Project Bhakti, an initiative that aims to impart religious knowledge and moral values to Hindu children and is run by the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB), sees children from preschool to secondary school learn about Hinduism once a week on Sunday mornings at the Ramakrishna Mission on Bartley Road.
In addition to learning and understanding epics and puranas, students also practice memorising slokas (verses) and songs along with their meaning.
The programme celebrated its 25th anniversary at the PGP Hall of the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Sept 13. Children, parents, volunteers, temple representatives, and community social workers gathered for this get-together.
Along with the recital of Sanskrit slokas, students of the Bhakti programme also performed the Ramayana. Older students also conducted a Kahoot quiz.
In his speech as guest of honour, former HEB Chairman Rajan Krishnan recalled the programme’s simplicity at its commencement in 2001.
“Though it was not ideally conducive because we didn’t have a proper classroom, we used the temple’s common hall and competed with the devotees for the space. But that’s how we started with the aim of meeting the religious and cultural learning needs of young Hindu children between the ages of five and 16,” Mr Rajan said.
Mr Rajan noted that initially around 15 university students served as instructors and that the youths learned religious knowledge on their own and immediately taught it to the children.
Some of the early students have become teachers themselves, guiding new batches of youths.
Carried out in collaboration with Ramakrishna Mission (Singapore) since 2026, the classes have since then been conducted at its Wings Counselling Centre.
In 2009, the Hindu Studies Committee, operating under HEB, set out to create a structured curriculum. Under this system, it created 16 textbooks.
It was also announced at the event that classes will operate under the Hindu Advisory Board from Sept 14 onwards.
Chairman of the Hindu Advisory Board K. Sengkuttuvan underscored the importance of adapting the programme to changing times as it looks to expand to other temples.
“Our goal is to provide a fulfilling experience for the children and their parents through digital technology and video classes alongside physical classes,” he told tabla!.
Madam Kalaiselvi Thirumeni, a 50-year-old business services manager who has volunteered at temples for many years, said she was happy to enrol her daughter in the Bhakti classes this year.
“I am overjoyed to see my daughter learning various aspects of Hindu Dharma that even I did not know,” she noted.
Dinesh Cheram, 37, whose seven-year-old son and five-year-old daughter have been attending Bhakti classes for the past two years, expressed delight at seeing them recite various prayers, including slokas.
“I would encourage other Hindu parents to consider enrolling their children in Project Bhakti. Through the programme, we can see our children over time becoming more respectful, spiritually inclined and connected to their culture and traditions,” he said.
