The ‘multi cultural’ youth festival being hosted by Osmania University was tinted pink as slogans in support of Telangana punctuated announcement and speeches at the inaugural function held on Friday.
“I believe that we will all reach our goal through perseverance and diligence characteristic of the people here,” said film director N. Shanker who was the guest of honour at the event. Quoting from his films ‘Jai Bolo Telangana’ and ‘Bhadrachalam’ he urged the students present to join the cause for separate statehood, eliciting loud cheers from the audience, even as the vice chancellor looked on.
The message was loud and clear especially when students performed the title song of ‘Jai Bolo Telangana’ during the cultural organized by the host university.
Taking the celebrations back in time, adviser of cultural affairs to the government of Andhra Pradesh Dr. K.V Ramanachary recalled the time spent at Osmania University as a student and faculty member in his inaugural address.
“In spirit I feel young and I can still remember how it feels to cheer in a crowd during the cultural programmes,” said the retired IAS officer. He welcomed the participation of various universities across the country and highlighted the importance of imbibing Indian culture and traditions.
The four day inter-university youth festival titled ‘Yuva Tarang’ commenced with a procession of colorfully dressed students who represented various folk-art forms. Though the event started an hour behind schedule it made up for it through cheers and cat-calls from the audience in equal measures.
The festival showcased performances ranging from Andhra Natyam and Perini Shiva Thandavam by Guru Kala Krishna and a Gussadi Gondu performance by Ravi and his troupe from Adilabad.
The 28th inter-university youth festival is being held at Osmania University after a gap of 14 years. “it is the first time that a central zone has been demarcated for participation and we are glad to conduct it at Osmania University. This is the second zone we will be completing after the North Zone,” said Sampson David, deputy secretary of youth affairs at Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi.
The central zone includes 25 universities across six different states, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The following days will see competitions in performing arts as well as modern art forms such as cartooning, clay modeling and mime organized at various venues at Osmania University.