NEW DELHI – First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday, 25 February 2020, visited a “happiness class” at Sarvodaya school, which is a government school based in New Dehli. The school security was tightened days before the arrival of the First Lady and the rehearsals held months before, had inculcated excitement and happiness in awaiting to welcome the First Lady Melania Trump at Sarvodaya school.
At the school, Melania was accorded a tradition welcome with “aarti” and was garlanded by the students. Teachers looked equally happy as the students to see First Lady in-person, in fact, teachers were found more to be in awe – in terms of holding back their excitement due to their job restrictions.
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Melania Trump looked beautiful with the “teeka” on her forehead that had been applied when she arrived at the school. FLOTUS tweeted note of thanks “thank you Sarvodaya School for welcoming me with the lovely Tilak and Aarti tradition.”
First Lady was visiting the school to learn about the Dehli government’s happiness curriculum, which was launched in 2018. The curriculum is based on activities like “mindfulness, storytelling and theatre”. The happiness curriculum dovetails with her “Be Best” initiative to “teach children and young adults to be kind, avoid drugs and take care of themselves,” thus signifying the espirit de corps, existing between the curriculum and the “Be Best” agenda.
U.S. first lady Melania Trump walks with two children at Sarvodaya Co-Educational Senior Secondary School in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Further, the happiness curriculum intended to shift focus from marks-oriented learning to art-based learning that not just teaches good behavior but also helps in dealing with regular stress.
First Lady Melania Trump – FLOTUS tweeted “I was inspired by the reading classroom & happiness curriculum programs at Sarvodaya School in New Dehli. Wonderful to see the principles of #BeBest are not just limited to the U.S. but can be found throughout the world.”
A student band at the Sarvodaya Co-educational Senior Secondary School played bagpipes as they greeted the first lady at the school, which was decorated with floral garlands and motifs.
First Lady Melania Trump entered the classroom of students who were nervous and self-conscious of Melania Trump’s arrival , as it is not every day that the First Lady of the United States drops in to say hi – but the school children did not show their excitement, instead braced their “happiness” in welcoming her.
Sitting in front of a crowded bulletin board, Melania Trump could not help but beam as the children returned their teacher’s greeting with a sing song “good afternoon Ma’aaam”
“It is very inspiring to me that the students here begin each day by participating in mindfulness,” Melania Trump told students after her visit.
“From mindful breathing, telling a story to a friend, listening to another classmate, or simply connecting with nature, I cannot think of a better way for all of us to start our day,” said Melania Trump.
In the days leading to Melania Trump’s visit, Indian media reported a controversy which was cooked in New Dehli over exclusion of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to attend the First Lady visit to Sarvodaya School.
Sisodia said in a statement that he and Kejriwal would have loved to personally welcome First Lady Melania Trump but respected “concerns” expressed by the U.S. Embassy India.
The embassy later, said it did not object to their presence but appreciated their recognition that “this isn’t political event, as the First Lady program is focused on education, school and students.” When she left the classroom, First Lady left happy faces of “school children beaming and wishing” that Melania Trump shall return one day again. The visit which was fully inspired by her “Be Best” initiative, indeed proved its worth to spread “happiness.”
