Dear Editor,
I write to applaud the President for extolling the virtues of the SVN high school under the management of His Eminence Swami Aksharananda and for the President’s grant of one million dollars to the school. This is the second year in a row that President Granger attended the school’s graduation exercise. It is the first time government has given a grant to the school; most grants are from private sources including small donors like myself and colleagues from the diaspora.
As the President noted, SVN is a model school for the nation. It deserves plaudits for its achievements over the short few years since it was founded by Swamiji.
The President should also be lauded for the decorum shown at the graduation ceremony. The President showed highest respects and regards for the SVN ceremonies and customs, partaking in simple refreshments. This is quite unlike guests from the preceding PPP/C regime; PPP/C leadership guests could not wait for ceremonies to end to exit the SVN compound to entertain themselves elsewhere. SVN is pure vegetarian and prohibits alcohol. As related to me by parents, when programmes were finished at SVN when the PPP/C was in office, “PPP leaders visited the rum shop nearby for dharoo and chased with beef and pork cutters”.
The PPP leaders should take a page out of the book of President Granger on how to honour and show respect for their own ancestral values. At the ceremony, Granger was humble and down to earth unlike his arrogant predecessors. Granger found money to assist the school because he sees value in it, whereas PPP leaders could not find a cent to help the school.
Yours faithfully
Vishnu Bisram
