occasion. The program started with an invocation to the divine. Following this, the chief guest hoisted the National flag accompanied by the National Anthem in the background.

A march past by the students in tribute to the day was performed with the chief guest receiving the guard of honor. After this, he addressed the gathering, extolling the greatness of our Motherland. None can appreciate the country better than one in our security forces who guards the nation while withstanding the extreme climatic conditions and altitudes of their post.

“We are blessed to be born in this great nation of India. There is no other country in the world that is so densely packed with a variety of cultures within such a small boundary, as in India. Every state has a different language here, and so too a different culture. And they differ as much in terrain as in the occupation they support.

Flag hoisting….

The one quality that our land stands up for can be summed up in one word —Tolerance. Tolerance towards each individual’s faith, culture and belief. The greatness of our land has not gone unnoticed. It is to India that cultures look up to for deriving inspiration. India’s contribution to the knowledge of the world is phenomenal. The science of Yoga, Ayurveda, Astronomy, Music and Dance—these are just some of the treasures offered by our nation to the world. We will take an example, so that you get a insight into how much evolved our ancestors were. We all know that there are nine major planets in our solar system. Our modern scientists found this out around a century back with the help of many a sophisticated instrument.

But how long has the concept of the ‘Navagraha’ been existent in our tradition? You would have seen the arrangement of the nine devatas in our temples, each positioned such that they don’t face each other. This concept of Navagrahas can be seen in ancient temples all over India. It is since time immemorial that we have been honoring them. Without telescopes, without ever going to the moon, without any modern scientific equipment, our ancestors had already deciphered the solar system exactly to the minutest detail.”

The chief guest distributing sweets….

“This that I told you is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deep and you would find the same in Vedic Mathematics, Music, Chemistry and Spirituality. There is no other nation that has contributed so much to the development of the human mind as India.” These were some of the insights offered by the chief guest.

After the address, the chief guest himself personally distributed sweets to all the students, ending the day on a sweet note.