Page 8 - MONSOON EDITION

PRINCIPAL'S DESK

Mr. Radhey Shyam Pandey
PRINCIPAL
Nand Vidya Niketan School - Jamnagar

To me culture is a way of life. The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the language you speak in and the
God you worship all are aspects of culture. In very simple terms, we can say that culture is the
embodiment of the way in which we think and do things in our day to day life.

Talking about Indian culture - India is one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse nations in the
world. It is one of the oldest civilizations and is labeled as an amalgamation of several other cultures. It
is unique because of its ability to nourish and sustain its ancient culture till modern times. We are able
to keep it intact till today, considering how cultures change fast due to influence.

What makes Indian culture so unique? One of the reasons is the concepts of dharma and karma.
Ahimsa, philosophy of nonviolence, is an important aspect of Indian faiths whose most well known
proponents were Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. who used this weapon to attain freedom
in their countries respectively. Tolerance towards all other religions is also what makes our culture so
unique. There are people who live in harmony with each other since ages - irrespective of the
difference in their religion, caste, creed, food habits etc.

There are up to 3000 castes and 25000 sub castes. All these different castes and religions have
different forms of culture and tradition of their own. Additionally, India's secular concept is famous all
over the world. All these make India a rich and diverse country and projects India as unified force and a
country proud of its culture and heritage.

As Principal - NVN, it is my duty to teach our children about the importance of culture and keep them in
touch with that of India. Our culture puts the society in the middle of everything. Festivals are to be
enjoyed and celebrated with either the whole family or the society. Indian culture is about teaching our
children to connect to the people around them, to know their neighbours, and to be close to the family.
Our culture operates on the principles of moral values. When our children are exposed to Indian
customs, they learn important lessons about respecting others and being honest which is extremely
important to harmoniously co-exist in the society.

However, we believe that it is not the sole responsibility of parents to educate the children about
various aspects of the Indian culture; schools must also propel their students to develop an interest in
the same. Hence, we at Nand Vidya Niketan, Jamnagar provide a healthy mix of modern learning,
equipped with 21st century learning, and cultural teachings to our students which I feel is the
necessity in today's world. As an educator, one of the most important lessons we teach our children is
about diversity. Teaching our students about the Importance of Celebrating Different Cultures and
Diversity in the classroom will help our students tremendously and at the same time have mutual
respect with each other.
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