Five-day festival on life of Prem Chand concludes

Mumbai, Aug 5 (UNI) The five-day ''Prem Utsav'' festival, based on legendary Hindi writer Prem Chand's literary works, concluded at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chowpatty, here yesterday.

During the festival, Indian Drama and entertainment Academy (IDEA) staged plays on 36 of his stories, with over 4,000 people witnessing the event.

Several schools and colleges sent their students to watch the show as stories of Prem Chand are part of their syllabus and it gave them an opportunity to know more about the life of the legendary writer.

Theatre personalities, teachers and professors were also among the audience, a release issued by IDEA said.

The Utsav began on July 31, the birth anniversary of Prem Chand with the blessings of Dr Anil K Khandelwal, Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda, who lit the 'Prem Jyot'.

Speaking on the occasion, he said ''Bank of Baroda is proud to sponsor the event which spreads the message of love, brotherhood, equality, humanity and national integration.'' Among others who graced the occasion were Dr Vijay Khole, Vice Chancellor Mumbai University, Habib Nadiadwala and Farooq Nadiadwala, both Film Producers.

The IDEA and Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan jointly organised the event.

UNI