Pune, Maharashtra, To commemorate the great event in the history of India and to celebrate the 73rd Republic Day, an event was organized on 26th of January, 2022 where The Poona Automobile Dealers’ Association, the Punjabi Cultural Association, the Lions Club of Poona Pimpri- Chinchwad, the Rotary Club of Pune Kalyani Nagar and Vivaan Foundation united for the first time to uphold the spirit of nationalism, embrace the event and celebrate the day. It took place at the Punjabi Cultural Association Hall, Salisbury Park with complete adherence to COVID-19 related protocol and guidelines. The event was hosted by Dr.Megha Sharma (Member of Punjabi Cultural Association, Past President and Service Director of Rotary Club of Pune Kalyani Nagar& Founder President of V Empower All Foundation), who started off the celebration by giving a brief introduction of the significance of the Republic Day, and introduced us to our Chief Guest, Col Kohli (Retd as Commanding Officer, Southern Command) and Celebrity Guests, Mr. Devendra Sankhla (tallest boy in Pune),Dr.Prachiti Punde (who will be representing India in Mrs. Universe 2022), and Honourable Guests, Police Sub-Inspector Tushar Bhosale & Police Sub-Inspector Vishal Shinde.
REPUBLIC DAY AND BLANKET DONATION DRIVE CEMERMONY
In
the presence of all the prestigious guests, the Flag Hoisting Ceremony was
commemorated by the Chief Guest while the National Anthem played in the
background. Each member present there sang the national anthem with pride as
they witnessed the beautiful event of the flag being hoisted.
Being
driven by the spirit of unity and nationalism, a step was taken to inaugurate the
Blanket Donation Drive which was organised to encourage the spirit of welfare
work & to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need, keeping in mind
the cold season, and was conducted throughout the day at the Viman Nagar slums and
at night at the Pune Station, MG Road and several other streets of Pune. The
initiative reached out to several families and around 400 blankets were
donated.
The
inauguration was followed by a felicitation of eminent guests and members, and
a vote of thanks to acknowledge the efforts of all the organisations involved
in the event.
The
Ceremony was followed by a Blanket Distribution which took place at the Punjabi
Cultural Association. This event was a beautiful occurrence of unity,
equality and empowerment, as several homeless persons and people in
need were invited, and were served food and treated like any other guest at the
event.
The
entire event has been memorable and will always be cherished. The successful event
would not have been possible without the constant support of Kashmir Nagpal
(President Punjabi Cultural Association), Virmeet Maini (President Poona
Automobiles Association), Abhijit Deshpande, (Secretary Lion’s Club), Capt.
Rajiv Saran (President Rotary Club of Pune Kalyani Nagar), Usha Bhalerao,
(President Vivan Foundation),
Credit
for the successful event also goes to Dr. Megha Sharma, who was praised by
everyone her dedication, meticulous efforts, and coordination skills, as the
entire event was planned and executed successfully in a time-span of 48 hours.
Dr.
Megha Sharma mentioned that, “the youth of the nation play a very important
role in the society as they are the future of the nation, and it is very
important to imbibe the spirit of social work, from a very young age.” With
this intention, several young members were also actively involved in the
planning, and execution of the event. The supporting youth clubs were, Rotaract
Club of Kalyani Nagar, Rotaract Club of Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Rotaract
Club of Pune DPES & V Empower All Foundation.
The
first event of the year has been successfully completed and has given everyone a
new ray of hope. This event also marks a new beginning to new collaborations
with several other organisations. All the organisations are looking forward to
organising several initiatives and keeping up the spirit of nationalism, unity and
equality throughout the year.