Elderly residents from Sree Narayana Mission Nursing Home enjoyed a delightful visit to Little India, accompanied by young volunteers to celebrate Deepavali.
On Saturday, October 26, 15 elderly wheelchair users were warmly welcomed by young volunteers from the Rotary Club, who served meals on banana leaves at Little India Arcade.
Later, the group visited the Little India Bazaar and the Indian Heritage Centre, where both Indian and non-Indian elders had the opportunity to learn about various aspects of Indian culture.
At the end of the tour, the elders were given gift bags filled with various goodies. Radhika Pandiraj, 60, who has been residing at Sree Narayana Mission Nursing Home for two years, expressed her happiness about participating in the event.
Rajkumar Perumal, a member of the Rotary Club’s Executive Committee, said that the Rotary Club, with over 200 members, organises such charitable activities during Singapore’s major festivals.
“We hope to serve even more people in the coming years and warmly welcome anyone interested in community work to join us,” said Mr. Rajkumar.
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The Umar Pulavar Tamil High School Alumni Association hosted ‘Natpin Kalai Vizha 2024’ at Chua Soo Kang Safara on Saturday, October 5th, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Approximately 200 alumni attended the event, having purchased 40 silver admission tickets.
The attendees were taken back to their teenage years through music, dance, and drama with the help of artificial intelligence.
Six senior residents from Sree Narayan Mission also attended the event and expressed their affection and gratitude.
The school, originally established in 1946 by the Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League as Umar Pulavar Tamil School, began operating as Umar Pulavar Tamil High School on March 30, 1960, following the completion of a new three-story building.
It also holds the distinction of being the only Tamil high school in Singapore.
Although the school closed in 1982, former students still cherish their memories of studying together as if it were just yesterday.
“We used to participate in many speech competitions and dances. Our principal was very strict,” said Dr. Meenakshi Sabpati, who once studied at the school. “We were involved in groups like the magazine publishing team, scouting, first aid, and conservation but we never neglected our studies,” added Dr. Govindrasu.
The alumni association was founded in 1977.
“Every year, the alumni association organises an event like this,” said Rahmatullah, the Association’s President. “If former students try organising on their own, only a few will be able to reunite. But through this festival, we were able to bring many people together.” He also mentioned that the association helps identify alumni in need of support.
“Contacts given by attendees have been updated,” he added.
Vanitha Singharavelu, who attended the event, shared, “I was happy to reconnect with old friends after many years. The only person missing today is our teacher, who is no longer with us.”
“At that time, we considered our teacher to be like God,” said C. Gunasekaran, the secretary of the association, who also developed the AI-based programme for the event. “The teachers have shaped my life,” he added, quoting a line in Hindi, “जीवन भार मेरा की गाया है” (My life has been shaped by what I’ve learned).
Sheikh Usman from Malarkodi expressed the group’s sentiments: “The school environment was unique in itself. We were saddened by its closure.”
Tamil writers Thanalaetsumi, Sukunabai, and Thanapakyam also shared their experiences: “We looked up to our teacher, M. Thangarasan, as an example. He told stories in such an engaging way that we were inspired to become Tamil writers ourselves, which greatly improved our writing skills.”
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A finalist in the ‘Promising Pioneer’ category, Mr. M K Basi, 94, began his career as a teacher at Victoria School, where he excelled for more than 30 years before retiring in 1985 as the school’s Deputy Headmaster.
He served as President of the Sree Narayana Mission (Singapore) for 17 years, and was honored with the Long Service Award by the Ministry of Social and Family Development for his philanthropic contributions.
In addition to his educational and community work, Mr. Basi’s poems have been recognised in Kerala, the United States, and Singapore. He was also awarded the International Library of Poetry’s ‘Editor’s Choice’ award in both 2001 and 2002.
Joseph Vincent, 64, president of The Sowers Novena, won the ‘Best Elder’ category in an online poll held from August 21 to 31.
With over 20 years of dedication to improving the lives of the elderly, Vincent has led numerous initiatives to support residents of single-room housing and foreign workers.
One of his notable efforts, the six-month ‘Share-a-Pot@Home’ campaign, saw 100 volunteers distribute 320 food packets to the Sree Narayana Mission Nursing Home.
As an ambassador for Dads for Life, he has also organised various school programmess to strengthen father-son relationships, along with events for foreign workers, including a large entertainment festival attended by 2,500 people.
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