ATMAVIKAS SHIBIR II ANANDADHAM,KODUNGALLUR, 29TH APRIL TO 3RD MAY

ATMA VIKAS SHIBIR II-ANANDADHAM

The five-day non- residential  Shibir for the small children, started from 29th April and continued until 3rd May.56 participants from the age group of 6 years to 13 years were enrolled. Children were divided into three groups after three rivers of Kerala - Periyar (classes UKG to III), Pamba (classes IV and V) and Nila ( classes VI and VII).Seven kayakartas formed the organizing team The youngest amongst the groups Kum.Avyaya lit the lamp and inaugurated the Shibir.
Vedic chants, Hindi and Sanskrit group songs taught by the members of the organizing team, stories and action songs by Sri Murali Master, creativity and making of science and Mathematics models by the young resource team of karyakartas of Anandadham, formed part of their camp schedule. Apart from that, Krida Yoga, Surya Namaskar, and Asanas, enacting in skits and understanding the science behind some very interesting science models of their level explained by the youngsters of the resource team made the Shibir a very interesting one.
It was a blessing to have  Ma.Balakrishnanji, all India Vice President of Vivekananda Kendra,  as Chief Guest for the concluding programme.

SKIE Camp at Anandadham - May 2017

 

The second SKIE camp for the academic session 2016-2017, was held from 4th to 7th May 2017 at

Anandadham. The children were asked to report on 4th evening by 4 pm which they did. When the children arrived the Swantanam program for the month was just about to begin so the children were asked to join the same. Man. Balakrishnan Ji, Vice President of Vivekananda Kendra addressed this session of Swantanam and the children were taken through a small talk on the Vivekananda Kendra’s Bharata Parikrama. Man. Balakrishnan Ji also recalled about his journey in life of serving in the challenging environment of IAF(Indian Air force) and then responding to Mananeeya Eknathji’s call and joining the Kendra as a Jeevanvrati.

Later the children settled down, refreshed and joined for the sandhya bhajan, followed by dinner. Post dinner the children were briefed on the schedule for the next 3 days. The focus of this camp was on creating working Science models and understanding the principles and functioning of the same. Some, time would also be devoted to building Math models and there will also be an outing.

 

Day 2, 5th May started at around 5 in the morning. At 5:30 everyone assembled for pratha smaran, followed by yoga that included couple of rounds of Surya Namaskar. A short break ensued for personal chores. By 8:30 everyone finished their breakfast and was ready to begin. Sushree Lalitha Didi had the first session explaining to the children the plan for the day. By 10:00 am.  Mananeeya

Balakrishnan Ji addressed the children; The power of discrimination resides in human’s only, and it helps us humans to decided what should be done and what not, it is important that in this wheel of birth and death, it is important for each of us to know the purposee of life. Use our knowledge to do good. What is good and bad, good is what is done keeping in mind the welfare of one and all, whereas bad deeds or where there is the selfish motive. The purpose of life is sevanam or service. So then the question that comes to mind is, don't animals  also do service; some animals give us milk, some help us in doing our chores, then how are humans different? Human’s have the power to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad.

 

Day 3,  May 6th, was the day of outing. As usaul the day started at 5:00 am and after pratha smaran and short yoga session, everyone was ready to board the bus at 7:00 am.  Breakfast was picked on the way and had on the bus. Reached Archaeological Museum, Hill Palace, Thripunithura quite early much before the Museum had opened. Kerala's first heritage museum, is also the largest archaeological museum in Kerala. Once upon a time it was the Imperial Administrative offices and official residence of Cochin Maharaja, built in 1865, spread across 54 acres of land, and with 49 buildings. Photography is not allowed in the Museum, however the photographs that get recorded within each of us would not be erased for a very long time. There are 14 different categories of exhibits, including the crown and ornaments of the royal family. All found the exhibits extremely interesting, attractive, and some kindled the curiosity within. From the Hill Palace our next destination was Sri. Raghu Ji's house, where we had a sumptuous lunch. We thank Sri. Raghu Ji and Family for their kind hospitality, and wish them the very Best. We then visited the Museum of Kerala History, and went through the light and sound show on Kerala History. We also visited the Doll exhibition there.

By then it was time to return, so started our journey back to Anandadham. Black clouds were building and we reached just in time before the huge downpour started. The day was long and tiring. The  sandhya bhajan was rejuvenating and post dinner it was time for review. The children could not control their excitement from their trip to the Hill Palace Museum and went on sharing their experiences of the day. And then it was time for lights out.
 

On 7th morning after the usual prayers, yoga and breakfast, Sushree Lalitha Didi briefed the children. Post this Adarneeya Lakshmi Didi addressed the children. She emphasized upon Swami Vivekananda's words "Each Soul is Potentially Divine,  The goal is to manifest this divinity by controlling nature, external and internal." She also stressed on the need for the goal in Life, and to ascertain the same very early in life. Didi related few key incidents from the life of Swamiji, incidents that paved the way and strengthened the focus to the Goal. Later the children went through the math modelling till lunch time. After lunch it was time to finish the science models and be ready for the demonstration during the closing session when the parents would also be present.

 

ATMA VIKAS SHIBIR IV - KOVILAKATH DHARMASABHA, EDAVILANGU

                                            ATMAVIKAS SHIBIR - KOVILAKATH, EDAVILANGU


This time, the Kovilakath Dharmasabha members invited Vivekananda KendraVedic Vision to conduct a Shibir for children from class III to XI.
Accordingly, a three days non-residential shibir from 22nd April to 24th April was organized. This type of a shibir was held for the first time in Kovilakath. 40 children were enrolled. Dakshin Pranth Sanghatak, Su.Radha Didi was present for the inauguration as well as throughout the three days  Shibir.

Children were divided into five groups according to their age, viz Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Sw.Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita, and Ma.Eknathji.Apart from the usual routine, one hour in the afternoon was planned for creativity class, where the small children were taught paper crafts and older ones made science models. 24th evening was the concluding day. Prior to the concluding programme, the parents and  Dharmasabha members' expressed their opinions about the camp. All agreed that a samskarvarga should start in Kovilakath so that the children of the neighbourhood would be benefited  .Ma. Lakshmi Didi was invited for the concluding programme. Didi urged the need for mothers to pass on the right type of samskaras to the children. The mothers' team at Kovilakath was a good one . 10 -15 mothers managed the vyavastha of the entire camp. They themselves cooked and served breakfast, lunch, and tea and created a vibrant and homely atmosphere. How true it is when we remember what Swami Vivekananda said that the real India could be seen in villages only!

 

WORKSHOP FOR SAMSKARVARG CHILDREN OF ARIPALAM

                                         WORKSHOP FOR SAMSKARVARG CHILDREN-ARIPALA

Under the guidance of Vivekananda Kendra Vedic Vision Foundation,  10 regular Samskar Vargas are being conducted in the Aripalam Panchayat area every Sunday by LP school teachers trained by Vivekananda Kendra. 104 children  belonging to these 10 Samaska Vargas, participated in the two days workshop held on 19th and 20th of April. Sushree Lalitha Didi along with Kum.Nidhika( nivasi Karyakarta) and Abhijit from Thiruvananthapuram center, Su.Sutapa and 6 other local karyakartas, with the assistance of 10 teachers of Aripalam conducted the workshop. Many Maths and Science working models were made by the children, which they displayed on the last day for their parents to see.Other interesting models made by karyakartas were shown and the science behind each was explained to the children by Adaraneeya Lalitha Didi. New songs, games, and agnyas were also taught. The organizers of these centers Sri KKBinu, Smt Siju teacher and many others expressed their gratitude to all the Kendra workers.