“By bringing pool of renowned, veteran & young poets under one roof, the initiative aimed at nurturing, showcasing capabilities of J&K’s talent”: Lt Governor
JAMMU: As a part of 72nd Republic Day celebrations, a two-day long literary gala ‘Jashn-e-Jamhuria’ began with Kul Hind Urdu Mushaira at Zorawar Singh Auditorium, University of Jammu.
Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha was the Chief Guest on the occasion.
Organized by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL), in collaboration with Radio Mirchi FM, the event witnessed the participation of acclaimed poets like Manzar Bhopali, Prof. Waseem Barelvi, Irshad Kamil, Ana Dehlavi, Prof. Raza Abbas Nayyar, Khushboo Sharma and Kunwar Javed, who were the guest poets for the evening, received huge rounds of applause from the jam-packed audience for their enthralling recitation of Urdu poetry.
While addressing the gathering, the Lt Governor expressed gratitude to the renowned poets from across the country for spreading the fragrance of their literary talent in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Reciting poems of various veteran poets, the Lt Governor observed that the poetry is in the essence of J&K’s glorious history.
“By bringing a pool of renowned, veteran and young poets under one roof, the initiative is aimed at nurturing and showcasing the capabilities of the talent of J&K”, observed the Lt Governor.
Speaking on the present scenario of the UT, the Lt Governor remarked that “J&K is witnessing a new dawn of change, change towards betterment, and prosperity with plethora of opportunities being provided to Youth for transforming the socio-economic landscape of the UT”.
The Lt Governor said that the UT Administration at all levels is working towards growth and equitable development of the UT and welfare of its people. More such initiatives to explore the literary and other artistic talents of J&K would be taken in the coming days, he added.
The great display of talent from the youth of J&K in recently held National Youth Festival, besides two of the UT’s achievers from Art and Literature &Education have been conferred with this year’s prestigious Padma Shri awards, itself speaks about the kind of ability and talent the people of J&K possesses, the Lt Governor said.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor felicitated the participating poets including new found talent, and asked the young and aspiring poets to reap maximum benefits of the opportunity and inspire others with their creativity.
In his welcome address, Secretary, JKAACL, Munir-ul-Islam, underscored the significance of the event. He informed that 450 entries from youth of Jammu and Kashmir were received during a poetry competition organized across the UT. After adjudging each entry, 10 best young poets from J&K, 5 each from Urdu and Hindi poetry category were chosen by adjudicators to recite their poetry during the events, besides providing them with an opportunity to interact with the veteran poets.
Prominent Poets from J&K including Dr. Liyaqat Jaffri, Dr. Nazeer Azad, Balraj Bakshi, Rukhsana Jabeen, Dr. Shafaq Sopori and Pritpal Singh Betab, besides young poets from the UT – Mohammad Akram, Nadiya Riyaz, Umar-bin-Abdul Aziz, Yamin-bin-Yousuf and Basit Ayoub who were selected from talent hunt competition also recited their pieces of poetry, attracting huge applause from the audience.
Kewal Kumar Sharma, State Election Commissioner; Farooq Khan and Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar- Advisors to the Lt Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Prof. Manoj Kumar Dhar, Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu; Prof. (Dr) Ravindra Kumar Sinha, Vice Chancellor , SMVDU; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department and Information Department; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Mukesh Singh, IGP Jammu; Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary to the Government, Tourism And Culture Department, besides scores of prominent and renowned artists, senior officers of Civil Administration and a large number of literary enthusiasts attended the evening.