Sheer euphoria has ruled my mind since the last week, and therefore do excuse me for not being able to pen-down my blog last Monday. The reason was the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi Ji’s visit to Symbiosis as a Chief Guest for the Symbiosis Golden Jubilee celebrations, the biggest event that Symbiosis had ever witnessed on its premises. Right from planning the event to its execution, we at Symbiosis were working throughout the day and yes, most part of the night too. However, even after the event was over it took a while for me to come to terms with the fact that my father Dr. S. B. Mujumdar’s efforts of a lifetime had been recognized and gratified.
What does it feel like to dedicate one’s life to a cause of providing quality education for five decades and then to see one’s efforts being recognized by none other than the Prime Minister of the country! Though I have been a part of the 50 years long journey called Symbiosis, Dr. Mujumdar Sir is the one who had envisioned it and brought it to life. So, when we celebrated the Commemoration of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Symbiosis we were all not only overwhelmed with the magnitude of the event but also had a sense of satisfaction.
No one could have been more befitting to encourage us in our journey than the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi Ji.
For the past week and a little more all that we at Symbiosis were talking, planning, strategizing and contributing to, was the Prime Minister’s visit to Symbiosis. Though in the past too several Prime Ministers and Presidents of the country had visited Symbiosis but the dynamism and popularity of Shri Narendra Modi Ji is unfathomable till you meet him in person. I for one have had several sleep ness nights as my mind was constantly at work, not only because I was planning but also because I felt proud of my father’s achievements. I also felt that he deserved the honour of the Prime Minister visiting and recognizing his efforts.
Yesterday, on the momentous day among 5000 students, hundreds of VIPs and staff of Symbiosis the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, addressed the gathering. He inaugurated Aarogya Dham, which is Symbiosis’ contribution in making health, wellness and fitness available to the masses. With the presence of a 900 bed multi-specialty hospital, the Symbiosis Medical College for Women and other institutes, a Centre for Yoga and plans of developing Ayurveda, alternate medicine, among other facilities on the campus, the Symbiosis Aarogya Dham spread over 70 acres in the picturesque location, is another vision of Dr S B Mujumdar.
The Prime Minister’s words were so clear and direct that they are still fresh in my mind. Very aptly he said he said he was in “Saraswati ka Dham.” Even in such a large gathering besides the usual murmur of the overhead fans there was pin drop silence as the audience was enthralled by his words. He mentioned that a University such as Symbiosis is a contributor in initiatives such as #startupindia #makeinindia #aatmanirbharbharat & #standupindia. Our students who go outside into the world and create a niche for themselves in their respective fields speaks of Symbiosis’ success, and I agree with him. A legacy of 50 years does have a lot to tell and now with our alumni present all over the globe this story has become global. He also recognized the fact that students from 85 countries study at Symbiosis, thus making the university a melting pot for different cultures of the world. He made a special mention of the motto of Symbiosis which is Vasudhaiv Kuttumbakam- the world is one family. The Prime Minister also appreciated that Symbiosisi has started a special course on Vasudhaiv Kuttumbakam, to inculcate this objective amongst its students. He encouraged the students to contribute even more in the development of rural India through their innovations. He urged the students to take up a cause dedicated to a theme every year and besides their regular course work, if they dedicated some time to this cause, it would make a resounding impact.
Even apart from the fact that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has such vision and foresight for an entire nation, he believes in the humanness of emotions. I caught a glimpse of this human side of him as he laughed and played with my grandchildren.
However, as all good things the event drew to an end but his words have left us with even bigger dreams as he said that 50 years have gone by, but the next 25 years are what Symbiosis has to look forward to!
Thus, I would say that Symbiosis’ golden moments have just begun!