India is a land of diversity with various cultures, in every state. Similarly, there are various national symbols of India that represent its culture and heritage and unique identity of the country. The national symbols of India represent the people, values and characteristics of the nation. 

The national tri-colour of India was designed by Pingali Venkayya. The Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath is the national emblem of India. It consists of four lions standing back to back which represents power, courage, confidence, and pride. The Indian government adopted the banyan tree as a national tree of India in the year 1950. The Banyan tree is home to distinct animals and birds that reflect India and its people of many races, faiths and castes, which is one of the reasons for choosing it as the national tree. The national flower of India is the Lotus, because of its significance in ancient traditions, religion and mythology. Mango was chosen as the national fruit of India in 1950 as it represents prosperity, abundance and wealth in the country. India is also the home for over 100 species of mango. The Government of India declared the peacock as national bird of India on the first of February 1963 for peacock being a symbol of grace, beauty and its presence across the country makes the common people more familiar with it. The Bengal Tiger was declared as the national animal of India in April 1973, with the initiation of Project Tiger, to protect the tigers in India.

 On Wednesday, 12 July 2023, the Foundation Centre II organised a festival on the theme National Symbols. The main objective of the festival was to acknowledge the students about the importance of the National Symbols and make them realize the reason for selecting them as the national symbols.

The venue of the centre festival was decorated beautifully based on the theme. The program began by lighting the lamp before the idol of Goddess Saraswathi. The ceremony was enchanted with a bhajan sung by a group of students from class IV.

         The programme included power-point presentation, video-clippings, skits, dances performed by the students, an exhibition and an activity highlighting the importance of the national symbols.

        This Centre Festival was a successful one in acknowledging the students with the information about the national symbols and its importance. It was a platform for the students to exhibit their skills of communication by taking part in various activities enthusiastically thus building confidence to overcome the stage fear.