Three-day Amritsar heritage festival gets underway

Amritsar, Feb. 20, (ANI): People from all walks of life in Amritsar are participating in the three-day Amritsar Heritage Festival that commenced here on Friday with a a colourful procession that showcased the city's cultural heritage.

Organised by the Amritsar Heritage Society (AHS) in support of the Virsa Vihar Society of Amritsar and the Punjab Kala Parishad, the festival is a major draw here, as it includes caparisoned elephants, camels and horses, Bhangra and Giddha groups.

Bhagwant Singh, Amritsar's Deputy Commissioner, said that such fairs certainly draw attention to India and particularly Punjab's rich heritage, culture and customs. Inviting people from all round, he said that people should come forward with their wards to take part in the festival.

Baljeet Kaur, a participant, said she felt proud to be given an opportunity to be a part of the heritage festival.

She said that GenX of Punjab should get awy from the craze of western culture.

The opening-day included a heritage procession comprising of elephants, horses, traditional musical instruments, the traditional Sikh martial art of "Gatka" and others. It started at 10.00 in the morning and was on till late afternoon.

A langar (community meal) and a Kirtan darbar was organized at Virsa Vihar. A play on Shiv Kumar Batalvi's Luna and a poetry session added spark to the event.

An exhibition of Punjabi books is on during the festival.

On Saturday, the second day, painting competitions and a seminar on Punjabi in which Punjabi teachers from the district would participate. A programme for folk dances, folk music instruments would be held in which Kavishri, Dhadhi jatha, Sufi songs would be the events to watch.

On Sunday, the final day, a "Virasat Yatra" or heritage walk in the early morning will be taken out which will cover heritage buildings, five pious water ponds, Gurudwara Santokhsar, Ramsar, Kaulsar, Amritsar and Viveksar will add to the list of spots to be covered during the walk.

A kite-flying competion would also be held.

In the evening, noted singer Gurmeet Bawa along with her daughters would regale the viewers with her hit numbers. Local artistes, who have performed in the popular TV "Laughter Challenge" programmes, will be felicitated on the final day of the festival. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)