West Bengal celebrates philosopher’s 153rd birth anniversary.
IANS
A statue of Swami Vivekananda will be built in the middle of the Ranchi Lake in the Jharkhand capital.
Chief Minister Raghubar Das laid the foundation stone for the statue on the 153rd birth anniversary of Vivekananda, on Tuesday.
Swami Vivekananda, born on January 12, 1863, is considered to be the key figure who introduced yoga to the world.
“The statue of Swami ji will remind people about his ideal life and his positive outlook towards life. Swami Vivekananda was a great philosopher, who dreamed about a Great India,” Das said on the occasion.
A four-day youth festival to remember Vivekananda was also launched by state sports minister Amar Bawari.
In West Bengal, ceremonial processions and exhibitions on the life and work of Swami Vivekananda were held across the state to mark the monk’s 153rd birth anniversary.
West Bengal youth affairs department celebrated the day by organizing the Vivek Chetana Utsav.
In association with Ramakrishna math and mission, it hosted a series of discussions on the character-building of students and the youth, quizzes on Swami Vivekananda, debates, exhibition football matches, sit-and-draw competitions, essay writing competitions and other cultural programs.
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Ghosh offered floral tributes at the philosopher’s statue at his ancestral house in north Kolkata.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged the people to dedicate themselves to the cause of unity, integrity and universal brotherhood.
“To spread Swamiji’s vision and ideals of character building among our youth, we are organizing ‘Vivek Chetana Utsav’ throughout the state from January 10,” she said.
The state government also organized a special program, ‘Milan Utsav, 2016’, at Netaji Indoor Stadium, where Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali performed on Tuesday.