Doordarshan's Tribute to Martyrs

The channel has conceptualized a programme, 'Smarananjali', to pay tribute to the martyrs of the 1965 Indo-Pak war.

In order to pay homage to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our country, Doordarshan Delhi has conceptualized a programme 'Smarananjali' for telecast on the national channels.

"Smarananjali" is being planned in the form of a lyrical tribute - by artistes performing on stage - to martyrs in the presence of the latter's families. Union Minister for Defence, Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, the three Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air force and Chiefs of the Paramilitary forces and other selected special guests will pay homage to the martyrs by lighting a candle before a replica of the Amar Jawan Jyoti and a soldier.

Religious leaders from different groups will also be present to pay homage. It will be a specially woven tapestry of music, songs and dance that reflect the gravity of the sacrifice and will capture the gratitude of the nation.

Three Param Vir Chakra Awardees will also be honoured at the event. They are Captain Bana Singh (Retd), 8 JAK LI, Subedar Yogender Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers and Naik-subedar Sanjay Kumar of 13 JAK RIF.

'Smarananjali' will feature renowned artists like violin maestro L. Subramaniam and renowned singer Kavita Krishnamurthy, Pankaj Udhas and Suresh Wadkar. The musical tribute will be interlaced with choreographed dance performances of memorable patriotic songs by Manjula Parmesh and her group.

An additional attraction is the on the spot painting by renowned painter, B.S. Verma and a dance by soldiers from the Madras Engineering Group (MEG), who will perform to the song "Ma Tujhe Salaam". As 2014 is the 50th year of the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the tribute would be of special significance to the martyrs of the war.