Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya
Established 1930
Type Private
Secretary Swami Atmaramananda
Students 6500
Location Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Campus Suburban, 300 acres (1.2 km2)
Affiliations Ramakrishna Mission
Website http://rmv.ac.in

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya is a group of educational institutions with 19 wings offering courses from pre-school to doctoral levels. The Vidyalaya was established in 1930 in the suburbs of Coimbatore, India, and affiliated to Ramakrishna Mission in 1934.

The Vidyalaya strives to infuse the educational and spiritual ideas of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda into the daily lives of its students. Values such as self-reliance, self-control, patriotism and dedication to duty are taught in practical ways. A band of monks and brahmacharis of the Ramakrishna Order manage the activities of the Vidyalaya assisted by teaching and non-teaching staff.[1]

Contents

History

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya was founded by Sri T.S. Avinashilingam in 1930 with an investment of Rs. 5.75 and with one harijan boy on its roll. While studying in college, Sri T.S.Avinashilingam met Swami Shivananda, a direct disciple of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna whose famous disciple was Swami Vivekananda. It was from Vivekananda that Shivananda absorbed the idea of the prime importance of education for the revival of India. The 'sacred touch' of Swami Shivananda, as Sri Avinashilingam later described it, awoke in him the vision for his future mission in the field of education. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, laid the foundation stone of the Vidyalaya in 1934 and wished that the students of the Vidyalaya would be intensely patriotic followers of truth. The Vidyalaya was affiliated to Ramakrishna Mission in the same year.[2]

Campus

Vidyalaya is located 19 km from the city of Coimbatore on the highway to Ooty. The campus is spread over nearly 300 acres of wooded land. It is home to hundreds of bird species including peacocks.

Institutions

Schools

Colleges

Special Institutions

University

Infrastructure

[3]

Social services

The Swami Akhandananda Rural Development Scheme started in 2002. Under this scheme, Arivoli Nagar and other rural areas are provided with tuitions and medical services.[4]

Notable events

Apart from technical seminars and workshops, Vidyalaya is known for the following events:

Guru Puja

Guru puja, the public celebration of the birthday of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna, is the most important cultural activity of Vidyalaya and is celebrated every year on the first sunday of January. The day long celebration includes bhajans, talks by personalities, drama, educational exhibition, music and cultural programmes. The highlight of the function is Maheswara Puja in which around 40,000 people are given a sumptuous feast.[5]

Youth Convention

Started in 2009, Youth Convention is a three day annual event to inspire youth. The event, conducted in the first week of December, includes inspirational speeches, presentations, meditation, yoga, sports and cultural programmes.[6]

Play Festival

Play Festival is an annual event, in which about 4000 students from some 45 primary schools perform physical, yogic and calisthenic exercises to the rhythm of devotional and nationalistic songs. Generally conducted in February.[7]

Kalaimagal Vizha

Kalaimagal Vizha is a three day event focussed on literature, music and drama. Celebrated every year in the month of September/October before Vijaya Dasami.[8]

External links

References