Melania visits Delhi govt school, welcomed with tilak

New Delhi : US First Lady Melania Trump on Monday arrived at a Delhi government school to attend a ‘happiness class’. She was given a traditional welcome by students who lined the entrance holding flags of the two countries in honour of the visiting dignitary.

A young girl student handed a bouquet to Melania as the First Lady wore a tilak on her forehead after being welcomed with an ‘arti thali’.
Wearing a white middy length dress with flowers imprinted in yellow and red, Melania will be spending around 15-20 minutes while interacting with the students and teachers of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School co-ed school in South Moti Bagh.

Delhi: First Lady of the US, Melania Trump meets and interacts with students at Sarvodaya Co-Ed Senior Secondary School. pic.twitter.com/OGKPgr70IL

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020

The school has undergone beautification work in view of the US First Lady’s visit.

“We have been beautifying the path through which Melania Trump will go to the school. All municipal departments are busy in the preparations,” Vasant Vihar Councilor Manish Agrawal had said.

“This is a very proud moment for us that the US First Lady Melania Trump is visiting the school in our ward. As soon as we got the news by school’s administration, we began our preparations for the visit,” he added.

In addition, the young and enthusiastic school children were dressed in bright-coloured sarees and traditional dresses like ghagra-choli to welcome Melania.

Some of them were also carrying bagpipes and several other musical instruments.

Special classes by the name of Happiness Classes were started by the Delhi government in its schools in 2018.

As a part of the programme, students are taught various activities including meditation, street plays and basic obedience with an aim to reduce anxiety and stress levels among children.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s names have been dropped from the school event Melania is scheduled to visit on February 25.

Last week, the US Embassy here had stated that it had no objection to the presence of Delhi Chief Minister and his deputy during the US First Lady’s visit to the government school, but “it is best to ensure focus is on education, school, and students.”

Programme organisers, who are engaged in arranging the visit of the First Lady, said that she would witness the programmes organised by the children followed by a short meeting with the staff.

In view of Trumps’ visit, the Delhi Traffic Police earlier today issued an advisory for February 24 and 25 asking people to keep VVIP movement in mind while planning their commute. However, there will be traffic diversions as per the ground situation for the smooth flow of traffic.