India’s 75th Independence Day was celebrated across the different units of Bala Mandir in various ways.

In the Home in Chennai, a series of activities were conducted on August 13th and 14th focusing on language and arithmetic. The activities were anchored by Ms Hemamalini and Ms Veena and were conducted by the senior girls, which was a first. The events included age-based games such as ‘choose the correct option’, ‘jumbled words’, ‘sort the coins’, Word Bingo, Maths Bingo, ‘shopping spree’ and ‘survey graph’. The staff of the Main Block and Boys Section supported in this initiative.

On August 15th the traditional flag hoisting was carried out, followed by cultural events, including a dance by the toddlers, speeches by the high school children, enactment of a comedy skit, and music and dance performances. As a new initiative, the concept of the ‘Bala Mandir Pledge’ was introduced. This consists of 4 key values which each Bala Mandir child is expected to remember and inculcate in their lives – truthfulness, respect for everyone, giving your best + self improvement, and doing good for the society and the environment. Ms Leela, Joint Secretary and Mr P Natarajan, Treasurer and Trustee explained the importance of the Pledge to the children. Children belonging to the Junior Choir wing of the Madras Youth Choir took part in a virtual concert through Zoom for Independence Day and sang a patriotic song.