Gangtok, April 28 (IANS) Artistes who performed during the closing ceremony of Sikkim’s 50th Year of Statehood celebrations, on Tuesday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for acknowledging them in his address.

During his visit to the state, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for multiple development projects worth around Rs 4,000 crore in Sikkim, asserting that the Northeast region is India’s “Ashtalakshmi” and that the Himalayan state is an important part of it.

Pravesh Tamang, Art Director of Music In Motion Dance Academy, who was a part of the cultural troupe that presented a performance, praised PM Modi for acknowledging people by taking each individual’s name.

“Big thanks to the Prime Minister for acknowledging our talent. We felt very energetic upon listening to his address. His speech will also serve an inspiration for the youths. The Prime Minister is our icon,” he said.

About the preparations leading to the performance, Tamang said: “Not only me, the entire group had worked very hard for this presentation. We were very energetic as well as emotional at that moment because last time the programme had got cancelled due to bad weather.”

“This time the young children, too, showcased a beautiful performance depicting not only Sikkim’s culture but across India,” he added.

Mohammed Jamshed, who was a part of the troupe that represented the Vande Bharat Express train, too, thanked Prime Minister Modi for appreciating their performance.

“We had rehearsed for 10 days. Our hard work paid off today. We are very happy that the government and our teachers supported us in this,” he told reporters after the performance.

Jamshed highlighted that the Prime Minister hailed Sikkim’s tourism and connectivity.

“PM Modi urged people to visit Sikkim at least once. He appreciated the state for being peaceful and clean,” he said.

Moreover, he was optimistic that the Vande Bharat rail connectivity will soon reach Sikkim.

A Class 12 student, who was a part of the group representing the Lepcha community, said that the performance included dance forms from across India like “Garba, Lepcha, South Indian, Lavani, Bihu, Bhangra, Kashmiri” etc.

“When we made the formation of India’s map during our performance, PM Modi stood up and applauded. We all felt very happy and proud to perform before the Prime Minister,” he added.

Given the struggles they faced during the rehearsals, the Prime Minister’s applaud proved to be all the more meaningful for the performers.

Describing one such incident, the school student said, “While practising, I suffered sunburn due to the heat.”

–IANS

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