Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 23: The Week long Iconic festival got a astounding start in Jammu marked by a scintillating inaugural function held at Kala Kendra.
Mayor Jammu Municipal Corporation, Chander Mohan Gupta, who was the chief guest on the occasion, inaugurated the Iconic Week celebration in presence of Director Tourism, Vivekananda Rai.
The artists presented breathtaking open air performances featuring Folk Music and Dance including Bangra, Haran, Jattar, Chajja dance, Kud dance amid heavy rainfall. The morale of the artists was so high that even rain was not able to stop them from presenting astonishing performances.
The second part of the celebration was organised at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium where the Mayor inaugurated a photo exhibition organised in collaboration with Directorate of Information and PR, Basohli Art paintings and Cultural Carnival.
Commencing the celebrations at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium, the artists presented stunning performances demonstrating Dogri, Gojri, Pahari, Punjabi culture and patriotic items.
Speaking on the occasion, Mayor Chander Mohan Gupta highlighted various development projects and said that J&K UT is going to be the next tourist destination for national and international tourists.
He listed several projects like Ring Road, Artificial Lake, Tawi River Front, expansion of Jammu Airport, Gandola, Parade at Suchetgarh Border, Jumbo Zoo etc which, he said would play a crucial role in boosting the tourism sector in J&K.
He said that 1200 Kanal land has been allotted for the expansion of Jammu Airport, while a string of development works have been sanctioned under Smart City Project.
Div Com Dr Raghav Langer, Additional Secretary JKAACL Arvinder Singh Amn, Natasha Kalsotra, Joint Director Tourism, DD Adm. AmarJyoti Raina, DD Publicity Naresh Kumar, Dr Rehana Bijli Dy Director Information Jammu, DD Planning Dr. Neha Mahajan, ADT Umesh Shaan, ADT Ambika Bali, AO Rahul Mahajan, ADT Sheena Sahni were also present on the occasion.
Another event was organised at Indoor Sports Stadium Akhnoor. The main attraction of the event was Karwa Chauth Celebrations, Theatrical play Bawa Jitto, Gulabgatha and folk performances presented by local artists. Evening Arti was also performed at Jia Pota Ghat Akhnoor.
BDC chairperson, Kiran Pawar; DDC Member Bhalwal Brahmana, Bhushan Bral; SDM Akhnoor, Navneet Mann; SDPO Akhnoor, Varun Jandiyal; Tehsildar Akhnoor, Surinder Singh; Assistant Director Tourism, Vijay Sharma beside other officers and officials were also present in the event. People from all sections of Akhnoor participated in the event.
In Srinagar, Mayor Srinagar, Junaid Azim Mattu inaugurated “Spirits of J&K” a sufi festival at SKICC Srinagar.
Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Sarmad Hafeez, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Mohammad Ajaz Assad, Director Tourism Kashmir, Dr G N Itoo were present on the occasion.
On the occasion, programme “Aghaaz-e-Nishast”, a discourse on mysticism, was organized in collaboration with Academy of Art Cultural and Languages. Also, a mystic gallery was set up where traditional artifacts and manuscripts and rare copies of Quran and Bhagwat Gita besides rich Sufi literature, 19th century copper, brass ware and musical instruments were showcased.
Speaking as the chief guest, Mattu stressed on preservation of both physical and cultural heritage of J&K collectively for the posterity, adding that “success of nation depends on what we inherit from ancestors and what we pass on to our next generations.”He said that J&K has rich cultural treasure and there is no parallel to it in the entire world adding that there is need to understand the importance of valuing our heritage and make it part of day to day life.
Sarmad Hafeez, who presented vote of thanks, said that the Iconic Week is being organized to promote J&K as all season tourist destination. He said that during the weeklong celebrations a variety of programmes showcasing our art, culture, food, artifacts, manuscript and religious tourism shall be held at various tourist destinations across J&K. He added that the government shall also organize sufi festivals at 75 virgin tourist destinations for tourism promotion.
During the festival, panelists including Dr Darakshan Andrabi, Chairman Waqf Development Committee, Dr Afaq Aziz, Dr Ghulam Nabi Haleem and Dolly Tikoo presented a sufi talk lecture on mysticism/ sufism.
Vusat Iqbal and Satish Vimal moderated the programme.
“Peer- Waer” a documentary on “A journey through Mystic Kashmir” was also presented on the occasion.
Later, the panelist and other guests were felicitated and presented mementos.
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