NEW DELHI: Twelve-year-old Muskan, a student at a government school here, arrived at Red Fort even before the crack of dawn today to take part in a show which was put up for Independence Day by nearly 6,000 schoolchildren.
The class 8 student joined the other school kids as they performed in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 68th Independence Day celebrations here, a performance which was a result of rigorous practice of over two weeks.
“We used to come at around 5 A.M. and then practice for about two hours before leaving for our schools. Today, we came at around 3 A.M.,” said Muskan.
The students, clad in the shades of the tricolor and donning matching caps, formed themselves into the number ’68’ during the performance, which was much to the crowd’s delight.
The days of hard work paid off today as Prime Minister Modi, after finishing his speech, personally interacted with the schoolchildren.
Vineeta Sharma, a teacher at a school in Nand Nagari of east Delhi, said that a group of about 75 students were part of the team from her school.
“We used to practice for three straight days followed by a day off, so that the children could get re-energized. The practice would resume on the fourth day,” Sharma said. –PTI