March 29, 2015 marked to be an incredible evening as hundreds of people gathered to felicitate Asha students who have excelled in academics with flying colours. Asha’s Celebration of Learning 2015, inspired students to continue performing well and outshine in life. Guests of Honour Mr Satish Mehta, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and HE Jess Dutton, Acting Canadian High Commissioner graced the occasion with their presence.
The event was also a platform for the release of music albums of Dr Kiran, Founder and Director of Asha and Shri Vinod Kumar, eminent Ghazal singer and Dr Kiran’s music teacher, which was followed by a Music Concert by the artistes.
The event began with a welcome note by Dr Kiran. She addressed the audience by sharing Asha’s journey so far and laid emphasis on how the students at Asha have been standing out in their respective fields.
Asha students, Huma Khan and Sunil Kumar shared their life’s story. Huma, presently working with an esteemed MNC in Gurgaon spoke about the transformation in her life ever since she joined Asha; while Sunil, an undergraduate student from one of the best colleges of Delhi University shared his involvement with the Internship and Mentorship Programmes.
Asha Engineer, Mahinder Shrivas and his mother, Smt. Rani ji then shared their life’s story with the audiences. Mahinder spoke about his journey with Asha and how he was able to seek a job in a leading company in Kolkata. His mother talked about the changes and renewed hope that Mahinder’s job has brought into the family, “I am very proud of my son today, and the entire credit goes to the Asha team for supporting us throughout.”
The stories of transformation by Asha students were followed by an Award Ceremony to honour University students for their educational excellence during 2013-14. The students received awards for securing first division in their undergraduate programmes, distinction in individual subjects, and academic excellence in Master’s programme. The Best Male and Female Engineers from Asha Communities, and Asha Student Ambassadors were also amongst the awardees.
The highlight of the evening was when Chandan, an Asha student from Jeevan Nagar slum colony, pursuing B.Sc. in Mathematics from one of the most prestigious colleges of Delhi University, was awarded as the Asha University Topper 2013-14. Chandan secured and aggregate of 98% and has topped his class at University. The auditorium echoed with applause as Chandan walked onto the stage and the entire audience rose to give him a standing ovation for this incredible performance.
Later, Shri Satish Mehta released Dr Kiran’s Music Album ‘Tender Encounters- a collection of love songs by Dr Kiran’ and Shri Vinod Kumar’s Album ‘Aagaaz- a collection of Ghazals by Vinod Kumar’.
The event concluded on a musical note with concert of timeless classics and ghazals by Dr Kiran and Shri Vinod Kumar. They performed a selection of songs from their albums, which the audiences enjoyed thoroughly.
With Asha’s dedicated efforts and the students’ hard-work, we are sure to have many more musical soirees and stories in the times to come.
