National Essay Contest on Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi’s message and its influence on the world

IDC (India Discovery Center), a non-profit organization based in Massachusetts, is organizing a national essay contest on Mahatma Gandhi as a part of its India Heritage Weekend event. 

The India Heritage Weekend celebrates the centennial of Gandhi’s return to India with a planned set of activities including movies, music concert, exhibition and a lecture. Gandhi returned from South Africa in 1915 and launched India’s nonviolent civil disobedience movement that helped gain India’s freedom. It was also a forerunner to the liberation of several Asian and African countries from colonial rule.

The contest is open to all school and college students below twenty years of age. The topic is “Gandhi’s message and its influence on the world.” The essay must be in English and should not exceed 1,200 words typed double space in Times Roman 12 point font. The deadline for receipt of submission is September 30, 2015. Electronic submission is preferred; please send the essay in MS Word format as an email attachment to IDCinBoston@gmail.com. The cover page should contain the name of author, address, email, phone number, school/college name and address, and class identification, and a 100-word abstract. A self-declaration certificate for age and authorship must be attached.

The essays would be evaluated by an independent panel of judges and the results would be announced in the second week of October. IDC will award three prizes for the contest. Each prize will carry a certificate and a cash award. The prize amounts are $300, $200, and $100. The prize winners would be invited to attend the events of the India Heritage Weekend.

You can visit http://www.IndiaDiscoveryCenter.org for further details on the contest. Interested candidates can contact Mr. Sanjeev Tripathi at IDCinBoston@gmail.com or by calling him at 781-248-0591.

INDIA HERITAGE WEEKEND

Centenary Celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi’s Freedom Movement 

October 16-17, 2015

Regis College, Weston MA

“India Discovery Center,” a US 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is planned to be a hands-on interactive Museum and Education Center that is designed to encapsulate the evolution of culture, society and economy in India over the millennia.  First of its kind in the USA, the Center is envisioned to celebrate India’s traditions and customs, her contributions to the world and her evolving identity in philosophy, religions, literature, language and art.  The Center will serve as an educational and instructional facility, a research hub and an entertainment and performance center for artists, both local and visiting.  The mission is to promote international harmony through discovery and understanding of historical and contemporary evolution of Indian culture, and encourage cultural exchange between India and the US.  

The IDC is presenting India Heritage Weekend, to celebrate the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom movement in India, which launched in 1915 after his return from South Africa. Though Gandhi initiated his passive resistance movement in South Africa, he perfected his philosophy of “Satyagraha” only after his return to India in 1915. His message of non-violent civil disobedience fueled mass resistance that not only unified India but also inspired freedom movements throughout the world.

 

The India Heritage Weekend will be held on October 16th and 17th at the Performing Arts Center of Regis College, Weston, MA. The program includes a keynote address on the subject, 'Mahatma Gandhi's message & India’s role in the world today' by Prof. Rajmohan Gandhi, the celebrated scholar and statesman, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, an essay competition among the youth on the theme of 'Gandhi’s message and its influence on the world’, screening of a movie GANDHI based on Gandhi’s life, screening of some archival footage of documentary on Gandhi, a musical concert a music and dance concert on ‘Music of Liberation’, an exhibition of art work by local Boston artists depicting Gandhi as well as some never seen before photographs of Mahatma Gandhi.

The events are free with prior registration at the website www.IndiaDiscoveryCenter.org

Introducing

INDIA DISCOVERY CENTER

“India Discovery Center,” a US 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is planned to be a hands-on interactive Museum and Education Center that is designed to encapsulate the evolution of culture, society and economy in India over the millennia.  First of its kind in the USA, the Center is envisioned to celebrate India’s traditions and customs, her contributions to the world and her evolving identity in philosophy, religions, literature, language and art. The Center will serve as an educational and instructional facility, a research hub and an entertainment and performance center for artists, both local and visiting. The mission is to promote international harmony through discovery and understanding of historical and contemporary evolution of Indian culture, and encourage cultural exchange between India and the US.  

Idea of the center is the brainchild of our current president Dr. Bijoy Misra, who brings his decades of experience in studying India at Harvard University and through his own scholarly efforts in education and teaching. The project idea developed after the Festival of India celebrations in the ‘80s, which was a multi-year effort of cultural exchange between India and the US.  He created the map for a possible Educational Center undertaking by discussing with various groups in Harvard University and other institutions. Praveen Sahay, Founder and Managing Director of Wave Equity Partners, joined him in 2012.  Mr. Sahay helped in creating the theme tables thus fixing a mosaic of India’s cultural history as a time capsule.  Mr. Anil Aras, Mr. Rajen Desai and Mr. Rajinikant, associates of Dr. Misra through children’s schooling, joined in to help consolidate the content maps.  Since then, the team has expanded to about a dozen volunteers who meet every two weeks in order to help expand on the contents and create an educational framework for each of the themes.  Have completed nearly half the ideation, they are now starting to design the exhibits.  The eventual Center proposed to be inaugurated in 2021 is planned to be spread in a hundred rooms staggered through five floors as a journey in human history. Mr. Siddhartha Pattanayak, Esq. acts as a General Counsel to the project.

The important thrust of the Center would be its hands-on activity centers where the visitors can sample objects, play instruments, apply dyes, weave textiles, learn metallurgy, try phonemes and create musical compositions. Resident and visiting master teachers would offer courses on various aspects of arts, culture, sciences and philosophy as an ongoing activity.  Research activity on wellness living, nutrition, herbal cures, yoga would be sponsored through scholarships and guided field trips. Language and literature discussion of the world culture would be sponsored with a view to cultural exchange.  Regular lectures and performance events would be sponsored to create awareness on ideas and their impact on the world.     

The Center springs out of the need for the Indian legacy to be preserved and shared with the future generations such that the depth and complexity of India’s culture can be studied and explored by the youth.  It is expected to be an educational center for anyone to learn about India’s cultural roots, food, habits, festivals, arts, sciences, music, dance and music.  We carry the strong belief that the intellectual traditions and cultural ethos of India do not just belong in history, but are relevant to a peaceful future of the world, and sustainable prosperity of both the East and the West.  We wholeheartedly agree with the British historian Arnold Toynbee who argued that “the attitude and spirit [of ancient India]….can make it possible for the human race to grow together into a single family”.  We want to inspire and educate young minds through engaging programs and exhibits to create a meaningful impact on the communities it serves. 

Rediscovering and sharing this rich vein of human history is an exciting opportunity.  We expect that our efforts would bring new research into developing social traditions, cultural and community spirit to the US from the experiments nurtured in India for thousands of years.  India and the future generations of our children owe their identity to your present day efforts and contributions in understanding India.

Contact: 

Praveen Sahay praveen@waveep.com (617) 350-9820

Krishna Gazula kgazula@gmail.com (781) 990-8526

Chandrika Govardhan cgovardhan@yahoo.com (781) 652-8764

Hardeep Mann hardeep885@yahoo.com (617) 497-0316

Radha Jalan rjalan@fuelcell.com (978) 369-7792

Bijoy Misra misra.bijoy@gmail.com (781) 259-0029