On a bright, beautiful morning at the Parmarth Vidya Mandir, one of the Divine Shakti Foundation and Parmarth Schools in downtown Rishikesh, the school’s amazing faculty and beautiful students gathered together to celebrate India’s 71st Republic Day with a program of talented performances that left the assembled guests enchanted and delighted.

In the production hosted by the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance’s Educator Vandana Sharmaji, over a dozen classes presented both patriotic and pop-culture performances featuring impressive costuming and choreography and, most-importantly for the audience, enthusiastic and joy-filled delivery by the eager and energetic students.

Joining members of GIWA’s production team and sevaks from Parmarth Niketan for the event were two special guests from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences – AIIMS, Rishikesh, Dr Piyush Verma and Dr Shivani, who – at the conclusion of the event – encouraged the students to dream big and reach for the stars, declaring that they could “be anything and do anything that they set their hearts and minds on.”

As is tradition at these events, Vandanaji led the students in a pledge to conserve, preserve and protect the environment, and to end the use of single-use plastics – something that the over 200 students and the assembled guests enthusiastically supported.