Cultura Bonanza and competitive events mesmerised the audience at JU

On Day two of  Panch Pran Utsav, JU organises a Lecture of eminent speakers

JAMMU, April 06: On day two of Panch Pran Utsav, lectures of eminent speakers were organised.  The keynote speaker for the first session was Mr. K.D Maini, an eminent poet.  He spoke on Pran 3: Be proud of India’s Heritage and Legacy. In an insightful lecture, he reminisced over the rich heritage of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Sharing the details of food, attire, customs and shared heritage of the diverse communities of J&K, he spoke of communal harmony. This was followed by the riveting comments of the chairperson of the session, Mr. B.R Sharma, the former Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir.

His remarks were on the lines of the message to take pride in the legacy and heritage of India. Speaking of the rich customs and traditions of this great nation, he left the audience with the message to be united and carry forward the richness of this diverse nation and its cultural heritage.The first session ended with a formal vote of thanks by Prof. Vishva Raksha, Chairperson,  Campus Cultural Committee, University  while Prof. Meena Sharma, Dean Planning felicitated the guest speakers with a momento.The second session of the day commenced with an engaging lecture by the Convener, Panun Kashmir.

Dr. Agnishekhar. He spoke on Pran 2: Erase all traces of servitude. Taking inspiration from the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana, he encouraged the youth to develop a feeling of sacrifice and duty. He placed this in the context of the colonial past of the nation and brought attention to the postcolonial mindset that needs to be rectified. He went into great detail of the tools of oppression used by the colonial forces to erase indigenous culture and encourage feelings of shame and inferiority in the colonial subjects.  

He spoke of the great leaders and warriors from the homeland that are looked over by history, and encouraged everyone to be inspired by the values of this rich land and culture. He ended the lecture and left everyone with the task to pursue an individual journey to unlearn the messages that have been carried over from the colonial past. The audience was left with the feeling of pride over a rich cultural heritage that must be carried forward with gusto.

Prof. Suman Jamwal, Head of the Department of History, University of Jammu in her presidential address spoke of the theory of the White man’s burden, where colonizers devalued the culture of indigenous communities and rooted their beliefs in ideas of White supremacy. She gave a plethora of examples of works on Indian history written from the perspective of colonizers which sadly reduced the rich cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent to stereotypical depictions of a land of snake-charmers. She showcased her in depth knowledge about Kashmir and its colonial past, especially focusing on how the image of Kashmiri women was interpreted by the misguided gaze of colonizers.

Prof S. K Pandita, Director, HRDC, University of Jammu presented a formal vote of thanks while Prof. Prakash Antahal, Dean Students Welfare, University of  Jammu  felicitated the guest speakers with a momento. It is noteworthy to mention here that the University of Jammu in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Hindustan Samachar and Cluster University of Jammu is organizing “Panch Pran Utsav’’ to highlight the five resolves of Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India during his 76th Independence Day address to the Nation.

A Plethora of cultural and competitive  events was organised on day two of Panch Ustav that includes painting, poetry recitation, poster making and cultural. In the Painting competition, Priyanka Verma, School of Social Sciences, Cluster University stood first while  Munaza Imtiaz, Institute of Dental Sciences bagged third position and third prize was won byNikhil Singh, Institute of Music and Fine Arts and Shabana Anjum, Jammu College of Physiotherapy.

Certificate of Merit was bagged  Hitakshi Sharma, GCW Gandhi Nagar, Rahila Zahoor, Stephens College of Nursing and Tania Mehra, GDC Kathua. The topic of the painting competition was Viksit Bharat / Incredible India.Sh. Suman Gupta and  Ms Reecha Gupta were the adjudicators whereas Dr. Pallavi Arorawas the Teacher Incharge. In the poetry recitation competition,    1^st  Prize was won by Mitali Sharma, School of Linguistics, Cluster University while 2^nd prize was bagged by Bandana Kumari, Bhargava Degree College, Samba and Suriya Bano, Department of Dogri, JU Kashish Chalotra, Institute of Dental Sciences bagged 3^rd prize. The topic of prize recitation was Making India a Developed Nation, Freedom from Colonial Legacies, Taking Pride in our National Culture & Heritage, Strengthening the National Unity, Fulfilling National Duties and National Integration.

The judges for the said session were  Prof. Lalit Magotra and Ms. Aruna Sharma. Dr. Purshottam Kumar and Dr. Sandeep Dubey were the teachers Incharge. In poster making competition 1^st  prize was bagged by  Komal Sharma,  Govt. College of Education whereas Ankit Sharma from Sai Shyam College of Education bagged 2^nd prize and the third prize was won by  Riya Bharti,  GDC Ghagwal, The certificate of merit was awarded to lakshmi Narayan    GDC R.S. Pura and Skanda Sharma, Institute of Music & Fine Arts. The topic for the session was   Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat / Duty towards Nation and the event was judged by Sh. Manoj Chopra and Sh. Mahesh Sharma. Dr. Seema Rohmetra was the  Teacher Incharge of the event. The day concluded with a Cultural bonanza byDogri Singing by IMFA Students, Singing by students of Cluster University  and a dance Performance by students of the University of Jammu

(NOTE: PRESS RELEASE PUBLISHED AS RECEIVED)