A new year beckoned yet again, with the promise of plenty. Opportunities to serve in the path laid down by Gurudev came our way once again in the form of the 2nd International Geeta chanting Competition 2015.
During Samanvaya in Chinmaya Vibhooti in Jan 2015, the Acharya in charge, Br. Ved Chaitanyaji unfolded the plans and gave a briefing about the idea and importance of International Geeta Chanting. The preparations then began in right earnest.
To train the trainers, Geeta Doota workshops were organized in various areas/zones for sevaks & sevikas, old and young, veterans and novices just begun and for Balavihar parents who were interested in joining this champion cause. From April to August various schools were approached and the Geeta Dootas also commenced the Chanting training sessions in some. Our sevaks and sevikas contacted more than 250 schools in and around Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Gurudev’s grace saw many new schools coming forward and participating in the competition enthusiastically and also giving permission to teach in their premises. Voices got hoarse as the weeks progressed but the hearts were warmed! Hearing the Lord’s own words from the mouths of innocence kept us going! Tiny tots of KG right up to the teens of X STD participated in this competition cutting across language and caste divides. They were categorized into 4 groups as per the age criteria.
The first round i.e. preliminary competition was conducted in various schools from the month of August and went on till September 2015. Around 21,171 students participated in the first round of the competition! (A group – 5671, B – 5577, C – 6059 & D – 3864).
The second level was the Area Finals in the respective zones. It was conducted in the month of October with about 2700 participants in all the four groups. The first six winners in each group were awarded trophies. In addition, consolation prizes were also given in a few zones. Certificates of participation were given to all participants at all levels.
Certificates of Appreciation were given to all participating schools and appreciation certificates were given to the teachers who helped in coordinating the competitions in their respective schools.
The children by now had become masters of the game. What had begun as an exercise of memory and song had now become a joyous challenge. All six winners from various areas and zones (total 336 participants – 84 from each group) congregated at Sandheepany Sadhanalaya, Powai on the 25th of October, 2015 for the All Mumbai Finals. There were two sessions, with the C and D groups in the morning and A and B groups in the afternoon. While the adorable children with their disarming shining faces and lilting voices chanted their hearts out, the judges indeed had a tough time deciding the winners. The morning participants and their parents were thoughtfully provided with lunch packets. There was food for the soul too! The parents were kept engrossed in the TITI sessions held especially for them in Saraswati Nilayam. They also were fortunate to be addressed by Sw. Bodhatmanandaji (morning) and Sw. Nirbhayanandaji (afternoon). The Prize distribution held at the end of each session saw 84 happy faces ready to go on to the State Level at Chinmaya Sandeepany Ashram, Toap-Sambhapur, Kolhapur on the 8th of November 2015. Vedji applauded the parents who had encouraged their children to reach this far, in this process enriching their own lives too. Appreciating the roles played by the schools in making this event a success, Best school trophies for enthusiastic participation were given to 30 schools with more than 200 registrations.
Parents were briefed about the next levels of this year’s International Geeta Chanting Competition. All parents were very happy with the arrangements made by the Geeta Chanting Competition team.
Total 84 participants (A group – 22, B – 22, C – 24 & D – 16) went to Kolhapur for the State level competition. The competition was very tough. From the State level, 3 participants were selected for the National level (2 from A group & 1 from D group) at Chinmaya Vibhooti, Kolvan on the 22nd of November 2015.
During the Nationals, it was declared that the Mumbai is the centre with maximum participation in the whole world. Also, our participant Abhishek Raghuraman has got the second prize in D group & has qualified for the International level, which will be at Chinmaya Vibhooti, Kolvan on the 22nd of December 2015.
To sum it all,
We met, we planned.
We learnt, we taught.
We chanted, we trained.
We judged, we cheered.
Oh! What a journey!
And Gurudev walked with us!
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