January 26th is India's Republic Day. after gaining independence from
Britain, in 1947 India's constitution was ratified and India officially
became a Republic in 1950. We were invited to be the honored guests to a
celebration at Ambattur School which the
Rotarians established. A beautiful Rangoli greeted us a the gated
entrance. A Rangoli is colorful design on the side walk made from
colored powder. Upon entering the grounds we were greeted by a girls
band and given ceremonial paint and a rose. We were then given a tour
and a brief history of the school. With much fan fare we were escorted
onto the stage where the ceremonies began.
We then were given a flower garland and a flag of India to wear during the ceremony. Sue was invited to raise the flag and then as she unfurled the flag she was showered with rose petals. The students marched past the flag, saluting it, and then took their places for the ceremony. We were entertained by cultural dancing and an interesting depiction of India's journey to Independence. This included three children portraying Mother India, Nehru, and Ghandi.
This was a wonderful send off for our train ride to Trichy and our next distribution.
Team Chennai 2014
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