ON Saturday, August 13 a remarkable and quite wonderful thing happened. Decorated in swathes of orange, white and green, the theatrette at the Greater Shepparton Secondary College was transformed into a hub of excitement as children and teachers from the Victorian School of Language (VSL) recalled a monumental moment in history.
On August 15, 1947, India became an independent nation. Astoundingly, the rule of the British Raj was ended by non-violent, civil disobedience, led by the unyielding Mahatma Ghandi.
WITH the bleachers trimmed in the colours of the Indian flag, school age children, principally of Indian descent, proudly sang the country’s national anthem, followed by a viewing of the history of rule and self-rule in the South Asian nation.
For Hindi language teacher, Arunabha Banning, the Independence Day event was not only celebratory but a valuable lesson for the students to understand the cultural nuances of their background, and how history provides context for identity and practice.
With students studying different languages from around the subcontinent at VSL, the Independence Day event was exceptional for Arunabha, who says, “I think it was a unique experience for the kids because they were able to come together with people from different regions of India – and that hardly ever happens. To come together, to unite and to celebrate our motherland was an extraordinary opportunity.”
VSL offers Saturday classes from 9∙00 – 12∙20 in Sinhala, Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Mandarin, Albanian, Turkish, Urdu and Persian. Parents wishing to enroll their children for 2023 intake should email nataliak@vsl.vic.edu.au
