67th Independence Day was celebrated in New Rashtriya Apartments, Plot No. 15, Sector 18-A, Dwarka, on the 15th August, 2013, from 11.00 AM onwards. Most of the members and many other residents had assembled in the court yard of our Society in a very happy and merry making mood. Small children upto the age of ten were particularly enthusiastic about these celebrations as many things were new to them. First of all, our National Flag was unfurled at 11.30 AM. Before deciding on who shall unfurl the national flag, it was decided unanimously that, giving due respect and regards to the senior citizens of our Society, five most senior citizens should be called on stage and should be requested to join hands and unfurl the flag jointly. Thus, the senior citizens proceeded forwards and unfurled the national flag together, giving a crystal clear message of unity, togetherness, brotherhood and the spirit of nationalism amongst the residents of our Society. Thereafter, national anthem was sung by one and all, which was followed by distributions of sweets, samosas and cold drinks.
Thereafter, the Society children were encouraged to volunteer themselves to come forward and sing some patriotic song or recite a poem or present some other item which should be in the nature and flavor of infotainment. Initially, small children came forward and sung the songs, Vande Matram etc. but later on, college going boys and girls also sang songs and enthralled the audience. Aryaman explained the meaning of our national anthem. Shaheen Praveen recited a small poem in Hindi highlighting and emphasising the need for the girl child in families / society and also for the balanced growth and development of society as a whole. Her sister Iram Praveen spoke about the contribution of the great patriotic leaders who made huge sacrifices for the sake of achieving independence. Dr. Geeta Parashar, wife of President of the Society recited a poem in Hindi “Pushp Ki Abhilasha” (written by the famous Hindi poet - Makhan Lal Chaturvedi and also recited another poem in English composed by the Noble Laureate, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Then, R.D. Bhardwaj “Noorpuri” also hummed his poem in Hindi "Shimla Ki Dilchasp Yaad" which was aimed at creating wholesale fun and humour and the audience burst into huge laughter on listening to this poem. He also sang an old Punjabi folk song - "Ja Ve Dholna Main Ni Bolna" which the audience enjoyed to the fullest. Mr. Rajesh Narang, Secretary of the Society, who was also convener of the programme, recited some couplets of the famous Urdu poet - Rahat Indoree. Sahil Jain recited a couplet in Punjabi.
Despite persuasion and cajoling a lot, no lady member of the Society came forward to sing a song, all shrugged off the call and an opportunity to show-case their talent. But it was really heartening to note that small children in the age group of 5 to 10 were very eager to come forward and present their items, as if they already in search of an opportunity to do so. This may be due to the reason that so many TV Channels are telecasting many TV programmes these days showing dance and singing competitions amongst the young budding artists and our children also get inspired after watching those TV serials and they really bubbling with energy and enthusiasm.
After the cultural programme came to an end, sports events were conducted. Spoon & lemon race for the girls upto the age of 10 years, for girls in the age group between 11 to 18 and then third such race was conducted for all the females above the age of 18 years. Then, similar races were also conducted for boys, and Musical chair competition were also held for the females in the similar age groups. And lastly 200 meters relay race for the boys / men was held.
And lastly, prizes were distributed to all the winners of 1st and 2nd position. The function came to a close at 2.15 PM with most of residents having been satisfied with the series of events and games etc. which entertained them to a great extent. Some ladies grudged and they opined that next time when we celebrate such an event in our Society, it must be followed by lunch. Young boys namely - Sahil Jain, Anmol Goel, Mohit Ahlawat, Anubhav Gupta, Nikhil Verma and Shiv Narayan also came forward and offered their services whole heartedly for making this celebration a grand success & memorable one. Our Society is proud of them.
Prize Winners : Kartavya, Shristi, Nitika, Aryaman, Akshit, Shivan, Smita, Sheetal, Kartik, Mohit, Anmol Goel, Anubhav Gupta, Shaheen Praveen, Rakshit and Raman won the prizes in the games and events conducted by the Society (NRCGHS).
Citizen's Reporter:
R.D. Bhardwaj