Swami Vivekananda, on his return from America in 1897, reached Khetri for the third time on 12th December, 1897. He was accorded a gala welcome by the then ruler of Khetri, Ajit Singh Bahadur and the people at large at Panna Sha Talab. The public reception was accompanied by a feast amidst dazzlingly illumined town in honour of Swamiji. At the call of Ramakrishna Mission, Khetri, a committee of prominent persons of the town decided to celebrate every year, starting from this year, the historical day of 12th December as ‘Khetri Virasat Divas’. Accordingly, on 12th December, 2011 a morning procession (Prabhat Pheri) of one thousand school children marched through the town to remind people about the significance of the day. In the afternoon a live tableau of Raja Ajit Singh bringing Swamiji in a horse carriage was positioned in a huge procession leading from the border of the town up to Panna Sha Talab. The prominent spots of the town were illumined and people themselves lit candles in their own houses and shops. Some memorable events during Swamiji’s stay in Khetri were enacted in front of a gathering of three thousand people at the Talab. A Bhajan Troup sent as a gesture of goodwill by the department of Art and Culture of Rajasthan Government took over next. The programme was extensively covered by the Newspapers and local TV Networks. As a whole the festival made an indelible mark in the minds of the people of Khetri.

Photos of the event and paper cuttings can be seen here :-
https://picasaweb.google.com/mission.ramakrishna/KHETRIVIRASATDIVAS?authuser=0&feat=directlink