(From top) Daredevil motorcycle show amuses crowd, parasailing display by the army personnel, children take a look at an artillery and army personnel perform bhangra at the Know Your Army Mela at Sainik School in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 22: A two-day event to showcase the military prowess of the Indian Army and inspire the youth to join the armed forces got underway at the Sainik School here this morning.

Titled “Know Your Army Mela”, the event was also open to the general people. It started with a spectacular show by army personnel from different parts of the country.

“Representation of Odia youngsters in the defence forces is not quite strong. Odisha has a long martial tradition, but there seems to be a distinct lack of interest and motivation among youngsters towards joining the armed forces. The lack of awareness about the opportunities in this field might also be a reason for the low representation,” principal of Sainik School, Bhubaneswar, Captain K.S. Noor said. He said the percentage of Odia boys in this military school was less than 50 two years ago, but had now gone up to 67 per cent.

“The scenario is gradually improving but a greater amount of awareness among the people about the privileges and opportunities in this arena needs to be created,” Noor added.

This year, a record number of 25 students from our school qualified at the National Defence Academy written test. Five of them have, so far, even cleared the Service Selection Board interview. The first day saw a huge footfall of school and college students across the state. Ex-servicemen and civilians were also present at the venue to witness the show by the army personnel.

It started with adventurous activities such as daredevil stunts on motorcycles and was followed by a horse show, skydiving, slithering and casualty evacuation demonstration, martial arts, parasailing and equestrian displays, besides an exhibition of various military static equipment and weapons.

“It was extremely hot today and despite that so many young boys and girls gathered here for the mela. It was very encouraging,” said Bipin Kumar, a young soldier from Bareily, who took part in the horse show. “My friends and I rushed here as soon as our classes got over. I enjoyed the motorcycle stunts. Watching the armymen perform the stunts live evoked a sense of pride,” said Nibedita Das, a Plus Three student of Ramadevi Women’s College.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik was the chief guest on the occasion and praised the “guardians of the country”. General commanding officer of the Madhya Bharat Area, headquartered at Jabalpur, R.S. Pradhan motivated the young audience to join the defence forces. The mela, which would conclude tomorrow at 6pm, is being jointly organised by Sainik School here, 120 Territorial Army battalion and the Madhya Bharat Area.