VKV Jairampur conducted its Matri Puja on 10^th February 2016 with feeling of great sensibility and enthusiasm from students of class X &XII along with their mothers in the school prayer hall during 10.30 AM to 1.15 PM. The day remained memorable through the activities and sharing the experiences and stories with immense feeling. The program was overwhelmed with the gracious presence of Kum. Radha Bhawani Devi, Joint Secretary of VKVs AP Trust, who also blessed the occasion with her “Aashir Vachan”. Also Kum. Sarita Didi, Jivan Vrati Karyakarta of Arun Jyoti, Tinsukia and Sri Pradip kumar Pandey, the Cluster In-Charge of Lohit & Tirap witnessed the program. Sri. Trilochan Upadhyay, a teacher of VKV Kharsang was present as resource for conducting puja. The prayer hall and hostel corridor was cleaned and decorated with multi-coloured flower garlands, multi-coloured flowers and rice rangolis. The corridor was also decorated with the pictures and images made out of different pulses by the hostellers.

The students along with their mothers started arriving the Vidyalaya at 9.20 am onwards. All the students washed the feets of their mothers [Pada Puja] and entered the hall after registration and offering the flowers to Bharat Mata and Swamiji. Students made their plate ready for puja as per teachers’ guidance. Mothers were seated in chair and their wards at their feet for performing puja. The program began with lighting the lamp accompanied by Mangalacharan. The Principal, VKV, Jairampur welcomed the Kendra elders and parents. It was followed by an importance of the Matri Puja from Sri Pradip Kumar Pandey. He included following points:

• Briefly informed about Vivekananda Kendra’s beginning from 1970 onwards.
• Mentioned two major activities i.e. Utsarg Samaroh & Matri Puja for class X and cleared their purposes.
• Explained the importance of mother in one’s life by story of a child who attended interview for Manager post in Multi-National Company and referring the example of a girls experience at Matri puja

Kum. Radha Didi also addressed the gathering. The excerpts from her discourse are briefed below:

• Shared the importance of value based education.
• Informed about 4 girls (2 from VKV Nirjuli and 2 from VKV Jirdin) who participated International Level National Children’s Science Congress held at Taiwan, where participants from 22 different countries have taken part. The girls of Arunachal Pradesh who represented India stood 3^rd position in the said competition.
• Cleared the concept of “Sanatana Dharma” and “Matri devo bhava”.
• Appealed not to follow short cuts in our life otherwise it will cut us short.
• Briefed Swami Vivekananda’s ideology - God is goodness and goodness is everywhere.
• Narrated the story of a child, who felt ashamed by his blind mother, who became an engineer and ignored his mother due to her face & simplicity. At last he understood the reality of her blindness and filled the eyes with tears.

Sri. Trilochan Upadhyay conducted the Matripuja in a systematic way through Vedic hymns & its meaning. He referred some rachanas of Adi Shankaracharya.

After the puja, seven students shared their experiences in which most of them acknowledged the value of mother in one’s life. Even they felt sorry for their behavior towards mother and promised to do the best for mother. Two parents also expressed their experience in which they mentioned:

• Never get such experience in their tribal community
• Felt the puja is essential to understand the mother
• Appealed all students to keep their mother happy
• Conveyed thanks to VKV for conducting such program

Lastly Kum. Radha Didi expressed her delightful feelings to see the response of mothers and students for matri puja. Didi requested all to follow this practice in their life.