Vinita Kinra, author of critically acclaimed book of short stories Pavitra in Paris, was welcomed with loud cheers from students up to the ages of 14 at Allan A. MartinSeniorPublic School in Mississauga, Canada.
Kinra was hosted by Passages Canada (with support from Citizenship and Immigration Canada) to deliver a speech to the school’s over 500 students to mark Asian Heritage Month, 2014 on June 2nd, also Kinra’s birthday.
Kinra built huge momentum for her speech by using her own original quotations that she shares regularly with over 60,000 followers on her Facebook fan page.
Kinra proved her mettle as a powerful motivational speaker when she urged all students to chase their dreams fiercely.
“Every single person sitting here today,” she addressed her audience directly, “has the potential to touch the sky. Sometimes you do your best to reach the sky, but only land on treetops. When that happens, just get up and go after your goals with redoubled fervour. That’s why I wrote the quotation: ‘Treat every defeat as a challenge because no defeat is a FINAL DEFEAT”’.
Kinra drew a parallel between realizing a dream and running a marathon. “When you’re pursuing your ambition with the speed of a marathon runner, defeat runs after you to pull you back or stop you in your tracks. But you have to tell defeat to go away because you are determined to win. And you WILL WIN. That’s why I wrote my quotation: ‘Winners are those who defeat defeat”’.
The energy among the crowd was palpable and they applauded Kinra several times mid-speech as she evoked many colourful images with her quotes to emphasize the importance of diversity in the Canadian mosaic. She said, “Multicultural societies are like a bouquet of different flowers. They enrich countries with diverse colours, fragrance and beauty”.
She questioned her audience by asking if the rainbow would be as beautiful if it had only one colour. When the crowd echoed “No” loudly, she said, “Rainbows and multicultural societies are alike. Diversity makes them beautiful”.
Kinra reminded her audience that June 5th is World Environment Day. She said that she celebrated her birthday by gifting a tree to mother earth at Applewood Hills in Mississauga. “I urge you all—the youth of today, the future of tomorrow, to join my global campaign of planting a tree every year on your birthday, and make my quotation your goal: ‘My birthday is Earth Day. Let’s plant a tree to make Dear Earth pollution free!”’
Kinra’s dynamic speech was followed by an array of cultural programs performed by the students, who came dressed in bright costumes for the occasion. Boys put up an energetic Bhangra dance, while girls impressed with Bollywood parodies. There was also a spectacular show of Martial Arts, concluded by an airy, well-choreographed solo Chinese dance. Most staff members of the school, including the Principal, Ms. Katina, were wearing traditional Indian outfits for the celebrations. Allan A. Martin Senior Public School is the unique home of Peel’s only International Business and Technology Program (IBT).
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