Ranchi Urdu school sets example, holds Saraswati Puja

RANCHI: Like every other year, schools and educational institutes across the state capital celebrated Saraswati Puja with a lot of enthusiasm on Sunday. Of them, a government-run Urdu medium school in minority-dominated Karbala Chowk caught everyone’s attention as its students, 90% of whom are Muslims, also joined the worship of the goddess of learning.

During a round of the city to cover the puja, TOI visited the school where students were seen lighting incense sticks in front of a framed image of Goddess Saraswati. When it was time for offering ‘anjali’ to the goddess, Muslim students joined their Hindu schoolmates to follow the ritual with equal enthusiasm. After the puja was over, the students sat together to enjoy prasad of a special mid-day meal of vegetable biryani and salads.

“As educators, we teach our students the importance of respecting all religions and rituals,” Mumtaz Alam, a mathematics teacher, said. “Our school is a confluence of religious diversity and a symbol of unity. Here, Hindu students celebrate Muslim festivals with equal enthusiasm,” he added. The school runs classes from I to VIII and has altogether 211 students.

Kanhaiya Thakur, an assistant teacher, remarked, “Our school has celebrated Saraswati Puja after a gap of five years. This is my first puja since I joined in 2014.”

While standing in a queue with a plate to have vegetable biryani as prasad, Ruksana Parveen, a Class IV girl, remarked, “I prayed for my success in examinations. I am looking forward to enjoying the special lunch with my friends.” Md Aftab, who studies in Class V added, “The food was very good. Maza aa gaya.”

There are about 2,000 government-run schools in the city. District education superintendent Vijay Singh said, “I cannot immediately have the number of schools, especially in the minority-dominated areas, that celebrated Saraswati Puja this time.” On Saturday, the education department had announced that mid-day meals in schools will be served for Sarawasti Puja on Sunday, which otherwise is a holiday.