By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 27 Dec: Nanhi Dunya (The International Movement of Children & their Friends) celebrated on Wednesday 72 years service in the welfare of children, youth & women. Nanhi Dunya was founded in 1946 by Prof Lekh Raj Ulfat. Later, he was joined by his wife H Sadhna Ulfat. Together, they strove for expansion of activities and evolution of the movement. The late Sadhana Ulfat always believed – “The aim of life is an ongoing celebration, Utsav.”
The Cultural Event commenced with the customary lighting of the lamp by Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik and Guest of Honour SK Sarkar, Deputy Surveyor General of India and ADGP Ashok Kumar.
This was followed by a skit, ‘Hathi Ka Kurtha’, by the children with special needs, which had a song written by Prof Lekhraj Ulfat. To celebrate diversity, a fusion dance was presented by the artists of Nanhi Dunya Rangshala, which included temple stories in dance form using Sanskrit mantras, folk dances and songs from north Indian states like Punjab (Bhangra a traditional harvest festival folk dance), Uttar Pradesh (kajri folk song) Uttarakhand (Garhwali pastoral folk dance), Himachal Pradesh (mountain folk dance), Rajasthan (Kalbelia), etc. Dance performances from countries like Poland, Georgia, Nepal, Iran, Kenya and Ukraine added global charm to the occasion.
The performance was mesmerising as children represented diverse culture from different parts of the world. The act was prepared by keeping these cultures in mind and started from Uttarakhand. The traditional folk dances, from Rajasthan in the West to folk dances of Poland, were performed by a group of 30 children, beautifully dressed in vibrant traditional outfits.
Its may be recalled that six children – Sumit Sharma, Divya Chauhan, Khushi, Purnima Kashyap, Saniya, with group leader, Ashu Satvika Goyal, from Nanhi Dunya went to Ukraine and Poland to represent Indian culture and share views, thoughts and ideas with more than 300 other children from various countries. The children interacted with eminent personages like the Mayor of Zhydachiv City, Ukraine, and Yaroslav Gavr Ulchyk, Vice President of Przemysl, Poland. All these children, who represented India internationally, belong to weaker sections of society. On their return, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu felicitated the children and members of Nanhi Dunya at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Conference Hall, New Delhi.
Minister Kaushik praised the endless efforts of Nanhi Dunia charity in the field of art, environmental awareness, secularism, education, women and child welfare and also gave certificates to the participants.
Further, Nanhi Dunya felicitated teachers who have served the organisation for more than a decade and the running trophy for the year, 2017-2018, was presented to Nanhi Dunya, Vikas Nagar.
Kiran U Goyal proposed the vote of thanks.
Special guests present on the occasion were VK Goyal, Dr Neeru Goyal, Himanshu Shekhar, Chhayya Sharma, Rohit Shukla, Amitoj Marwah, Abhimanyu Kochhar, Captian Ajay Swaroop, Urmila Thakur, Poornima, Surbhi and Ritu Gautam, among others..
