Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture (VKIC)

As the first rays of the sun lifted the veil of mist spread over sleepy Guwahati, the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture (VKIC) here woke up to the 153rd birth anniversary celebrations of Swamiji on Tuesday.

Pratibha Kulkarni, a volunteer of Vivekananda Kendra, Sivasagar, said, "Just like different types of cells are needed for a healthy body, similarly diversity ensures unity of our country. Development of a single type of cell results in malformation." She shared this thought-provoking notion of harmonious living during the celebrations here.

She stressed on the positives of expanding one's horizon of kinship to include family, community and the country in a ripple effect.

Narrating a few anecdotes from Swamiji's life, Pratibha said imbibing this sense of empathy will help establish an inclusive society, which is the need of the hour. Pratibha, a retired college professor from Pune, also talked about selfless service espoused by Vivekanada and propagated by the late Eknath Ranade, the founder of VKIC. Devotional and patriotic songs were also sung to mark the occasion.VKIC (Guwahati) volunteer Bharti Nandy said regular sessions of yoga were increasingly being held to link people in this nation-building exercise.