Thank you, Indian Army: Delhiites at Parakram Parv

The general sentiment that echoed throughout the recently-concluded

Parakram Parv

celebrations was “Thank you, Indian Army.” Held at the lawns of

India Gate

, the event commemorated the second anniversary of the surgical strikes conducted by the Indian Army across the Line of Control (LoC). Thousands of visitors clicked selfies with jawans and enjoyed a performance by Kailash Kher.
Earlier this year, Kiren Rijiju, MoS for Home Affairs, had roped in Kailash Kher to sing the anthem, 'Bharat Ke Veer'. This time, it was an anthem for Parakram Parv that the singer was roped in for by the I&B ministry. The song, penned by Prasoon Joshi, received a good response at the event.



Never seen such an event honouring jawans: Kailash
Beginning his performance with popular songs like '

Teri Deewani

' and '

Tauba Tauba

', Kailash moved on to sing patriotic songs, 'Parakram' and 'Bharat Ke Veer'. The singer said, “I have lived in Delhi throughout my life but I have never seen such a celebration before honouring our jawans. Aaj toh hum unke liye gaana ga rahe hain, jinhone puri duniya mein apna loha manwaya hai. Jab hum veer gathayein padhte thay, toh humein aisa lagta tha ki aisa Bharat ab kahan hai? Par aaj hum log itihaas likh rahe hain.”
The chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram echoed through the lawns of India Gate and youngsters seemed to be the most enthusiastic of the lot. Sonya Prasad, a college student, told us, ‘‘We arrived at 4pm in order to get a good space to sit but to our surprise, there were people who had come even before us.’’ Amit Khare, Secretary, I&B Ministry, said, ‘‘It was heartening to see individuals enjoying themselves. The I&B ministry and the Ministry of Defence have come together to celebrate Parakram Parv, and we are thankful to Kailash Kher for giving his voice to the song.

Selfies with tanks and Army personnel
Delhiites posed with tanks, held the weapons in their hands and listened to the tales of bravery from the jawans. People wanted to get pictures clicked not just with the machines but with the Army personnel, too, who happily posed for the selfie-enthusiasts.

A variety of Army weapons and equipment were on display