Punjabi folk, Giddha & Bhangra mark opening day of Teej Mahotsav in Chandigarh
Mayor inaugurated a colourful at Shivalik Garden Manimajra*
*Two days mela dedicated to “Meri Maati Mera Desh” theme*
*Chandigarh, August 19:-* Sh. Anup Gupta, Mayor, Chandigarh inaugurated the two days colourful Teej Mahotsav in the Shivalik Garden, Sector 13, Manimajra, here today in the presence of Ms. Anindita Mitra, IAS, Commissioner, Mrs. Sarbjit Kaur, former Mayor & councilor, Smt. Darshna area councilor and Smt. Suman Devi, councilor (Guest of Honours), Sh. Kanwarjeet Singh, Senior Deputy Mayor, other councilors, officers of MCC and citizens of the city beautiful.
The two days mela dedicated to “Meri Maati Mera Desh” theme, was marked with Punjabi, Haryanvi, Rajasthani, folk dances, songs, fusion of Giddha & Bhangra and Teeian de Geet by famous artists of various states. The audience present in the Mela could not stop themselves to dance on the foot-tapping beats of “Dhol” and popular Punjabi numbers.
The Mayor stressed upon the necessity to perpetuate cultural values among the masses especially in younger generation. He also enlightened the gathering about the social, religious and historical significance of the Teej Mahotsav.
While addressing the gathering he said that Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has made this Mela as an annual feature and this time dedicated this event to Maati Ko Naman, Veeron Ka Vandan under “Meri Maati Mera Desh” theme. He said that people of Chandigarh should know about their rich culture and we the Municipal Corporation are making small effort to gather the precious traditional festivals like Teej.
Earlier, Ms. Anindita Mitra, IAS, Commissioner, MCC welcomed the chief Guest and other Guests and honoured the chief guest and other guests with giving traditional fulkaris to them. The chief guest took a round in the Mela spread in the 20 acre of shivalik Garden.
Other attractions of the mela was including camel rides, cart rides, Dholi, Madari, Behrupiya, Been Jogi, Nachar, Nagada, Charkhe, Manjire, Tumbe, Jamura Show, puppet show, Fashion Show, different stalls of sweets and lassi, Maal-Pua, handi crafts, designer fabrics and other domestic items etc. by Self Help Groups and Street Vendors. The stage was decorated with colourful lights and traditional flags. East meets west as the streets fill with musical sounds, with everything from traditional folk, beats of Dhol and Teej diya Bolliyan to fusion of Giddha and Bhangra.
Besides this, stalls of various services of MCC were showcased including Fire & Emergency Services, Safaimitra, Swachh Bharat Mission, C&D Waste, Horticulture Waste, Prarambh, DAY-NULM and Street Vendor Cell where the general public were sensitized about the services and projects including new initiatives of MCC.
In the cultural evening, famous Punjabi folk singer Jaswinder Brar enthralled audience with various famous Punjabi numbers especially Teean de geet. Sh. Kanwarjeet Singh Rana, Senior Deputy Mayor, Chandigarh was the chief Guest during the cultural evening.
“Pind Di Nuhar”, a rural setup was the main attraction, where potter wheel taught children and other visitors to make clay pots and coloring the pots. A selfie point was also made with the rural set up, which was very popular spot for the visitors.
Tomorrow morning (August 20th), the Mela will begin with folk dances and other shows including Been Jogi, Kal Beliya and Ghumar etc besides Magic Show by famous artist Pardeep Kumar. A culture evening will also be organized by famous Punjabi singer Master Saleem.
