August 15, 2023 was a day of great joy and excitement for all Indians, it being our 77th Independence Day. At Arya Samaj, Vasant Vihar, too, it was celebrated with great -pride and exuberance. The precincts of the Arya Samaj were beautifully decorated and adorned with buntings and flags. Balloons in the colours of our national tricolour and flowers – auspicious orange marigolds, white tuberoses and green leaves of mango trees- added a special aura of patriotism to the event. The place was teeming with excited, joyous students, teachers and other members.
The function started at 10 am sharp after the arrival of the President of the Arya Samaj, Hon’ble Mrs Minnie Gupta. The students of our Mahatma Anand Swami Arya Primary School dressed in their sparkling white uniforms, came marching in smartly to the lively beats of the drum and saluted the President. The national flag was unfurled by the President and this was followed by a full throated singing of the national anthem, Jana gana mana….. A PT drill was done by the students, thereby displaying how the school management is taking care of their physical fitness and health.
An excellent cultural programme was presented in the Arya Samaj hall by members of the Samaj and the students. The programme began with a Vedic prayer- chanting of Vedic mantras followed by a prayer song. The USP of the programme was the presentation by the students, put together by School Principal, Mrs Kusum Duggal and the teachers. Full of enthusiasm, confidence and patriotic fervour, they sang patriotic songs, performed graceful dances and a very nice Nukkad Natak delineating the history of our freedom struggle in brief. Their presentation- dialogue delivery, enunciation, confidence, their josh – was truly remarkable. Everyone in the audience was full of appreciation for their commendable efforts and applauded the students loudly. So impressed was our veteran senior citizen Dr R.S.Gupta, by their excellent performance that he immediately announced cash rewards to encourage the students. The prize money was promptly distributed the next morning. Mrs Neelu Kapoor also announced a cash prize for all the participants. Patriotic songs were sung by a few members of the Arya Samaj and the audience joined in the singing and clapping.
The programme concluded with an immensely inspiring speech by Mrs Minnie Gupta, the President of the Arya Samaj. She reminded the students of the theme for Independence Day this year – Nation 1st India Always First, talked about the many 1st we are all proud of as Indians in every field of public life- economy, defence, technology as well as sports and urged the audience to pledge to contribute their best to the Nation. Her words were a great source of motivation and inspiration for the students. She concluded her address with the resounding chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram.
A delectable repast awaited the participants as well as all those attending at the end of the programme and a sumptuous and delicious lunch was provided to all those present.
