​                         World Humanitarian Day 2015

​“In a world that is ever more digitally connected, each of us has the power and responsibility to inspire our fellow human beings to act to help others and create a more humane world.”
– Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary General

World Humanitarian Day was proposed by the UN to celebrate the spirit that inspires humanitarian work across the globe. This spirit represents the virtues that connect humanity – kindness, selflessness and coalescence. However, in a thirsty world such as ours, humaneness is often too rare. People tend to forget that it’s not a goal to strive towards, but rather an emotion that should envelop every undertaking we take. Takshshila, the Senior School at Pathways, Aravali, therefore, took to celebrating this fine spirit in our own, unique way. The guiding idea behind the celebration was, Our Only Religion – Humanity.

All Departments came together with a passion that was profoundly touching. The Senior School Form groups decorated their classroom display boards and doors with artwork and posters about messages on humanity.
Walking down the hallways, one would be pleasantly surprised by the class and quality of these exhibits. Among many, the common displays included definitions of humanity and the importance of care. Taking into consideration also the large banners and wonderful photographs hanging in the atrium, Takshshila today was a proud lady adorned with all the finery of humanity.

Since World Photography Day was also celebrated on the same day, the photographs captured by our several aspiring students were displayed in the atrium. In line with some of our favourite aspects of humaneness – love and laughter – they had chosen to exhibit photographs of our teachers in their growing years. Who knew that baby Sanjeev Ojha Sir’s eyeliner game was stronger than 94.9% of the female population of Takshshila?

In a happy mood therefore, we gathered in the atrium during our first break to listen to a rendition of Ban Ki-Moon’s speech re-counted by Armaan Beri and a recitation of our very own Cathy ma’am’s poem, Facsimile. Students were eager to be photographed holding up placards with slogans ‘we are family’ scripted in multiple languages, including Spanish, Finnish, Gujarati, Russian and many more. Their enthusiasm was unprecedented. We look forward to experiencing more examples of the Pathways humanitarian spirit, both in and out of the School.

Text by Kairavi Sarup, Grade 12A