How do we celebrate our Independence Day ? . Attending parades , starting something new and socially useful ? or service to the society in the true spirit of freedom.
On the 64th anniversary of India’s freedom from British rule , we have mixed feelings . While we have achieved significant results , many issues still remain . And added to this the ugly face of Corruption in public life stares at us threatening to undo the very fabric of Indian culture.
It was in this context , The Atlanta Foundation along with all the Information Technology Industry bodies at Hyderabad including ITsAP [ www.itsap.org] where I work as Executive Director came together to celebrate the Day with a unique event . We conducted a 64 Km cycle race for the young folks and ended it with a spectacular show featuring and honoring three distinguished citizens of India.
The celebrities were Padma Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh , the living hero of Siachen Glacier action of 1987 Captain Bana Singh ,Param Vir Chakra and the Internationally acclaimed Sand Artist from Orissa Sudarshan Patnaik who recreated the Siachen action on sand for the audience .
While the address by Sonal Mansingh lifted the moods and motivated all to follow the Indian culture and traditions , the narration by Captain Bana singh in simple and rustic style recounting his action in capturing the formidable Quaid-e -Azam post from Pakistan [ since renamed Bana post after him] took all of us to another realm of possibility rarely visualized by the young participants.
Believe me , it was a real Bonanza for all of us on this day of re-dedication to the service of the nation. The donations received were to be spent for charity work undertaken by the Atlanta Foundation.
Congratulations to all who made this possible !