By Our Staff Reporter
Narendra Nagar, 26 May: The G-20 delegates who are here for a three day meeting of the Anti Corruption Working Group of G-20 countries enjoyed a gala cultural evening and dinner hosted by the state government, here, last evening.
The programme was attended by Governor Lt General Gurmit Singh (Retd), Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Union Minister of State for Tourism and Defence Ajay Bhatt and Union MoS for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi, besides a large number of dignitaries and officers from the state cadre, central institutes and a group of select media persons. Beginning with the national anthem and a traditional welcome of the delegates, the cultural programme depicted the traditional folk, spiritual and religious traditions of Uttarakhand. Hymns were sung in praise of Ganga, Lord Shiva, Mahasu Devta with the background screen showing visuals and videos related to Ganga Aarti, Char Dham temples, Mahasu Devta temple and other local Deities.
It was an absorbing depiction of the cultural, religious and spiritual heritage of the state. The folk artists performed to Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari songs as well.
Delegates from various countries who have come to the G-20 meeting were overwhelmed and enthused by the unique tradition, spirituality and the rich cultural heritage of Uttarakhand. The point that was stressed was that the whole world is a family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam), which is one of the biggest emphasis and uniqueness of Indian culture. The evening concluded with a gala dinner comprising local, traditional Indian and international cuisines. The programme was hosted in the grounds near Hotel Westin (of Marriot Group).
Among those who attended included Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri, former Chief Ministers Vijay Bahuguna and Tirath Singh Rawat (who is currently the Pauri MP), Cabinet Ministers Subodh Uniyal who is also the local MLA from Narendra Nagar, Ganesh Joshi, Premchand Aggarwal, and Saurabh Bahuguna, Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal, MLAs Munna Singh Chauhan, Pritam Singh Panwar, Kishore Upadhyay, Pradeep Batra, Vinod Kandari, Shakti Lal Shah and Brajbhushan Gairola, Chief Secretary Dr SS Sandhu, DGP Ashok Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, ADG Abhinav Kumar, Commissioner, CGST, Deepankar Aron, Mayor Rishikesh Anita Mangai, and a large number of other dignitaries related to various fields.
