Not every tribute needs a speech or a podium. Sometimes, a few hours of music say just as much. On 2nd October 2026, the University of Mumbai organised a Bhajan Sandhya to mark the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, and a group of our DLLE students, accompanied by faculty member Dr. Sheetal Jigar Mody, were part of the evening.

A Different Way to Remember

October 2nd carries weight every year, a day that asks us to pause and reflect on two of India’s most significant leaders. Rather than a formal lecture or ceremony, the University chose to mark the occasion through bhajans, devotional songs that have carried messages of peace and truth across generations. For our students, it was a chance to experience that history in a form they could actually feel, not just read about.

Music That Carried a Message

The atmosphere at the Bhajan Sandhya was gentle and reflective, built entirely around the soulful rhythm of devotional singing. Each bhajan, in its own quiet way, echoed the values both leaders stood for: simplicity, truth, peace and patriotism. There’s something fitting about honouring Gandhi and Shastri through music rather than rhetoric, since both men were known for living their principles through everyday action rather than grand declarations.

Why These Two Names Still Matter

Mahatma Gandhi’s commitment to truth and non-violence and Lal Bahadur Shastri’s quiet, steady leadership, remembered for his famous call of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan,” remain two of the clearest examples of values-driven leadership in India’s modern history. Sharing a birth anniversary, their legacies are often remembered together, and events like this one give students a moment to reconnect with ideals that can otherwise start to feel distant in day-to-day college life.

Representing Hinduja College Beyond Campus

Participation in University-level events like this one matters for our DLLE students in more ways than one. It’s an opportunity to represent Hinduja College in a wider academic community, engage with students from other institutions, and take part in a tradition of civic and cultural reflection that extends beyond our own campus walls. Dr. Sheetal Jigar Mody’s presence alongside the students reflected the college’s continued support for these kinds of meaningful, values-based engagements.

A Quiet Kind of Learning

Not every lesson is taught in a classroom. Evenings like the Bhajan Sandhya offer students a different kind of learning altogether, one rooted in reflection, shared history and cultural memory rather than textbooks or assessments. For the students who attended, it was a reminder that the values Gandhi and Shastri championed, simplicity, honesty, and service, are still worth carrying forward, however small the gesture.

Carrying the Values Forward

Our DLLE unit continues to encourage students to engage with initiatives like this one, not because they’re mandatory, but because they build a sense of civic awareness that complements everything else happening in the classroom. The Bhajan Sandhya was a small evening in the broader calendar, but its message, built around peace, truth and patriotism, is one worth returning to often.

Want to know more about DLLE activities at Hinduja College? Explore the DLLE programme at Hinduja College to see what’s coming up next.