Pride and awe

Those  who witnessed the humungous event were awestruck and overwhelmed with pride to witness this world record that will be cherished forever not just for the incredible numbers that formed the largest ever human flag, but also  the spirit with which the event was successfully organised.

DG ISAK Nazar conceived and executed this mega PR event on a gigantic scale. “I was convinced that instead of doing many small PR exercises, the larger objective would be better served by organising a massive public image event to draw national and international attention,” he said.

It would provide an opportunity to highlight Rotary’s commitment to the community and global service projects like Polio eradication, and spark interest among institutions and corporates to actively associate with Rotary, Nazar said, adding, “Increased membership and contributions to The Rotary Foundation would be the logical corollary and additional benefits.”

The masterstroke was choosing the largest human national flag formation ever, as it would appeal to everybody, evoke patriotic fervour, positive emotions and a sense of pride. On December 7, National Flag Day, we pay tribute to our armed forces. Planning began 10 months earlier, overseen by RI Director PT Prabhakar and senior Rotarians such as IPDG  AP Kanna, Chairman Mohan Raghavan, Joseph Raja, E David, R Ramesh, Ganapathi Suresh, VC Kannan, Neelakantan, Vikas Chandra, Dr A Sangaran and R Tamilselvan.

Presence of RIP Gary Huang, First Lady Corinna, RI Directors Larry and Prabhakar, President of Nadigar Sangam Sarath Kumar, Vice Chancellor of Madras University R Thandavan added lustre to the event.

The record set, a collective roar erupted along with  chants of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai.’