PMINDIA

Many congratulations to all the winners of the Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. Now you seem tired of hearing everyone congratulating you. It has been too much isn’t it? Is it less or more? Well, while coming here, your teachers must have told you to be in total discipline and not to move a limb. Yes? …. That’s wrong. How do you feel after coming here? I mean, do you love the weather? Have you seen the entire Rashtrapati Bhavan? What are you going to see today; trees and plants?

How many of you have come to Delhi for the first time? Okay and everyone else has come here before and is familiar. These questions are not for the people who are sitting behind. These are for all the children. People from behind are prompting.

Although coming to Delhi has its own excitement, yet I know that you must be in a mood to go back home soon. See, I know that you certainly would like to go home soon; tell friends what all had happened; show them photos and your award; tell them about your experiences in Delhi and about the winters of Delhi. Tell me don’t you want to do that? Everyone wants to tell their friends about the good experiences.

See, there will be many stories of this journey, which you would want to narrate. Even if you do not admit it, you must be feeling to go to your grandma first and narrate everything. And there will be some among you who will go home and say – ‘look, you were not letting me do it, but now you know that I was doing a good job’. So, now will you go home and scold mummy and daddy? Will you say – – ‘look, we have a photo with the President, we have brought the award’. Will you do it? Won’t you? Fine, do it secretly. Will you do it or not?

Have you lost your childhood? Childhood should not be lost; it must be preserved! Your childhood is lost. Whoever does not feel like going and telling the parents about his/her experience, has lost childhood. So, do your parents not leave you? Do they always hover over you? Don’t they trust you? They might be fearful what the young children might do? Next time tell them to let you go somewhere alone.

See, when I was getting introduced to you a short while ago, I was really surprised. At such a young age, the way you all have put your efforts and have achieved so much in different fields, I was indeed flabbergasted! You might as well feel like doing something else tomorrow. There will be an intention and willingness to do even better things.

And I think that all these awards, etc., are not the end. In a way, it is the beginning. When someone gives recognition, it feels good. In a way, this is the beginning of life. And you showed courage to fight through difficult situations. Some of you are brave children. There are some who have made many new innovations for ease of living and to get people out of serious diseases. Some have excelled in art and culture, some in sports, some in education and literature, some in social service; your contribution has been full of diversities.

You do your duty towards your society, towards the nation. I had said something from the Red Fort. Does anyone remember? I had said a lot of things. One thing I had said was to give ‘stress on duty’. Most of the time, we emphasize on rights. Now we are going to celebrate 75 years of Indian independence. How long will we continue to emphasize upon the rights? Now should we start emphasizing on duty or not? Should we give priority to rights or to duty? Sure? Does everyone agree? OK, so we have passed a law today.

See, the way you are aware of your society and your duties towards the nation, not only your parents, but your family members and whoever knows you will be proud of you.

See, I will do one thing; I will share your story with your photos today with the world on social media. I will write about each individual, how you have done the work, where have you come from etc. But if something goes wrong then do not get angry, because sometimes mistakes may creep into the information.

Look friends, although you are all too young, but you know, when it comes to the work that you have done, many scholars are confused just by the thought of the work let alone successfully accomplishing it. Those of you who have innovated, when you must have told your teacher, the teacher would have said -don’t bother me, just leave. The teachers must have become angry thinking that this child is so bright that he has now started teaching me? It happens, isn’t it? See, I can tell you one thing, you definitely must tell all your friends and teachers. Whenever I hear about such courageous work of all you and talk to you, I also get inspired. I learn something from you too. Just now a child asked me – when you do so much work, don’t you think of your mother? When I think of my mother, all the fatigue goes away.

Friends,

The scope of these National Awards has been extended to encourage this talent hidden within children like you. And it is not just an award that you are getting; the attention of many other students from all over the country is attracting towards this event. In a way, you have become a hero for them; you become an inspiration for them. There will be a child in Jammu and Kashmir, in Ladakh or in Nagaland; if that child listens to the story of a child from Kerala, he will feel good! This in itself increases its impact manifold; its waves keep moving. Waves are constantly influencing the bottom and hence these incidents should never be underestimated. They have their own importance. But what happens sometimes, when our name is published, picture is printed in the newspapers, we tend to become arrogant and are on cloud nine and refuse to keep our feet on ground. Does it happen? Then at home we say things like- Look, don’t ask me to do any work. I have come with the National Award. Does it happen? Will you too do such a thing? Or will you place your feet on the ground?

There are two milestones in the lives of most people – one goes on doing well with ease and when that person’s work is recognized, then knowingly or inadvertently he/she become arrogant and then the person stays in the same state of mind and is unable to do anything new. He feels that the work is done; photo is printed; he has come to Delhi and has seen the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Now what? Everything has been accomplished in life. Life is not so short.

Others are those people – if something is done and if they get recognition somewhere, then they make it their inspiration. They make vows, find ways to make further efforts and achieve new heights. They don’t stop and don’t get tired.

I would like you to never let those negative habits to enter your life. Consider this event as only the beginning. Tell yourself – I still have a lot to do, I have a lot to offer to the country, I have to prepare myself in every way. If you follow this passion then you will enjoy this opportunity a lot and you will get to learn something new from it. So you tell me, which way will you go? Will you go the first way or the second? Raise your hands – how many of you will go the first way? Okay now tell me, who will go the second way? That means you have not understood what I have said. I was saying that the first path is the one wherein you do not consider this achievement to be the end; rather you consider it as the beginning. Your feet do not get off the ground and you are not arrogant. You resolve to do something more, this is the first way. The Second path – you feel it is enough, your photo is printed in the newspapers, you are on TV and you don’t want to do anything more. So tell me, you want to choose the first way or the second? Certainly, see, I had made a mistake earlier, isn’t it?

Okay, let me ask you some questions. Who are the ones who sweat four times a day and sweat profusely irrespective of the seasons – winters or summers! The ones who sweat four times a day – how do you sweat? Is it by standing in the sun or during the morning exercise? See, not a single child should be like this. Tell your friends too that there should not be a single child who does not sweat four times a day. I was once asked by someone many years ago – what brings so much of glow on your face? I gave a very easy answer – I said that my body sweats so much, I work hard and I massage with the same sweat, which is why it glows. Well, how many of you drink water while standing and not by sitting? How many people are there? See, you must sit and drink water. It is a small thing. Will you do this?

Well, how many of you drink water like medicine? There will be some people who drink water like juice and enjoy the water too while there will be some people who take it like a medicine. How many of you enjoy water, and the taste of it and enjoy it? You must enjoy the taste of water and it will benefit the body a lot if you enjoy it. Do not take water like medicine. Will you? You will say – what is the use? Mother says, go and study, and if I am drinking water for five minutes, then there will be a quarrel. Sometimes mother comes with a glass of milk. Mother has work, and TV serial is on. So, mother says, come on quickly finish the milk and you drink the milk like medicine because mother has to watch serial. It happens, doesn’t it? Which serial was it? ‘Saas bhi Kabhi Bahu thi?

These are the small things. The habits that we inculcate and instil in the body in our childhood come handy throughout our lives and they fit perfectly in the mind. You know there is a campaign going on in the country, ‘Fit India’. Do you know about it? How many of you know? So to which tailor do you go for Fit India? Which tailor do you go to? Who goes to the tailor for Fit India? So how will anyone explain what Fit India is? Can someone explain? What does one do? Saying ‘exercise’ is not enough. Someone will say – I do Surya Namaskar; someone will say – I do cycling; someone will say – I do swimming. What do we do? Well, how many of you can climb the tree quickly and then get down? And the family has to shout – Hey get down, get down; how many of you fall in that category?

See, we must be courageous. If I set my foot here, I might fall; if I do this, something might happen; life is not lived like that in fear. Life is not possible without courage. If you make a habit of daring small things, then in future it will be very useful. And when people like you do it, then 50 other people will see – oh look, he or she has also done it. They have come with an award, yet are working so hard. They have come with so much respect, but still are working. So what will happen – many will get inspiration. Will you do it? Will you do it for sure? So are you prepared for 26 January the day after tomorrow? So you must have been taught a lot of things and actions? Do that with the right hand? Haven’t they? You have to wave in the direction of the people. Oh, we will be there only up to five meters or ten meters. The rest of the area will have crowd.

Well, I loved to spend time with you. Now, you guys enjoy and see as much tourist attractions as possible in Delhi. Visit different places. You must be aware that a museum has been created for Netaji Subhas Babu and other revolutionaries in the Red Fort. Will you visit it? Have you seen the War Memorial? No? Go and see the War Memorial too. And if you see some of the brave martyrs from your home state, you can read and write down the name and take home. If you have a mobile phone then you can also click photos. Oh, this is the name of a brave martyr from Karnataka, let me click his photo. You must show that photo to your friends and tell them that you have seen the name of the heroic martyr in the War Memorial. Everyone should find martyrs from his or her own state. You should feel proud of them. A police memorial is also built here, will you go and see? You know there are more than 33000 police martyrs? Sometimes people hate the police, don’t they? Policemen say, “go away from here; don’t keep the bicycle here.” You get very angry, isn’t it? 33,000 policemen have been martyred in their attempt to protect the citizens of the country after independence. The figure is very huge – 33,000! This should create a sense of respect and pride for the police. See, a change will begin in the societal life. When you will go and see the police memorial, you will feel that so much was done and they continue to do so. Will you do it? Sure?

Well, thank you very much! Many congratulations!