This article is part of the CCA Previews for 2016.

By Thenappan Sathya (16S03L), EXCO

The Indian Cultural Society encompasses all things exciting, traditional and enriching. ICS will take you on board a memorable journey, one that will forever stay close to your heart and make you want to embark on it over and over again.

Once you decide to set foot on this journey, you will first undergo an orientation day camp to get to know your other members and start to build friendships, ones that are likely to last for a long time to come.

Once you get to know the other members who will set sail with you on this journey, you will begin your first activity – The Amazing Race event held in conjunction with SINDA. The ICS journey is not all about forging friendships and forming a close knit community within the school itself. Rather, it is about impacting a wider community and helping those in need. This is exactly what this event serves to do- to help underprivileged children by equipping them with the necessary skills and values to function as valued members of the society. This year’s theme for the event will be, “Race to Lead”, seeking to imbue in our members character and leadership values to serve as effective leaders of tomorrow. Indubitably, ICS members can look forward to an exciting time during this activity, interacting with children and sharing their knowledge with them.

The next destination would be Sangamam, an in-house annual cultural production, one which each ICS member looks forward to and enjoys taking part in. The entire Indian community within the school will come together to showcase their myriad of talents – singing, dancing, acting, you name it. Each year’s production will centre around unique and thrilling themes from stories revolving around ancient Indian tales to gripping murder-mystery plots. Sangamam provides a platform for you to get involved with your interesting ideas and engage in discussions with your fellow ICS members on how to stage the entire production. Besides being able to showcase your own talents, you will also get to bond further with your ICS mates and have a wonderful time together. With so much in store, it comes as no surprise that majority of ICS members find Sangamam one of their most memorable experiences during their time in school.

Along your journey, you will also get to meet and interact with members of the wider Indian community apart from those within the CCA itself. You will get to participate in the SINDA Youth Leaders’ Seminar (SYLS) and the Yishun Junior College Seminar which will enable you to meet people from other schools and make new friends. You will also get to attend the Seminar of Tamil Writers event, organised by the RI ICS in line with the Tamil Language month and meet prominent figures of the Indian community who will share valuable insights and thoughts about current issues in Singapore.

ICS meetings are held weekly/fortnightly on Wednesdays or Fridays, and more frequently when our events draw closer. Check out these links for videos on some of the events we have.

All in all, ICS will serve as a platform for you to learn more about the Indian culture and in the process gain a deeper appreciation for it. ICS will ignite a passion for this unique and diverse culture within you which will constantly make you want to know more about it. Moreover, this CCA will enable you to see beyond the happenings in school and make you more receptive to the needs of the wider community and will also provide numerous opportunities for you to lend your helping hand to address these needs.

So what are you waiting for? Join the Indian Cultural Society, where culture meets fun.