Teaching life lessons at Ramakrishna cultural festival
600 people attended the festival and 200 youth performed items
The Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Ladysmith Sub-Centre, held their 58th Annual Northern KwaZulu-Natal Children’s Cultural Festival (NKZNCCF) at the Ladysmith Civic Hall recently.
The NKZNCCF is an annual event that sees the youth from the towns of Estcourt, Glencoe, Ladysmith and Newcastle coming together to perform sketches, songs, dances and speeches.
These items are all religious in nature and involve children and youth from Grade RR to 12 who put in long hours to practice and perfect their items.
Also read: Ramakrishna Centre offers Hinduism classes for children
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Sister Nivedita.
To commemorate these occasions, Revered Swami Nikhileshwarananda, Spiritual Head of the Ramakrishna Mission, Vadodara, India, delivered the keynote address. Revered Swami Sumanasananda, President of the Ramakrishna Centre of SA, and Revered Swami Swatmaramananda, Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Centre of SA also delivered addresses.
As part of the Ramakrishna Centre’s sacrosanct ideal of inter-religious and cultural harmony, youth from Ekhukhuleni High School were invited to perform a vibrant traditional choral verse in the spirit of uBuntu.
The items performed by the youth were of the highest standard and left the audience captivated, proud and inspired, with many life lessons being demonstrated on the day.
The Ladysmith Civic Hall was filled to capacity with people from all over Northern KwaZulu-Natal and Durban. A sumptuous breakfast was served to participants and lunch was served to all. At the end of the day, all children and families were given free gift packs containing literature and other items.
600 people attended the festival and 200 youth performed items.
The Ramakrishna Centre would like to thank all children, parents, sponsors and well-wishers for their kind support.
The day was a wonderful display of character building values, lessons and morals, which has indeed left an indelible impression on all participants and audience. In the words of Swami Vivekananda, “We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet.’’
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