A colourful procession titled ‘Vivek Shobha Yatra’ was taken out under the aegis of Ramakrishna Mission from the Old Jail Road to Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, marking the 157th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, which is celebrated as the National Youth Day.
Vice Admiral Satish Ghormade, Chief of Staff of Eastern Naval Command (ENC) flagged off the yatra at the south side of the Central Park. Around 1,000 youths from various colleges and schools participated in the procession that covered Seven Hills Hospital Junction, Green Park Hotel Junction, Pandimetta Road, Novotel Hotel and RK Beach before culminating at the the Mission Ashrama.
The participants raised slogans such as “Arise awake and stop not till the goal is reached”, “Strength is life- Weakness is death” and “You are creator of your own destiny” .
Speaking on the occasion, Andhra University former Rector A. Prasanna Kumar recalled the reply of Swami Vivekananda to the question of a journalist when he returned India after delivering his ‘Chicago speech’.
Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) Deputy Chairman P.L. Harinadh said the need of the hour is to follow the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.
National teacher awardee and former Principal of Ramnath Secondary School, NSTL, C.V. Narasimham advised the students to aim big in life.
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama secretary Swami Atmavidananda, Indian skater and Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Awardee Priyam Tated, World Karate Champion B. Anmish Varma, organic farmer C. Ganesh, CMD of SRK Infra M. Satyanarayana Raju were present.
Yoga Bharati Trust and Jana Jagarana Samithi (JJS) jointly organised an essay-writing competition on the life of Swami Vivekananda. As many as 53,468 students participated in contest. Sabbavarapu Jyothsna of Sri Chaitanya Techno School at Kommadi won the first prize of ₹1 lakh. The prize was handed over to her by APPGCET convener P.S. Avadhani.
JJS State convener Vasu said it was unfortunate that instead of promoting ‘man-making education’ as envisioned by Swami Vivekananda, both the Telugu States were encouraging ‘money-making education’. He called upon youths and students to strive for the alleviation of poverty to realise the dream of Swami Vivekananda. Director of AP Pharmacy Council D. Prasada Reddy spoke.
Exhibition
At Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, Ramakrishna Mission secretary Swami Guneshananda participated in the celebrations. He unveiled an exhibition of Swami Vivekananda’s portraits drawn by the students on leaves. The students also presented a play on Swami Vivekananda. Prizes were given away to the winners of various competitions. School Director Chitturi Vasu Prakash was present on the occasion.
