Mangaluru, Oct 2: Lourdes Central School witnessed the splendid celebration of the 151 st birth anniversary of the Father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi on October 2 at the school grounds.

The programme was graced by the manager of the school Fr John Baptist Saldanha, the principal Fr Robert D'Souza and the vice-principal Belita Mascarenhas. The staff of Lourdes Central School presented an enlightening programme under the guidance of the principal.

Hundreds of students and parents watched the programme streamed live on YouTube and Facebook.

The celebration commenced with a prayer song followed by a floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. The main attraction of the day was the 'Sarva Dharma Prarthana', where the readings of holy scriptures of different religions were read out, which upheld the value of secularism. Lavina Castelino gave the importance of the day. The soulful teachers of LCS dedicated a meaningful song to Mahatma Gandhi. They also remembered another great leader of our country Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second prime minister of India. Gowri Ravi gave an insight into his life and achievements. To arouse public awareness about cleanliness, the cleanliness pledge was taken by the staff, led by the principal.

In his presidential address, Fr Dr John Baptist Saldanha shared his vision of holy India where we should not take refuge in violence, discrimination, communalism and corruption. He also said, "Let us value the freedom of Mahatma Gandhi and keep it alive amidst us in a noble and gentle way." He also urged the teachers, parents and students to imbibe the Gandhian values of non-violence, truth, harmony, tolerance, and unity. He motivated the parents to educate the students as it is the medium of transformation towards good. While addressing the students he said, “Live as if today is the last day of your life and learn as if you live forever." He congratulated the teachers for their efforts towards building a better India by educating the students and instilling moral values in them.

Preethi welcomed the gathering and Joshma D'Souza delivered the vote of thanks. The programme was compered by Lolita Mascarenhas. The entire programme was organized by Vidhya Joseph, Mary D Souza, Gowri Ravi, Apoline Lobo and Malini Menezes.