The 51st edition of the annual Rose Festival began on a colourful note at the historic Zakir Hussain Rose Garden, Sector 16, Chandigarh, on February 17. The 3-day mega event will throw up a surfeit of options for city folks to soak in the spirit of sheer celebration of sorts.
Governor of Punjab-cum-Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, Banwarilal Purohit, inaugurated the festival amid the peppy beats of drums, with the music band creating strains of high-decibel music notes touching heart strings. Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher is the guest of honour on the occasion.
With a view to making this three-day extravaganza of entertainment unforgettable, the organisers have arranged a light and sound show for the first time. As per information already in public domain, a sum of Rs 1.40 crore, out of the total of Rs 2.19 crore set aside for the festival, has been spent on arranging the light and sound show, which would be an added attraction of the fascinating festival.
Sharing details about the three-day event, City Mayor Anup Gupta said the much-awaited Rose Festival was set to make a big splash, adding that the inaugural ceremony will be conspicuous by fascinating flower decorations at the venue with and exotic varieties of roses, eye-catching floral exhibits, assiduously arranged for the gala day, earning it an endearing sobriquet of ‘Rosy Festival of the year’.
What makes this festival unique are the competitions held during the three-day-long festivity, prominent among them are‘rangoli-making competition, brass and pipe band competitions, floral hat and headgear display, photography exhibition, besides the cultural evenings soaked in pure divine music, adding to the heady entertainment. The spirited puppet shows, magic shows and comic performances on the occasion always come as a welcome breather, especially for children.
Among those who will make the evenings special for music lovers, include Kathak exponent Nandita Puri and group, who will give a live dance performance – ‘Divya Drishti’, while popular Punjabi singer Maninder Buttar will perform on February 18. However, the star attraction on the concluding day, will be a live performance by well-known Bollywood singer Adnan Sami, who will keep music lovers enthralled, doling out his hit numbers, a rage with the young and old alike.
The main highlights of the morning and evening sessions have a range of activities, including yoga and meditation session for health freaks, the electrifying folk dances of the states of Punjab and Haryana, bhangra,nagada, ghumar, raagni, fag and Dhamaal, et al. Scintillating folk dances of Rajasthan, kalbelia, ghumar and bhavai and ‘Kachi Ghodi’ to be presented by the artistes clad in their traditional dresses, takes you a short trip to the land of sand.
On the concluding day of the festival, being a Sunday, the footfall is likely to increase manifold with people turning out in their thousands to be a part of the gala event. The morning raga, a classical rendition by maestro Pt. Subhash Ghosh is likely to be a show-stopping performance of the day, which will take you on a snappy trip to a different world of divine music.
Besides a slew of these power-packed stage and ground performances by gifted artistes on the occasion, a lucky draw comprising 300 prizes will also be held for those who have given their feedback on ‘Swachh Survekshan 2023’, the flagship initiative of the union government.
Foodies are set to have a date with sumptuous, traditional cuisines to satiate their taste buds as theme-based food stalls have been put up at the venue to serve them piping hot food of their choice. They will have a rich fare of traditional cuisines and culinary treats from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and South India to choose from.
“Three cheers for the organisers for hosting this year’s Rose Festival, like never before, with a set of well-meaning add-ons to take the festival to the next level. The food court is a welcome addition this time around,” said Rashmi Gupta, a home maker and regular to the yearly feature.
Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra said, “It will be a zero-waste event this time around, saying no use of plastic material at the festival. We are pulling out all the stops to ensure a zero-waste festival. The MC will process the waste on the premises, including at the food court. Over 150 employees of the corporation have been put on the job to ensure compliance of the order to maintain sanitation”.
The MC on Wednesday announced the results of flower/ garden competitions held under various categories. Those hit the prize winning tally included Sector 18-D in the best neighbourhood park category maintained by RWAs. In the best internal parks maintained by housing societies, Sector 51-B bagged the top slot.
Among the government institutions, CSIR-IMTECH, Sector 39-A, bagged the first prize in the best large garden category (over four kanal area), EIC PWD of Sector 3 got the first prize in small garden category (Less than four kanal area). Amongst the roundabouts category, the one maintained by CITCO in Sector 16 was adjudged the best.
