100 times in 100 minutes

Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram’ has given a reason to smile to the students of the Samsidh Group of Schools, who sang the Ram Dhun in the chorus, 100 times in 100 minutes, setting a national record. The activity was acknowledged by the India Book of Records at Samsidh School, Vinukonda, Andhra Pradesh on April 30, 2023. A total of 127 students sang the devotional song repeatedly, which was set to tune by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in Raga Mishra Gara. The record-setting event was organised under the guidance of Vasa Srinivasa Rao, Founder Chairman of Samsidh Group of Schools; and Indu Sannoo, CEO of the Group.

Preparing the children for the main event was a task to the teachers who made the students do the rehearsals for a month at different locations and through online mode also. The final rehearsal was done at the venue after different teams reached for the attempt. “Convincing the students from other locations to participate in the event was a big challenge. Then we had to make proper arrangements for accommodation, food, and transport to make sure that every member of the team reaches the venue at the given time. Unpredictable weather conditions also posed difficulties. Sometimes there was sudden rain, then 40 degree Celsius temperature,” said Naveen Kumar, Principal of Samsidh School, Vinukonda.

Naveen Kumar told the India Book of Records magazine that the idea behind this activity was to bring together students from different cities and states and create a platform to showcase unity in diversity. Another motivation was to instill the feeling of patriotism amongst the younger generation by making them sing the Gandhi’s favourite song. At Samsidh, we prepare the children for life. We have included values as a part of the curriculum.”

The record for marathon singing of a devotional song by the maximum number of students was set by Samsidh Group of Schools, wherein 127 students sang ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ 100 times in the chorus.

The school has a tradition of winning accolades from time to time. It was adjudged the Best School with Infrastructure and was given the School Excellence Leadership Award and the Best Green School Award by CED in 2018. It got the British Council Award (2019), the Excellent IT-Enabled School in India Award, and the Excellent School for Innovation-Based Education in India award at the 12th National Education Summit (2018). It also received the Brain Feed Top 500 Schools Award and the Top 50 Organisations in Education by GFEL. Now it has set a record with the India Book of Records. Incorporated in 2009, Samsidh Group of Schools follows the CBSE curriculum as the base, but has a unique integration module executed with the help of its own Learning Management System (LMS) with a focus on character development and life skills programme. Samsidh is home to more than 10,000 students and over 850 teachers spread across 17 schools across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab.