Happy Children 's Day

Children's day, in hindi known as "Bal Diwas", in India falls on November 14th every year and for good reason. Children's day in India is celebrated on Pandit Nehru's birthday as a day of fun and frolic, a celebration of childhood, children and Nehruji's love for them.
About Jawahar Lal Nehru
On November14, 1889, a son was born to an eminent lawyer, Motilal Nehru and his wife Swaroop Rani at Allahabad. They named him Jawaharlal. He was a brilliant, kindhearted child who was greatly loved by all.

His father wanted to give him the best education and hence sent him to England for his M.A. from Cambridge. The British ruled India at that time. When he returned to India, young Jawaharlal realized that he wanted to help the poor and the downtrodden. He took part in the Freedom Struggle of India and became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi who had just returned from South Africa at that time. When India gained its independence, he became the first Prime Minister of free India.
He was a perfect blend of eastern philosophical values and western scientific thinking and encouraged technological progress. But he was also a man of letters and a great poet and wrote some famous works like, ‘Glimpses of World History’ and ‘Discovery of India’. His letters to his daughter, Indira, were also compiled into a book and reflects his philosophical outlook, his compassion and above all, his tender heart.
The Birth of Chacha Nehru
Chacha Nehru as the children fondly referred to him, was fond of both children and roses. In fact he often compared the two, saying that children were like the buds in a garden. They should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they were the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow. He felt that children are the real strength of a country and the very foundation of society. He was the ‘beloved’ of all the children who gave him the endearing name of ‘Chacha Nehru’. ((Above -my friend Ruth with her grandson)
Celebrations
As a tribute to this great man and his love for the children, his birthday is celebrated all over India as ‘CHILDREN’S DAY’. Most schools have cultural programmes for the day, with the students managing it all. All over the country, various cultural, social, and even corporate, institutions conduct competitions for children. Children's Day is a day for children to engage in fun and frolic. Schools celebrate this day by organizing cultural programmes. Teachers of the school perform songs and dances for their students. Therefore, Children's Day is special. It is a day set aside to remember Pandit Nehru and his love for children.

(courtesy Indif.com)

Above are the children of the toilers of the brick kilns.I took these photos on my trip. Children such as these are bereft of all the joy and celebration .They live almost forgotten lives . The bright beams of education, health services and progress rarely touch their lives. But it is heartening to see that social and private organizations making a small difference in the world of the more fortunate ones.

Jesus has given us a heart of compassion for children. He said"Forbid not these little ones from coming to me".

He said;the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like little children.

Why little children? Because children are dependent. They cannot survive without care and provision. They yield themselves to their parents or caregivers. There is no pride, arrogance or stubbornness in hearts. (except those who don 't want to eat their veggies or stop watching too much of Cartoon Network! LOL)

Likewise we can only enter into the kingdom of God if we totally surrender ourselves to him. Depend upon him for our sustenance and growth. Be open to his correction and molding.

But we have to take an important step first.

"But as many as received Him to them gave He the right to become the children of God even to those who believe in His name" John 1;12

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Its been raining since the past 2 days. The downpour washed out many of the Children Day 's celebrations like picnics and sports events.

A family visited us in the afternoon and she brought us love ly rice and coconut pancakes as a surprise.

The rain stopped by 3 pm and again we went to some brick kilns to compare prices etc. We are close to an order.

Sorry I' ve been a little slow in visiting blogs in the past few days,I will drop for a vist soon.