BACK TO CHILDHOOD: TV Stars Revisit Their Fondest Republic Day Memories
It is a proud moment as we Indians celebrate. The 69th Republic Day this year. On the occasion, Suhani Dhanki, Saurabh Pandey, Ankush Bali and Gurpreet Singh among others take us back to their school days and recall their most cherished Republic Day memories...
Be it watching
the parade, participating in celebrations at school or celebrating the
day with family, Republic Day has always been special for
our telly actors. They share their best memories of this day.
Ankush Bali
- 
My mom was a gazetted officer and she would be posted at India Gate
every year. She took me there once and it was an amazing experience. Wish I
could go again.
Saurabh Pandey
- 
Republic Day has been the most exciting day ever
since childhood. I still remember those helicopters and jet fighters showering
flowers and drawing the tricolour in the sky. We used to wait for one whole
year to see all the colourful processions of every state which comes out on
Rajpath road. I learnt about different cultures of every region of India
looking at that and realised the diversity of our beautiful country. We still
watch the parade of 26th Jan on Doordarshan.
Samiksha
Bhatnagar - 
The morning of 26th January is not a usual one in
India. Every Indian gets up with enthusiasm to celebrate the day with
fervour! Republic Day used to be something different when we were
kids. We used to be excited about the tricolour decorations, flag hoisting at
school and watching the parade with family. Now, they are memories. Watching
the Republic Day parade with family was a tradition at my place
and the commentary on DD National used to make it even more memorable. This
would be followed by an analysis of the parade over lunch. As children, I
always wished the helicopters would pass from above our homes. In fact, we
often run to the terrace to spot them. Witnessing a live parade was one of the
most memorable experiences of a lifetime. I lead my school in semi-classical
performance on Rajpath. The whole environment and even the rehearsals touch the
innermost chords of your hearts and evoke the spirit of patriotism that
inspires you to achieve new heights. We completed the map formation during the
dance performance denoting India’s unique feature – ‘Unity in
Diversity’. My favourite part of the Republic Day parade is
the Grand finale of the spectacular flypast by the IAF.
Suhani Dhanki
-
Back in school, Republic Day was the most
special day as that was the day the newly elected prefects
would get their badges. And my best memory of this day was in 2006 when I
was made Captain!
Sshrey Pareek
- 
I was a backbencher always and I used to hide from curricular
activities. I was an introvert and had stage fright.
Whenever Republic Day or Independence Day was round the
corner, I used to skip school as teachers wanted students to participate in
activities like the singing song, playing instruments and dancing. There's one
teacher who got to know that I am an introvert and that I am scared to
participate, so she would always try to convince me to participate. I wasn't
able to say ‘No’ to her, and she made me participate in singing the National
Anthem. After I did it, she appreciated me so much and I felt proud and more
confident.
Sheeba - 
I
was not in India during my childhood, so my memories are of Indians getting
together and celebrating their Indian roots and taking pride in their culture
is what comes to mind when I think of Republic Day.
Gurpreet Singh
- 
Everyone knows that on 26th January 1950 our Constitution was formed and
India become a republic country. In school, every year, I use to go on stage to
sing or do a play on patriotism. I was also part of NCC in high school and had
performed to Mere Desh Ki Dharti in training camp. I can't forget my school
days and all those activities I did. As I was always my teachers favourite they
always make me stand on stage every day for our national anthem.
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