A humble beginning in memory of our ancestors

Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions – Mahabaratha

“OM Sree Gurubhyo Namaha”.

At the outset, I start with pranams to Jagadguru His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamigal, the ruling and 36th Pontiff of Sri Sringeri Saradha Peetham for everyone’s welfare and continued prosperity.

We were tutored by our elders that, “the young as they gain in age and stature must learn and remember their roots, heritage and ancestors". Among the many noble qualities attributed to my grandparents, I would like to recall one unique virtue that I would always remember and stands in the forefront. It is often repeated by elders in our family, that both Kunju patti and Shri J Subramani Iyer have, never had a harsh word exchanged between them or passed one adverse comment on each other in private. They accepted all people as they were and treated them equally. Such had been their love, mutual respect and understanding for each other.

To propagate the memory of these great souls Smt Alamelu and Sri J.Subramani Iyer of Sattanathapuram, we have been actively involved in many social activities and initiatives (Education sponsorships, Medical treatment expenses, Upanayanam, Mangal sutra donation for poor people marriages, Food distribution in temple functions to name a few..)

Under the aegis of Smt Alamelu Trust and Sri Kailasanathar trust, well wishers, friends and family members we initiated a scheme for free distribution of school uniforms to 300 school children (Class 1 to Class 8) hailing from poor and rural background.

Function organized by Kailasanathar Trust & Alamelu Ammal trust

School children from two Government schools (Panchayath union school in Satttanathapuram and Panchyath union school in Surakadu (Both located in Sirkazhi Taluk of Nagaipattinam district in Tamil Nadu) were identified. The school children come from a very poor and rural background.

Panchayath Union School - Sattanathapuram

Good Friendship-A couplet from Thirukural by Saint poet Thiru Valluvar written on School notice board

Thirukural Couplet No 783: The happinesss and noble thoughts resulting from good friendship is akin to the knowledge and wisdom we gain from reading wise books

True to these words of saint poet thirvalluvar, both the trusts, friends and family members have joined together for a noble and comon cause. The school uniform distribution function was done in a simple function organized on 22nd Aug’2011. It was a short ans sweet function and lasted for 90 minutes.

School Children

Prayer Song - Tamil Thai Vazthu

The function started with the invocation of prayer song followed by introduction of the 2 trusts and felicitation of chairman and members of both these trusts. Various speakers praised the efforts of these trusts. Shri S.S.Srinivasan and Cadavasal 'Sudar Finance'- S.Kalyanasundaram addressed the gathering and pledged their support for such noble activities.

One of the officials, from Education department in his speech thanked both the trusts for their charity and made a remark that, “eventhough government provides a set of uniform, this initiative would ensure that the children can now come to school with proper school uniforms on all days in a week”

This was followed by an impressive display of talents by the school children. Dance sequences for popular songs were choreographed by the teachers. A narrative on Indian Independence in English and chronicle on the life of Shri Kamaraj by a 2nd std child were very impressive. The tiny tots pitched in with patriotic songs and the phrase ‘stage fear’ was absent from their lexicon. The school children’s enthusiasm and dedication in the events were praiseworthy and heart warming.

Brief narrative on Life History of Shri K Kamaraj by 2nd Std Student

Patriotic song by 1st Std children

Dance performance by school children

Theme National Integration - Solo performance

School uniforms were distributed by members of both the trusts to all the school children in the school campus itself. Uniforms were distributed by the trust members of both the trusts as well as elders from our family. Family members, sponsors, trust members, well wishers, teachers, district education officers, parents of school children and general public participated in the function.

Kalilasnathar and Alamelu Ammal Trust, Sponsors, friends and family members handing over school uniforms to children.

Vote of thanks was proposed by the school headmaster. Tea, Coffee and sweets were served to the guests, public and school children.

My sincere thanks to all the trust members, donors and sponsors who contributed generously for the school uniforms. With their altruistic financial support, we have made a humble beginning and set ourselves a baseline. We have embarked on a journey and pray that this beginning is expanded to many other noble initiatives with the support of our sponsors, well wishers and elders.

Sincere and Special thanks to Shri S.S.Srinivisan for organizing and doing all the ground work for this school uniform function. Once again it was due to his organizing skills and acumen that the entire event, right from the identification of schools to the final distribution passed on with clockwork precision.

I offer my respectful prayers to my paternal grandparents Smt Alamelu ammal and Shri J.Subramani Iyer to guide us and give us strength to perform many more noble activities in the coming future. I had an inner feeling that , “They were watching and blessing us”

We will keep you informed, on the subsequent charitable events and requesting each of you to be part of these initiatives.

Photographs uploaded in google:

School function

https://picasaweb.google.com/112135165009821845164/SchoolFunction?authkey=Gv1sRgCLvzl6iC2vfl0gE&feat=email#

Felicitation event

https://picasaweb.google.com/112135165009821845164/SNPSchoolFunctionFelicitation?authkey=Gv1sRgCJSpx-3VyuLm0gE&feat=email#

Our sincere and profound thanks to our patron and donors

(Listing In alphabetical order)

Sl No Name

1.  Alamelu Trust

2.  Kailasanathar Trust

3. Ajit Ashok Shenvi - Bangalore

4. Arun Venkataraman - U.S.A

5. Smt Bhooma Srinivasan - Sattanathapuram

6. Cadavasal R Natarajan - U.S.A

7. Dr Ganesh - U.K

8. Smt Gnanam Viswanathan - Hyderabad

9. Smt Harini Manikandan - U.S.A

10. Smt Kamala Natarajan - Chennai

11. Manavalan G - Chennai

12. Ms Meenakshi Ramamorthy - Muscat

13. Smt Meenkashi Jagadeesan - Bangalore

14. Sateesh Chandrasekaran - U.S.A

15. Sekar Balasubramanian - Chennai

16. Shiva Subbarayan - U.S.A

Our sincere thanks to all of you!