Help disadvantaged Bengali children + young people

The 15^th August is a special day in India: Independence Day. The celebration of India’s independence from the UK in 1947. It is celebrated throughout the country and particularly in schools throughout India. The New Life Centre is no exception.

Each time I visit this rural community and take part in the school Assembly in the morning I ensure that those who are travelling with me have the lyrics to the National Anthem, and also what it means. This is an important part of the ritual, as it binds all the children together, who are from distinct communities in the locality, but all one in the school.

I find the tune of the National anthem very moving as I associate it with my time at this very special school. When we join in at the Assemblies, I watch the children’s faces as they look bemused when they see foreigners singing their anthem.

The National Anthem conveys the spirit of pluralism or in more popular terms the concept of 'Unity in Diversity', which lies at the core of India's cultural heritage. This is at the heart of the New Life Centre, as all children are treated in the same way.

Alindra Naskar has created an ethos in the school where the older children look after the younger ones, and in a society where the practice can fall short of the ideal, in the spirit of the National Anthem this inspirational Director of the school has put the words into action, and created a community where creed or class do not matter, just children’s potential.

In raising the flag on Independence Day and celebrating with some of the children dressing in national costume and providing cakes and snacks, Alindra Naskar underlines the need to honour the day and its true meaning as composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.