Ceremony for groundbreaking school (From Harrow Times)

Ceremony for groundbreaking school

10:41pm Saturday 7th June 2008

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RELIGIOUS leaders have asked for blessing for the site of the first Hindu school in the country.

The great and the good of the Harrow community and the Hindu faith attended this morning's ceremony to ask for the blessing of Mother Earth to build the Krishna Avanti Primary School on the William Ellis Playing Fields.

Councillors, MPs, and faith leaders joined in the sacred ceremony, called Bhumi Puja, which culminated in the first piece of the site being dug up to signify the start of the building process.

Sruti Dharma das, one of the governors from the I-Foundation, the Hare Krishna organisation which is supporting the new school, said the ceremony was a very important part of the school's beginning.

He said: "Before any building process can begin within Indian tradition, Bhumi Puja is performed to seek the blessing of Mother Earth.

"For this school, the ethos is about being environmentally friendly and making sure the environment is kept intact.

"The building process is going to destroy parts of the environment itself, and we are asking for forgiveness and hope that the construction will go well."

Bhumi Puja is a Vedic ceremony, promoting a spiritual society, and this is the spirit in which the school will be run, with daily prayer sessions, meditation and yoga classes, and relaxing music piped into the corridors.

Naina Parmar, the school's headteacher, addressed the ceremony about her aims for the new school.

She said: "The main role of the school is to make sure our children in our community get the very best education.

"We aim to provide a world class learning environment and help the pupils to realise they have unlimited potential."

During the ceremony, blessed herbs and butter were thrown on to a fire by the congregation as offerings to Mother Earth.

Councillor David Ashton, leader of the council, was one of a number of local politicians who attended the ceremony. He highlighted the importance of the school being in Harrow, on the playing fields in Camrose Avenue, Edgware.

He said: "It is rare to have the privilege to be at a historic occasion and to realise it is historic at the same time.

"This is an opportunity to see a marvellous beginning and an indication of the potential for Harrow to set an example and be a beacon for other parts of the country."

He said he was proud the primary school was being built in the borough, which has a large Hindu population and is the most ethnically diverse borough in the country.

Work will begin on the new school building, which will include a temple, glass fronted classrooms, and meditation gardens, in two weeks time.

The school is due to open with the first reception class in September this year, based in classrooms at nearby Little Stanmore First and Middle School. It is due to move into the new building in September 2009.

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