Swami Baneshanandaji returned to Germany after a seven-week visit to India.

The name of the Mission centre at Comilla (Bangladesh) has been changed from ‘Ramakrishna Ashrama, Comilla’ to ‘Ramakrishna Mission, Comilla’.

India: The Government of Karnataka, in collaboration with our centres in the State, held youth congregations in all the 30 districts of Karnataka on 11 January.  In each district about 600 to 800 youths participated in the programmes, which included screening of a documentary on Swami Vivekananda.

On 13 February, Calcutta Tram Corporation (CTC) launched two trams, Vivek Tirtha and Parivrajak, to spread awareness about the life and message of Swami Vivekananda.  Vivek Tirtha is an exhibition tram displaying letters, pictures, speeches and biography of Swamiji.  It will be stationed at different CTC depots in Kolkata till 15 April 2013.  Parivrajak is a passenger tram decorated with the pictures and quotations of Swamiji.  Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, flagged off the trams and addressed the meeting organized on this occasion.

The following centres organized various programmes to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.  (Main programmes conducted by them are mentioned against their names.)

Allahabad: An intra-faith conference from 7 to 9 February at the Kumbha Mela camp in which several scholarly monks of various Hindu denominations and groups delivered talks.

Baranagar Math: Youth convention on 2 February which was attended by 500 delegates.  Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, delivered the inaugural address, released a book and a DVD, and inaugurated the exhibition set up on the occasion.

Spiritual retreat on 4 February in which 400 devotees participated.

Cultural programmes at Girish Mancha, Baghbazar, on 8 February which were attended by about 900 people.

Belgaum: Quiz contests in January in which 271 students from 3 schools participated.

Chandigarh: Students’ convention on 28 January in which 150 students took part.

Teachers’ convention on 29 January in which 130 teachers participated.

The centre launched a yearlong Vivekananda Ratha Yatra (procession with Vivekananda carriage) on 3 February to spread the message of Swami Vivekananda in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Chengalpattu: Processions, devotional music and film shows on Swami Vivekananda at Melakandai, Aurimedu, Mazhuvankaranai, Kollampakkam, Orakatupetai, Pandur, Kotapunjai, Sirunallur, Melavasalai on 19, 20, 25, 26 & 27 January, and 2, 9, 16 & 17 February respectively.

Coimbatore Mission: An interschool kabadi tournament on 1 February in which about 420 students from 32 schools took part.

A youth rally on 2 February in which nearly 1000 students participated.

Cooch Behar: District-level youth convention on 6 February in which about 1500 students participated. 

Dehradun: At the initiative of the centre, a seven-foot bronze statue of Swami  Vivekananda was installed at the Mussorie Diversion Circle by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on 12 January.

Delhi: A programme of classical devotional songs on 17 February which was attended by nearly 400 people.

Guwahati: Procession, youth convention, public meetings, quiz competition and cultural programmes from 8 to 10 February.  About 2000 persons participated in the procession and nearly 400 people attended the other programmes.

Hyderabad: Workshop on the theme Leadership Lessons from Swami Vivekananda for the Youth on 23 February which was attended by nearly 700 youths.

Institute of Culture, Kolkata: A national seminar on Indian Traditions in Search of Unity through Music on 9 and 10 February in which 12 papers were read out.  Musical presentations formed a part of the seminar to appreciate the extent of unity in Indian music.  About 100 persons attended the programme.

An art exhibition on the theme Renaissance of India and the World: Life and Mission of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda was inaugurated on 17 February.  The exhibition will be on display till 14 March 2013.

Kanchipuram: Speeches and cultural competitions in one school and one college on 15 February which were attended altogether by 550 students.

Kankurgachhi: The centre has started “Vivekananda Endowment Lecture”.  The first lecture, delivered by Swami Chetananandaji, Minister-in-Charge, Vedanta Society of St. Louis, on 9 February, was attended by about 1000 people. 

Kanpur: Speeches, devotional music and youth convention from 16 to 18 February.  In all, 750 persons attended the programme.

Khetri: State-level youth convention on 9 February in which 4000 youths participated.

Limbdi: Talks on the life and message of Swami Vivekananda in five educational institutions between 6 and 18 February, which were attended by nearly 3800 students in all.

Madurai: Swami Vivekananda reached Madurai on 2 February 1897 on his triumphant return from the West.  He was given a reception and Swamiji gave his reply.  In commemoration of this event, Madurai Math held a special function on 2 February 2013 which was attended by about 600 people.  Leaflets containing the address of welcome given to Swamiji at Madurai and his reply to it were given to all the audience.

Medinipur: Youth convention on 13 January in which 354 students and 42 teachers from 24 schools participated.

Mumbai: At the initiative of the centre, the crossing of Ramakrishna Mission Marg and 12th Road, Khar (West), Mumbai, was named Swami Vivekananda Chowk on 3 February.

Mysore: Youth convention on 30 December which was attended by nearly 2000 students from various colleges of Mysore.

Nagpur: Swami Vivekananda Swadhyayamala: Under this project, students are supplied with books on Swamiji, and they have to answer some questions on his life.  About 2,17,000 students of 1600 schools have participated in this project till now.

Teachers’ Project: Under this project 2500 teachers from 11 districts of Maharashtra submitted essays, theses, research articles, drawings, stories, skits and poems on the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda.

Interschool Group Singing Competition: Final round was conducted on 9 January in which students of 16 schools in Nagpur participated.

Ratha Yatra: A ratha (literally means ‘chariot’), along with bookstall, exhibition and animated movie on Swami Vivekananda, covered 11 districts of Maharashtra from 14 December 2012 to 31 January 2013.  About 1,10,000 copies of pamphlets with pictures and quotations of Swamiji were distributed during the Ratha Yatra.

Puna: Swami Vivekananda Ratha Yatra, which was launched by Pune centre on 12 January, has covered Satara and Sangli districts of Maharashtra.  During this Yatra 12 speakers delivered 185 talks which were attended by nearly 47,000 people.

Porbandar: Programmes on the life and message of Swami Vivekananda from July 2012 to January 2013 in 25 schools which were attended altogether by 4570 students and 198 teachers.

Puri Mission: Sadhu Sammelan (congregation of monks) on 3 February in which 116 monks of various monasteries in Puri town participated.

Seminar, state-level interfaith dialogue and intra-faith dialogue from 16 to 18 February which were attended altogether by about 700 people.

Ramharipur: Public meeting and cultural programmes on 25 January which were attended by nearly 4000 people.

Towards the end of his life, Swami Vivekananda one day fed a group of Santal men and women at Belur Math with many kinds of delicious dishes.  In commemoration of this event, Swamiji’s admirers and devotees, under the auspices of Ramharipur centre, invited 151 Santals from 6 nearby villages to Ramharipur Ashrama on 25 February 2013, served them with noon food and gave each of them one dhoti / sari, a bathing soap, hair oil and Rs. 100/-.

Salem: Various programmes in 39 educational institutions from 3 January to 5 February which were attended by about 15,000 students in all.

Sargachhi: Speeches and cultural programmes, including classical music renderings, at Berhampore on 12 and 13 January.

Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral House: Lectures at the centre on 23 January and 9 February which were attended altogether by 1200 devotees.

A programme at Netaji Bhavan, Kolkata, on 24 January which was attended by 650 people.

Five lectures and public meetings in and around Kolkata in January and February which were attended by 2700 persons in all.

Taki: A procession on 10 February in which around 850 people participated.

Vadodara: A lecture for NCC cadets at Ahmedabad on 13 January which was attended by 275 cadets.

A public meeting on 24 January on The Relevance of the Life and Message of Swami Vivekananda.

A state-level written quiz competition from June 2012 to February 2013 in which 71,349 students of 1233 schools in Gujarat participated.  Four state-level prizes and 77 district‑level prizes were given on 17 February.

Outside India: Bagerhat (Bangladesh): Procession, devotees’ convention, public meetings and cultural programmes from 19 to 22 February.  A large number of people attended the four-day celebration which was inaugurated by Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, on 19 February.

Barisal (Bangladesh): A two-day programme comprising procession, public meeting and classical music renderings on 15 and 16 February which was attended altogether by about 2000 people.

Dinajpur (Bangladesh): Procession, discourses, educational conference and cultural programmes on 22 and 23 February.   About 3500 persons participated in the procession and 400 delegate-teachers took part in the educational conference.

Kathmandu (Nepal):  Satsangs (religious gatherings) at Pathamari on 6 and 7 January which were attended by nearly 1200 people.

A programme on 12 January in which Sri Ram Baran Yadav, President of Nepal, and Sri Jayant Prasad, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, delivered speeches.  Around 450 people, including several dignitaries, attended the programme.

Mauritius:  A public function at the centre on 24 February in which Sri Rajkeswur Purryag, President, Republic of Mauritius, and Sri T P Seetaram, High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, spoke.  About 350 people attended the programme.

New York Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Centre (USA): Speeches by distinguished speakers, followed by musical performances, on 11 November and 3 February which were attended by about 300 persons.

New York Vedanta Society (USA): Publication of two booklets on Swami Vivekananda authored by Swami Tathagatanandaji, Minister-in-Charge, Vedanta Society, New York.

San Francisco (USA): A panel discussion and a multimedia presentation on Swami Vivekananda at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco, on 23 February.  About 800 people attended the programmes.

A branch centre of the Ramakrishna Math has been started at Comilla, Bangladesh.  The address of the centre is “Ramakrishna Ashrama, Thakurpara (South), Comilla, Bangladesh 3500”, phone no. (880) 81-66031 and email id <rkmcomi16@gmail.com>.

The birthday (tithi-puja) of Swami Vivekananda was celebrated at Belur Math on Sunday, 3 February.  Thousands of devotees attended the celebration throughout the day.  Cooked prasad was served to about 18,000 devotees.  Swami Chetananandaji, Minister-in-Charge, Vedanta Society of St. Louis, presided over the public meeting held in the afternoon.

Mysore Vidyashala celebrated its diamond jubilee from 28 to 30 December with various events such as meetings, cultural programmes, aquatic display by the students of the Vidyashala, felicitation of its two teachers for their dedicated service, and releasing of a commemorative volume and a musical album.

The foundation stone for the proposed staff quarters at Mysore Vidyashala was laid on 29 December.

Ranchi Morabadi Ashrama held a central kisan mela (farmers’ fair) on 31 January and 1 February.  About 12,000 farmers and villagers participated in the mela.

Seva Pratishthan conducted a round-the-clock medical camp during Makar Sankranti Mela at Sagar Island in South 24-Parganas district from 10 to 16 January.  In all, 4243 patients were treated, out of which 42 received indoor medical care.  Besides, 150 blankets, 50 pieces of clothing and 6000 copies of religious books were distributed to poor pilgrims and monks.

A Science Centre where students can perform various experiments to learn the basic principles of science was inaugurated at Chennai Mission Ashrama on 9 February.

Sikra-Kulingram centre celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj from 9 to 12 February.  Special worship, homa, public meetings and cultural programmes were part of the four-day celebration.  On 9 February, Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, released a pictorial biography of Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj and a commemorative volume.  About 18,000 devotees attended the celebrations.  Besides, a youth convention was held on 11 February in which 2075 students took part.

A staff member of Deoghar Vidyapith, Sri Sanat Haldar, won the Gold Medal in the 37th National Yoga Championship in the age group 25‑35 (for men) held on 13 February at Hosiyarpur, Punjab, under the aegis of Yoga Federation of India, an alliance affiliated to Asian Yoga Federation and recognized by the Indian Olympic Association.

Barisal (Bangladesh) centre conducted a blood donation camp on 16 February in which blood group of 100 persons was checked.  Five persons donated blood in the camp.

The following centres conducted Child Eye Care Programmes, details of which are given below:

The following centres conducted free eye camps:

* through Chengalpattu centre;  ^# in collaboration with Antpur and Baranagar Math centres

E-mail: Belgharia centre has changed its email id from <rkmsth@gmail.com> to <rkmbelgharia@gmail.com>.

Website: Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education (RIMSE), Mysore, has changed its website address to <www.rimse.org.in>.

Swami Atmasthanandaji, President, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, is keeping well at Belur Math.

Swami Gitanandaji, Vice-President, continues to be under medical care at Kankurgachhi.

Swami Smarananandaji, Vice-President, is scheduled to return to Belur Math on 6 March after his visit to Narendrapur.  He is in good health.

Swami Prabhanandaji, Vice-President, is keeping well at Belur Math.  He is scheduled to visit Gol Park, Naora and Baghbazar centres from 1 to 10 March, and Vadodara and Rajkot from 29 March to 10 April.