23 March 2020: The UK was plunged into lockdown by the Prime Minister meaning all UK citizens and residents were only allowed to leave their homes for one hour a day for essential shopping or for exercise. For children here in the UK, schools and play spaces were closed, exams cancelled. We at Shishukunj, followed Sanatan Mandir’s advice and CANCELLED all Shishukunj activities.
This happened for the first time in the history of Shishukunj which has been running successfully for over 45 years.Alot has happened in the last nine months since the Prime Minister announced the country was to go into lockdown; including Shishukunj’s remote activities. Whilst keeping children at the heart of everything we do, our philosophy and values will therefore be at the heart of all Shishukunj activities.
In May 2020, we decided to start Shishukunj through Zoom sessions encouraging the children to discover and develop their talent. The Shishukunj session was split into two sessions: 11.00 – 11.40am and 11.50 – 12.30pm, allowing a small break between the two sessions. In true Shishukunj style, we organised a diverse range of activities and events which seeked to nurture the love, compassion, respect, humanity, simplicity and eventually leadership, so that each child can aspire to become a better person and use these ideals in their everyday lives. Our regular weekly Shishukunj sessions consist of a few prayers including singing chapters from the Bhagavad Gita, breathing exercises, keep fit dance sessions and games for the children.
Whilst we were unable to attend the mandir and celebrate festivals like we normally would, every effort was made to continue these activities and keeping the traditions of festivals alive during the pandemic. Below are some special events that were delivered via Zoom and were extremely well received by both children and parents alike.
Shiv Puja – 16/08/2020
A short shiv puja was conducted online via zoom for children to participate with their family in the comfort of their own home. It was wonderful to see families carry out this puja together during the holy month of Shravan.
Janmashtami – 09/09/2020
We celebrated the festival with children dressing up as Krishna/Radha and other characters from Krishna’s life. The session included stories, a puppet show and games where children could learn about Krishna’s childhood.
Navratri celebration – 18th & 25th October 2020
Shishukunj zoom sessions were organised over 2 weekends. Children dressed up beautifully in traditional clothes. We had a mix of pre-recorded music and online singing. The children practised a garba and raas as part of the weekly keep fit sessions, which they performed on the day. This was a wonderful way to keep Navratri traditions alive in the community and the event was a great success. Families joined in with the dancing and the Arti was conducted via a live stream from the Mandir.
Diwali & New Years Day (Bestu Varas) – 8th and 15th Nov 2020
A fun packed Diwali & New Year’s celebration was organised over two weekends including stories, colouring rangoli patterns, games, videos and much more! The children also learnt how to make a divo from paper and used this during a diva dance that they performed.
Christmas – 20/12/20
An amazing celebration to end the year. The sessions were a variety of online activities, quizzes, Christmas songs, dances and games. We also had a special visitor during this Zoom session from a person named Santa Claus !
Gita Jayanti – 03/01/21
In celebration of Gita Jayanti, chapters 12 & 15 of the Bhagvad Gita were recited. Also the children had prepared various stories and explanations with a few of them below.