Amid machines of war, innocence and joy of children carry Republic Day

NEW DELHI: Among those whose performances attracted the loudest cheers at Rajpath on Saturday were the children participating in the Republic Day parade. From the dances and marches to winning accolades, children outdid all other participants of the parade.
The NCC girls’ contingent has now been participating in the parade for 55 years and once again got a lot of applause.Senior Under Officer Garima Singh Bharoriya led the contingent consisting of 159 senior wing cadets drawn from all 17 directorates of the NCC. These cadets have excelled in various adventure activities like mountaineering, rafting and para gliding. Quite like the girls, 159 boys too marched in their own contingent on Rajpath.
Apart from this, over 500 children from four schools — three from Delhi, one from Kolkata — brightened up the stage with their breathtaking dance performances, each of which sent out a unique message.
Three other schools from Delhi rendered songs on the theme of the event — Mahatma Gandhi — starting with Navy Children School in Chanakyapuri, from which 170 kids performed on ‘Bapu Mahaan’.
The students had undergone rigorous practice for the final show and the hard work was evident in the human pyramids they formed in the middle of the dance routines.
Two schools from Delhi — Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya in Kishan Ganj and Kendriya Vidyalaya of Paschim Vihar — also performed at the end of the parade. There were at least 100 children who were a part of the tableau displayed at the parade. Apart from them, 26 other children were awarded the Pradhan Mantri Bal Puruskar.
As against almost 20-22 children who take part in the parade every year after being awarded the national bravery awards, this time there were just three. The others had been awarded for innovations, social welfare, art and culture and sports. These children had either touched the lives of many or created things that could help change the world for good.
Among the 26 were a 10-year-old girl and her friend (14) who set standards of selflessness by helping people affected by stone pelting and curfew during Bharat Bandh in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena in April 2018. These children provided food, water, medicine and first aid to the panicked passengers of a train attacked by rioters.