Hello, lovely young friends! 

We've almost reached the end of this month and what an eventful month it must have been for all of you! You might have celebrated Easter/Bihu/Eid with your family, neighbours, and friends; worn new clothes; eaten the choicest of delicacies and gone to church, Rongali melas, Bihu sanmilans, Iftaar parties, etc. I'm sure you've had a wonderful time. And I'm really glad you did. We all deserve a break once in a while. It helps to re-energise us. 

And as all good things must come to an end, the festivals are over too. So it's time to pull your socks up and focus in school with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. I got to know that the school elections were held recently and the members of the Student Council have been elected too. Congratulations! I know it's a happy and proud moment for all of you. 

The elected members of the Student Council as well as the voters deserve appreciation for going through this democratic process. It's really important to elect good leaders and it's equally important for those elected leaders to lead by example because when you have power, you also need to take up responsibility. 

While talking about leading by example, suddenly a story came to my mind. Let me share it with you all:

Once, a mother was fed up because her little son ate a lot of sugar. He would stuff sugar in his mouth and keep eating when nobody was looking. He didn't listen to his mother when she asked him to stop doing it. So the mother took him to a wise man, hoping her son would listen to him. The wise man listened to the whole problem carefully. Then the mother requested him, "Sir, please ask him to stop eating sugar." The wise man thought for a few seconds and said, "Come back after a week." The mother was puzzled but did as she was told. After a week, when she took her son to the wise man again, he requested the boy not to eat sugar. The mother found it strange and asked the wise man, "Sir, you could have said this to him last week itself. Why did you call us again after a week?" The wise man calmly replied, "Till last week I was myself eating sugar. How can I ask him to stop? Now that I've stopped eating sugar, I can tell him to stop eating. I have to practise what I preach and lead by example, not by mere words." The mother understood and thanked the wise man. The boy also stopped eating sugar. 

I'm sure by now you all have understood what I meant when I said about leading by example. All the elected members of the Student Council need to lead by example rather than just dictating to their peers what to do and what not to do. They need to guide everyone lovingly to adhere to the rules and regulations of the school and work together for the betterment of the school as a whole. Whenever there are obstacles, they should try to solve these together with everyone's help. If someone makes mistakes, they should help out without making fun or using harsh words. They should remember that power is not to be misused. Rather it is to be used constructively and to perform one's responsibilities sincerely. 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you all learn and play together like one big happy family and grow up to be responsible, empathetic citizens of the country who'll take the country to new heights?