Back Friday Review Bangalore Chennai and Tamil Nadu Delhi Hyderabad Thiruvananthapuram
Talent under one tent
IQBAL AKHTAR
Providing a forum to the young talent of the country, The National Youth Festival was recently held at Patna. Held every year for five days on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, the festival is organised under the aegis of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and the host state.
The idea being providing a platform for cultural shows to the young and budding artists of the country to showcase their talent and also to provide them an opportunity for intellectual and academic exposition. It also gives youth a chance to prove their mettle and spread the message of brotherhood and peace and inculcate among them the spirit of adventure and national integration.
Every year the Festival is organised with a new theme and this year the theme was "Youth for Creativity, Harmony and National Integration".
It brought forth the concept of a united India, despite being an amalgamation of myriad cultures and traditions. Moinul Haq Stadium, the venue, looked like a mini India presenting the varied culture of India through the costumes of the participants.
Special feature
Talking about the special feature of this year's festival, Shakeel Ahmad Khan, Director General of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Delhi said, "Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan has set a new meaning to all the competitive and non-competitive events in which more than 3000 amateur young artists participated from different states and Union Territories. Yuva Kriti, a handicrafts and social development exhibition where so many innovative ideas on developmental issues and disaster management like flood, earthquake and water management, etc were discussed, was the main attraction of the festival."
An exhibition on reproductive health, hygiene and sanitation and HIV/AIDS was another information-filled event for the youth.
One of the competitive events of the festival was elocution. . "Youth Convention" and mind searching symposia on good thoughts, "Suvichar" were the other attractions of the festival where youngsters received precious views and experiences of personalities like the Magsassay Award winner Rajendra Singh Rana, cine star and social activist, Farooq Sheikh, former Miss India and social activist Nafisa Ali, member of parliament Priya Dutt, Shatrughan Sinha and many more.
Adding to the seriousness of the festival were folk dances and music of all states and Union Territories. While someartforms like Bharatanatyam have received patronage; there are several other traditional art forms, which need popularisation.
These youth festivals have taken up the task of bringing forth these music and dance art forms to the youth to revive their interest in the rich heritage of the country.
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu
The just concluded National Youth Festival brought together a mini India at Patna.
At Yuva Kriti, discussion on innovative ideas on developmental issues was the main attraction of the festival.
IN STEP A Kuchipudi dance performance in progress at the 11th National Youth Festival in Patna.