A tryst with Vedic Culture

The 9^th of October 2010 was a day special to me and the lovers of the Vedas as it has had a rich impact on our fore fathers and to a certain extent even us. As I have been an ardent follower of the Vedas and also having read it I felt it was important to attend the panel discussion organized by the school in association with lions club. At around a quarter past ten, students of P.S.B.B. had gathered around the auditorium eagerly awaiting the start of the program. The programme began with the song “Maithreem Bhajatha” followed by a minute of silence for world peace, and then an introduction of the honourable guests was given.  Mr. Ramamoorthy Ravichandran, the president of lions club international was the chief guest. He went on to tell why he wanted to propagate and inculcate Vedic culture in students like us. Next Mr.V.V. Subramanian , former principal of the famed presidency college gave his eloquent speech. His fluency and command over the english language held the audience in rapture. He explained the importance of vedic culture and the way it should be patronized and followed. His speech ended followed by a loud applause. It was then the turn of Mr. T. Thyagarajan to come over the podium. Mr. Thyagarajan is a scholar in sanskrit and was  the former HOD of the Sanskrit department in The Presidency college. He recited some verses from the upanishads and explained its meaning. He linked modern science to the Vedas. He stated that the modern discoveries were already there in holy scriptures and were previously discovered 5000 years ago and cited the vedas as evidence. he awed the audience with the past glory of the vedas and said that it played an important role in ancient times. He too was appreciated for his inspiring speech. The last speaker was one who was very popular among the students. She was none other than the principal of the renowned Padma seshadri Bala bhavan, Mrs. Valli Arunachalam. She told the audience about the present scenario of vedic culture and heritage. She pointed out that all of us Indians are deeply rooted in Indian culture and will not forget our culture and tradition so easily.However she mentioned that it was slowly fading away as most of the indians were taking up western ways and modes of lifestyles. She spoke about Vedic painting, vedic maths, etc. and about how these things have made modern life comfortable and easy. At last she told that modern discoveries should go hand in hand with the vedic way of life. There was a thunderous applause at the end of her speech after which there was a session where a few students asked their questions to the honourable guests who answered them flawlessly with ease and eagerness as well. The panel discussion had come to an end, with the students expressing their satisfaction with the answers. 

By Srikrishna Murali

11-C(2010-2011)