Ahmedabad witnessed a grand inaugural celebration of the 10 day long carnival of Navratri at the GMDC Ground on Saturday, 1st October 2016. The event was graced by the presence of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri. Vijay Rupani, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri. Nitin Patel, Shri. Parimal Nathwani, MP, Jharkhand, Shri. Ganpatsinh Vasava, Minister of Tourism, Government of Gujarat, Shri. Shankar Chaudhary, MoS, Health and Family Welfare, Government of Gujarat, Shri. Pradipsinh Jadeja, Minister of Law, Government of Gujarat, Dr. J.N. Singh, Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat, Shri. Kamleshbhai Patel, Chairman, Gujarat Tourism, Ambassadors of various countries and many other senior officials of the Gujarat Government.
The event was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister by lighting the ‘Lamp of Humanity’ with a laser torch. The lamp is the largest floor lamp in the world created by Dr. Braj K. Shukla, Scientist, Institute of Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar and is set to enter the Guinness Book of World Record. The motivation behind this lamp is to deliver the message of humanity to the world based of the noble words of our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi, “Mana Andhera Ghana Hai, Diya Jalana Kahan Mana Hai”
Shri. Vasava delivered the welcome address and explained to the gathering the importance of this auspicious festival. He also congratulated the Tourism Department for having bagged the National Tourism Awards, 2016 under 3 categories. This was followed by the address by the Chief Minister who praised the Tourism Department of Gujarat for having organised such wonderful event. During his address he said, “This wonderful concept of celebrating the Navratri festival by organising events across the state was the brainchild of Shri. Narendra Modi during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.” (Quote for approval) He also spoke about the success of the Central Government in combating terrorism and applauded the recent surgical strikes by the Indian Army.
The Chief Minister later unveiled the trophy of the Kabbadi World Cup, 2016 which will be hosted by Ahmedabad from the 7th to the 22nd October. Captains of six out of the twelve participating nations, namely Argentina, Bangladesh , Kenya , Iran , India and England were greeted by the CM by presenting them with ‘Dandia Sticks’ as souvenirs.
This was followed by a vibrant performance “Shakti Vandana”. The vivid display of dance and music explained the mythology behind the Navratri Festival and was an audio-visual treat for everyone present. Students from various art schools from Gujarat participated in the Shakti Vandana.
I would like to spend my next Navratri in Gujarat too!