Patna: Patna Women’s College marked its Annual Day on Monday with a call for empathy and purpose-driven living, as Bihar governor Arif Mohammed Khan told students that compassion often associated with women is a quality men must consciously cultivate to become “more evolved human beings”.
Addressing a packed auditorium as chief guest, Khan drew on the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata and the writings of former president and educationist Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to emphasise the moral dimensions of education. He urged young people to pursue life with clarity of purpose, warning that without direction “life gets disoriented”. Education, he suggested, should nurture kindness and character as much as academic success.
The ceremony began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp, followed by an invocation and welcome song. In her opening address, the principal, Dr Sister M Rashmi A.C., said the college had consistently worked towards women’s empowerment while adapting to a rapidly changing world. She highlighted a pedagogy that blends digital integration with skill-based learning to prepare students for contemporary challenges.
Among the guests of honour were the deputy chief minister, Samrat Chaudhary, and the vice-chancellor of Patna University, Prof Namita Singh. Chaudhary praised the institution for providing holistic education and said the government was working on plans to establish a degree college in each of Bihar’s 533 blocks. Singh said combining tradition with modernity was essential for higher education today and described the college as a model of that balance.
An annual report presented through a multimedia display traced the institution’s history, achievements and academic and extracurricular milestones. Cultural performances formed the heart of the celebration, including a dance-drama, Ritu ke Darpan se Shiksha ki Yatra, which narrated the college’s journey through the years, and a Sambalpur dance that drew enthusiastic applause from parents, students and staff.
The governor later presented awards to seven students for academic and extracurricular excellence, with honours named after former principals. Coordinated by student and faculty volunteers, the event concluded with a group rendition of Vande Mataram and the national anthem, bringing the day’s celebrations to a close on a note of unity and pride.
