24th
Jul
2021

Guru Purnima 2021

Guru Purnima is a particularly significant day in the Indian ethos and heritage. According to Hindu mythology is the day when Lord Shiva transferred his knowledge to seven followers or “sapatarishis”. Since this day, Guru Purnima is celebrated to honour Lord Shiva, his valuable teachings, and his seven followers. It is also believed to be the birthday of Ved Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata, an important source of knowledge on politics and morality, unity and courage in ancient India. This day is also believed to be the day when Mahavira, one of the most important of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras, got his first follower on this day, thereby officially becoming a guru. The Buddhist believe this to be the day when Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon just five weeks after attaining enlightenment under the now-famous Bodhi tree. No matter which version of the day’s relevance is considered, there’s no doubt this day is a reflection of the bonding between the guru and the ‘shishya’.

While this relationship can have several definitions and aspects, one thing is certain, a guru (be it teacher, guide, friend or even parents) always looks out for empowering the ‘shishya’ with the most important skills to adapt to the greater world and its challenges.  Teachers all round the world therefore offer feedback to students to support their feelings of competence. Teachers know their students' interests and preferences, and thus show regard and respect for these individual differences, bolster students' feelings of autonomy – helping boost their leadership skills.

The virtual programme on this occasion presented by the Middle and Senior Section started with the emcees – Indrakshi Saha of Class XI and Sambit Majumder of Class XII addressing the house and announing the opening dance on Guru Vandana performed by Sohini Mondal of Class VI, Sharanya Sen of Class VIII, Ankita Halder of Class IX and Adrija Karmakar of Class XI followed by a trilingual rendition of a Rabindrasangeet performed by Bidyutparna Chakraborty of Class VIII and Arup Sarkar of Class XI. The wonderful performances followed by the Welcome Note by Principal Dr. Sankar Prasad Dutta, who addressed the students on this occasion as he spoke on the essential qualities of a leader – FAR – Fortitude, Ardent and Relentless, motivating the future leaders among the students.

On this occasion the students primary and middle school sections of the school also expressed their respect to their gurus (be it teachers, parents, grandparents or anyone else) through their performances and their special messages and e-cards on the occasion of Guru Purnima to reflect their guru’s contribution in their lives.