Dogri featured in House of Lords

Members of Indian diaspora at a function in House of Lords.
Members of Indian diaspora at a function in House of Lords.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 13: Marking the UN International Year for Indigenous Languages, members of Indian diaspora recited poems in their vernacular languages at the House of Lords.
‘Voice of Dogras’, a community organisation, facilitated the showcase of Dogri language and Takri script in this event.
The poem ‘Jammu Di Chiddi’ written by a budding Dogri poetess, Heena Mahajan gave a peek into the beautiful city of Jammu, its people, iconic landmarks and street foods. The poem was translated into Takri by Ansh Choudhury.
Manu Khajuria, Founder of ‘Voice of Dogras’ and ‘Maharaja Gulab Singh Memorial Prize-2019’ awardee said “I feel a deep sense of pride to see Dogri getting due recognition and that too at an international platform.
“The fact that the poem was written by a young budding poetess and reproduced in Takri by a young man who has self taught himself Takri, is uplifting and reaffirms the vision of Voice of Dogras to get more and more youth involved and feel a sense of pride in their culture and history and take a proactive lead in protecting and promoting it,” she maintained.
Abhishek Khajuria, a community member who attended the event said: “It was my proudest moment to see Dogri being featured at an international event”.
Ragasudha Vinjamuri, Founder of Sanskruti said: “Given the fact that Jammu Kashmir is a UT, proud that a Dogri poem could be recited at such a prestigious venue. We shall look forward to doing more work in the direction of promotion of art and heritage.”
Dr Ajeet Kumar from Delhi University also spoke on the occasion.
A booklet of poems recited on this occasion was also released.
The event was organized by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence and hosted at the House of Lords, Westminster Palace by Baroness Sandip Verma.