Participants leave Dharwad with sweet memories as curtain falls on 26th National Youth Festival
The Hindu
The five-day festivities, which were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, conclude with vibrant dance and music performances on the mega stage at Karnatak College in Dharwad
The five-day festivities of the 26th National Youth Festival concluded with vibrant dance and music performances on the mega stage erected on the campus of Karnatak College in Dharwad on Monday night.
The concluding day saw an overwhelming response with a large number of people thronging the college campus and enjoying the dance and music programmes presented by renowned artistes and musicians.
Before the curtain came down on the mega show depicting the country’s unity in diversity, Bollywood playback singer Amit Trivedi and his troupe and Kathak couple Nirupama and Rajendra held the thousands of spectators in a spell with their mesmerising performances.
During the five days of the youth festival, held for the first time in North Karnataka, it was not just the cultural performances that drew the crowd but also the stalls showcasing artefacts and different cuisine, adventure games and army stalls. Competitions in various categories held at different venues in Dharwad city also attracted people in large numbers.
“I have been attending National Youth Festivals in my official capacity as nodal officer for at least two decades now. But never have I seen such an overwhelming response to the events held during this Youth Festival. For the first time, we saw stalls exhibiting and selling handicrafts and artefacts run out of stock,” State Director of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanghatan (NYKS) for Maharashtra and Goa Prakash Manure said.
Regional Director for NYKS Shamsundar Joshi concurred with Mr. Manure. The people of the region turned out to be connoisseurs of food and on all the days of the event, they came out in large numbers to taste different delicacies from various States, he said.
In all, 7,500 participants from 28 States and eight Union Territories took part in the National Youth Festival, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hubballi on January 12.
While residents are worried over deaths due to diarrhoea in Vijayawada, officials still grapple to find the root cause. Contaminated drinking water supplied by VMC officials is the reason, insist people in the affected areas, but officials insist that efforts are on to identify the disease and that those with symptoms other than diarrhoea too are visiting the health camps.