Harela Celebration at The Indian Cambridge School!
Honouring the revered Harela festival, The Indian Cambridge School, Dehradun’s best all-girl boarding school, fosters environmental awareness for a Sustainable Future.
Embodying the essence of “green leaves,” the Harela festival arrived with vibrant and verdant aplomb at The Indian Cambridge School, highlighting the importance of nature’s vitality and ecological harmony. Our entire school campus in Dalanwala, Dehradun, was swept away by the eco-conscious spirit and zeal of a plantation drive led by our girls from classes 9th to 12th. With each sapling carefully placed into the earth, the air was filled with a profound sense of responsibility towards Mother Nature, who has taken root in our hearts. Through this blog post, let’s learn about the Harela festival, its significance, and how one of the best residential schools for girls in Dehradun, The Indian Cambridge School, celebrated the Harela festival.
What is the festival of Harela?
Harela, one of the most auspicious festivals of the Kumaon region in Uttarakhand, is celebrated on the first day of Shravan to mark the onset of the monsoon and the beginning of the sowing season of crops. The festival serves as a way to connect people with nature and the environment. Environmental protection and conservation have always held a very prominent place in the culture of Uttarakhand, with movements such as the famed Chipko Movement, Maiti Movement, Apna Gaun Apni Van Yojna, and Pani Rakho Movement, to name a few. Planting Saplings annually on Harela is yet another step taken by the populace of Uttarakhand towards protecting the environment and thanking nature for the gifts it has provided to the people.
How is Harela celebrated?
In the Kumaon region, the traditional Harela celebrations commence 9-11 days before Kark Sankranti, where households sow the seeds of grains like wheat, maize, mustard, horse gram, barley, rice, and soybeans based on the number of family members. The seeds are watered twice to thrice a day, and on the day of Harela, the green shoots germinated from the seeds are cut along with the preparation of delicious food such as puris, kachori, puwa, bada, etc.
Planting the Seeds and Embracing Environmental Responsibility
As the Harela festival dawned upon The Indian Cambridge School, the school was buzzing with excitement and anticipation. The students, accompanied by our passionate teachers, Mr. Ajay Bahuguna, the Founder and President of HIM Foundation, and a team of volunteers from the foundation, eagerly participated in the plantation drive within the school premises.
The Harela celebration at Dehradun’s highly reputable girl boarding school,The Indian Cambridge School, transcended just being a festival. It became a powerful testament to our institution’s fervent commitment and dedication to sustainability and environmental conservation.
Under the benevolent gaze of Mother Nature, our student’s young hands dug deep into the soil, and each sapling that was planted imbibed lessons about the significance of trees in maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystem by combating climate change, providing oxygen, conserving soil, and supporting biodiversity.
This experience transformed our students and teachers into green ambassadors who have forged a deep connection with nature. In turn, they have taken a pledge to nurture the saplings they have planted, which will become a long-standing tradition of our school in time.
As a tribute to The Indian Cambridge School’s outstanding environmental conservation efforts, we were presented with a beautiful Croton Petra by Mr. Ajay Bahuguna from the HIM Foundation. Green, yellow, maroon, peach, orange it’s not just a plant but a rainbow!
The colourful variegation in its stunning leaves marked the beginning of a collective journey towards embracing eco-consciousness in every facet of our lives! It will stand as a constant reminder of the school’s responsibility towards the environment for generations to come.
The Harela festival celebration at The Indian Cambridge School brought together the spirit of tradition, reverence for nature, and a commitment to environmental conservation. Through the plantation drive and our collective pledge, the school has reiterated its unified effort to build a greener and more sustainable future. Cambrites are growing alongside the saplings they have planted, and they will always carry with them the invaluable lesson that the smallest actions can yield the most significant impact not just for environmental preservation but for society itself.
Wishing you and your family a Happy Harela from everyone at The Indian Cambridge School!
