JOIN USWelcoming home a legend
It was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and they celebrated it with full fervour and gaiety. Students of Lady Shri Ram College welcomed their famous alumni Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi after 40 years, and made sure that ‘The Lady’ remembers it for a very long time. Daw Aung, too, with her characteristic gentleness and poise, left a lasting impression.
President of LSR students’ union, Jumi Gogoi, informed Metrolife, “It was our principal Dr Meenakshi Gopinath’s dream for the past 22 years to have a grand homecoming for Madam Suu. During her long years of struggle and then house-imprisonment, the students and faculty continued to send her letters and postcards to express solidarity. Once she was freed in late 2010, it was almost certain that she would visit us, but the date was not confirmed. We are so glad that it happened in our term.”
No doubt, the girls made preparations on a war footing to make the occasion extra-special. Charu Gupta, a student, says, “The Decoration Society did a great job. They, very aptly, picked up Buddhism as the theme and created two large beautiful panels depicting a swan and a lotus. Both these symbols are associated with Suu Kyi as well. They painted numerous flags in typical Buddhist Thangka style art and also designed a rangoli with the Buddhist ‘Knot of justice’ symbol.”
“The Music Society actually got an English song on Suu Kyi - The lady - translated into Burmese and serenaded her with it. They followed it up with Tagore’s Ekla chalo re and Chalo Bhor ke rahi which Suu is known to be very fond of. The Magazine Society presented her with a book of memories of her days in LSR.”
Interestingly, the girls also dressed up in traditional Burmese long skirts and tops emblazoned with pictures of Suu Kyi. They also tied up their hair in a bun and adorned it with flowers just as Madam Suu does it. As Jumi put it, “We thought, imitation is the best form of flattery.”
Asked if they got to interact with ‘The lady,’ Gayatri Raghunandan, the General Secretary of Students’ Union complained, “Unfortunately not. We thought we will get a few minutes with her alone, but the barrage of newspaper and TV journalists who crowded around her, spoilt our chances completely. But we will always cherish the few moments we spent with her.”
On what she liked most about Madam Suu, Gayatri commented, “It was surprising that in spite of all the hardships she has gone through, she seemed so calm and peaceful. Even in her speech, she remarked that one shouldn’t bear grudges against anybody. She also stressed on the importance of hardwork and perseverance which ultimately determine the destiny of a human being. I hope to bring all these qualities into my life and see if I can reach the heights where madam Suu is.”