Swami Vivekananda, on his return from America in 1897, reached Khetri for the third time on 12th December, 1897. He was accorded a gala welcome by the then ruler of Khetri, Maharaja Ajit Singh Bahadur and the people at large at Panna Shah Talab. The public reception was accompanied by a feast amidst dazzlingly illumined town in honour of Swamiji. At the call of Ramakrishna Mission, Khetri, a committee of prominent persons of the town decided to celebrate every year, starting from 2011, the historical day of 12thDecember as ‘Khetri Virasat Divas’. On that day a morning procession (Prabhat Pheri) of one thousand school children march through the town to remind people about the significance of the day. In the afternoon a live tableau of Raja Ajit Singh bringing Swamiji in a horse carriage is positioned in a procession leading from the border of the town up to Panna Shah Talab. The prominent spots of the town are illumined. A variety of folk song and dance troupes usually sent as a gesture of goodwill by the department of Art and Culture, the Government of Rajasthan take over next.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
