Acceptance is Inherent in Oneness

In the month of January, Vivekananda Kendra celebrates Swami Vivekananda Jayanti all over India including, all the villages wherever it has Balwadis in southern 5 districts of Tamilnadu. Swami Vivekananda Jayanti is celebrated on the day and time suitable to the villagers. Thus, it gets celebrated all over the month of January and at times even in February! Initially, that is even before Vivekananda Kendra Rural Development Project was started, Kendra was having 11 Balwadis in the villages of Kanyakumari district.

- Nivedita Raghunath Bhide

In the first year of starting the Balwadis, we decided the celebration of Swami Vivekanand Jayanti in almost all the villages. That day we were celebrating Swami Vivekananda Jayanti in Kottavillai. I was just 22-23 years but the villagers insisted that as the representative of Kendra I should sit on the stage and speak few words. With lot of tension of public speaking and that too in Tamil I sat on the stage not knowing that some bigger tension soon would occupy my mind.

I was sitting on the stage along with few village elders. After the initial public program with lectures etc., the cultural program of the tiny tots of our Balwadi was organized. Vasantha, the Balwadi teacher young and enthusiastic, Leela, the Aaaya, young, very creative and resourceful had taken lot of efforts to involve all most all the children for the various programs. So, they had practiced since a month or even more. The children were all done with dressing and make-up. Now in a program in a poor village, what would be the make up those days? Lot of powder would be applied to the face, and Kajal would be used to draw moustache, or highlight the eyebrows, or to draw some random lines on the face of those who were supposed to be Rakshasas. The dhotis and saris were worn around the little ones who were either too constrained by it or were totally unaware about it and thus while running, jumping sometimes the dhoti or the pallu of the sari would come out which Vasantha or Leela would promptly try to tuck it. The crowns and armbands made from cardboards and covered with yellow paper (even shining golden paper was out of the bound of Balwadi budget in those days,) would sometimes fall and Vasantha or Leela would have to crown the students again and again.