The Shishu Bharati School of Indian Languages and Culture recently held its 26th annual graduation ceremony on a beautiful Sunday morning on June 22, 2014 at Lexington High School in Lexington, Massachusetts.  A total of 44 students (representing each of the school’s three locations: Lexington MA, Nashua NH, and Walpole MA) were honored at the event.

The graduation started with a display of the individual language projects of the students, which the students had completed to show their grasp of their studied language. The graduating class was comprised of students who had learned Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil or Telugu. There were posters and slideshows displayed, as well as more unconventional projects including Marathi and Hindi jeopardy and a game of Scrabble translated into Gujarati. The students got a chance to show off their mastery of their language as well as their own artistic and talents.

The soon-to-be graduates were eager to explain their projects to passersby, and did so unassisted by teachers, showing pride in what they had learned during their time at Shishu Bharati. The students created recipes in their respective languages, made posters about music and dance, and wrote blog posts. They brought their own creative twists to the displays, melding their American culture with their own Indian languages in projects such as Hindi “Uno” and a Marathi “Cat in the Hat” book.

After the display of language projects, the graduation ceremony began. The ceremony opened with the Shishu Bharati Alumni Band’s soulful rendition of the American and Indian national anthems, performed by Shishu Bharati Alumni band, followed by brief statements by each of the three principals; Mrs. Sipra Shah, Mr. Jay Pandit and Mrs. Renu Tiwari. Then, Dr. Seshi Sompuram, the president of the organization, in his speech thanked the students and parents for their perseverance and dedication to the school. He shared the story of a young boy who was struggling to shoot a ball into the basketball hoop in his backyard, but suddenly improved and began making more and more shots. When his parents asked him how he had improved so quickly, the boy replied that he had learned about the legendary archer Arjuna from the epic Mahabharata in Shishu Bharati, and wanted to have the same focus and accuracy as him. As Dr. Sompuram pointed out, learning about India’s culture allows the students to learn about a part of themselves and internalize the knowledge they gain to become better people. The principal from Walpole, Mrs. Renu Tewari, and the principal from Nashua Mr. Jay Pandit, echoed this theme and thanked the teachers, parents, and students again for their determination and willingness to learn.

The veteran Shishu Bharati member Mr. Nalin Parekh (affectionately called as Nalin bhai), served Shishu Bharati at various capacities with great dedication, passed away last year, June 22nd, 2013, was remembered and honored in the presence of his family. Mrs Parekh in her speech, reminded all how kind and fair person he was and how much affection he had for Shishu Bharati. Mrs Parekh and the children were presented with a memento in memory of Nalin bhai.

Each graduate was introduced by a teacher from their school and then spoke on stage in both English and the chosen Indian language they had studied at Shishu Bharati.  For most of the forty-four graduates, while the ceremony came as a relief from the relentless Sunday morning drudgery of attending Shishu Bharati they reflected on the valuable knowledge they had acquired and perspective they had gained.  “It is indeed a very special day” explained principal Sipra Shah, who, as a dedicated and guiding light for the School for over thirty-five years was honored with the inaugural “Life Time Achievement Award” by India New-England News.  

The keynote speaker, award-winning social entrepreneur, Dr. Harish Hande, provided entertaining and informative anecdotes about the importance of being an engaged “global citizen.”  He encouraged graduates to use their “fifty meter advantage” provided by their Shishu Bharati education to narrow the distance between themselves and the vast one third of the world’s citizens who still lack basic necessities, including access to electricity.  Alumni speaker, Parmita Shah, part of the School’s first graduating class 26 years ago, reinforced the message of using the foundation Shishu Bharati provides to be a force for positive change. She cited her work as an attorney for immigrant rights in Washington D.C as an example of how graduates might use their skill sets.   

Principal from Lexington, Mrs. Sipra Shah, offered a final word of encouragement to the graduating class to believe in themselves despite fear and self-doubt, citing a quote by Mahatma Gandhi: “If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

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