On the beautiful morning of 15th August, the students of Mirraloke gathered together to pay an ode to the brave children of Mother India who fearlessly sacrificed their lives to free India from the British. This day not only marks the glorious occasion when India reclaimed her freedom, but it also celebrates the birth anniversary of one of her bravest son, Sri Aurobindo. The classrooms were clad beautifully in the colours of the Indian flag, while the shrine was adorned with fragrant flowers and colourful rangolis. The programme started off with a spectacular dance performance by the youngest students of the Learning Community who grooved to the tune of a patriotic song, embodying every ounce of the spirit of freedom. After the dance performance, all the students broke into a song in unison, and the tune of the musical instruments, accompanied by their loud young voices filled the atmosphere with contagious enthusiasm. As the echoes of the song faded, the students engaged in a lively and thoroughly exciting debate. They were provided with two topics- the first being ‘Playing at the playground vs. playing on electronic devices’ and the second topic was ‘How can India address the growing concerns of climate change and environmental degradation?’. For each topic, there were two teams, one team spoke for the motion, while the other, against it. But as the debate proceeded, every single student, irrespective of whether they were a part of any team or not, came forward with undying enthusiasm and put forth their own point of views. This collective participation by all the students showcased their capabilities of thinking critically and working together coherently to solve a problem, reminding all of us how the essence unity always lies at the core independence. After the debate, the program came to an end with everyone joining together to sing the national anthem.
