Festivities galore at KU’s Ratnawali fest

Cultural festivities continued on the third day of the four-day state-level Ratnawali-2024 festival at Kurukshetra University on Sunday.

On the third day, the chief guest, Ex-Chairman Haryana Staff Selection Commission Bharat Bhushan Bharti, said KUK Ratnawali popularised Haryana's folk language and costume. Recalling his student days as an alumnus of Kurukshetra University, he said that he acquired formal and practical knowledge from his teachers and appealed to the youth to learn from the biographies of great thinkers like Dr Ambedkar and Swami Vivekanand.

Bharti added that it was encouraging to see young girls and boys develop their skills through tradition and heritage and become entrepreneurs. Ratnawali implied sharing of Haryana's folk heritage, culture, civilisation, language, songs, costume with others.

Prof Kartar Singh Dhiman, Vice-Chancellor, Sri Krishna Ayush University Kurukshetra, encouraged and praised the students for the exhibition on the premises of the auditorium.

KUK Vice-Chancellor Prof Som Nath Sachdeva said the festival was being organised efficiently with the effective management of all organising committees.

The main event of the first session was Haryanvi Chaupal, which depicted the liveliness of Haryana's rural culture and highlighted crucial social issues of rural life through thoughtfulness, humour and satire. Besides this, group dance Rasia, Sangeet Sandhya, Haryanvi folk instrumental, group song Haryanvi, poetry, Saang, on-the-spot painting competitions and Haryanvi quiz were also organised on the third day.

Meanwhile, some groups of students are passionately working to keep the old days' music and drama alive, not for professional reason, but to keep the sensitive approach alive. They are keeping the elderly visitors engaged with their performances of Saang.

Gaje Singh, a 70-year-old visitor from Karnal, exclaimed, "We are amazed to see these young people performing Saang in its original form, just like the old days' artistes!"

Dr Krishan Kumar, judge at the event, praised the students, saying, "Although they know they can't make a living with this art, they are dedicated to keeping it alive. Their performance has limited scope in college and university competitions, but they are serving a greater purpose. They are entertaining senior citizens who rarely get to see Saang and they are keeping the art alive among the youth."

Shrishti, a student performing at the KU, said, "Every society needs sensitive people for its smooth functioning and Saang has immense potential to keep the sensitive approach alive in people's hearts. This can't be possible with modern modes of communication."