London, Jan 26 (PTI) The High Commission in London marked the 76th Republic Day on Sunday with a customary flag hoisting ceremony followed by the National Anthem.
Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami addressed the large diaspora gathering in the courtyard of India House, decked out in vibrant tricolour, to convey key messages from Saturday night's address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu.
"Today let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams, his watch words truth and non-violence will continue to remain relevant for the whole world," conveyed Doraiswami.
“He also taught us that rights and duties are but two sides of the coin, indeed the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too; compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours – namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains,” he said.
This was followed by a series of patriotic musical performances, including renditions of ‘Aye Watan' from the film ‘Raazi' by 2024 ‘Saregamapa' winner Shradha Mishra and ‘Dil Diya Hai Jaan Bhi Denge' from the film ‘Karma' by fellow contestant Parvathi Nair.
A Kathak performance, set to the tunes of ‘Aye Watan', was presented by renowned dancer Richa Srivastava and her students – known for promoting the Lucknow Gharana style of the Indian classical dance form in the UK.
The 30 winners of the recently concluded ‘Bharat Ko Janiye Quiz' were also felicitated on the occasion, receiving their winner's certificates from the High Commissioner amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and ‘Vande Mataram'.
The Indian High Commission will be hosting its official Republic Day celebrations at the iconic Guildhall in London next week, complete with a host of cultural performances reflective of the diversity of India.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)