Feature

12th National Youth Festival of India

Md. Naimur Rahman Kushal

This wasn't the first time I went to India, but this trip was a unique experience and very 'prestigious' as well for a young person like me. Allow me to share the story.

In response to the invitation from the Indian Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh selected us as the delegates from Bangladesh to attend the 12th National Youth Festival of India, Pune 2007. The five-member delegate team consisted of Nafiz Imtiaz, Shubharthi Barua, Md. Shafaeat Hossain, Shuaib Rahman and Md. Naimur Rahman.

We started our journey on 10 January by bus and reached Kolkata the same day. In Kolkata, Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh and Indian Ministry of Youth and Sports arranged our accommodation at Assam guesthouse. The following morning we met with Mr. Nazrul Islam, Head of Chancery, Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata. He arranged transport to Pune, where the festival would actually take place.

On 12 Jan, we had our flight to Pune at 5.30 in the morning. We reached Pune via Mumbai at around 10 am. Upon arrival in Pune, Shuaib and me became nostalgic since we had been here in 2005. At Pune Airport, we were cordially received by the organizing committee of the festival.

From the airport, we were taken to Hotel Ranjeet where we were warmly greeted by Mr. A.K Saran, Under Secretary to the Indian Government and Mr. Faiz Ahmed, a lecturer in Pune University. These two were extremely co-operative and guided us throughout the whole program. We also met delegates from Nepal and Sri Lanka.

In the afternoon we were taken to the Balwadi Stadium where the Vice President of India formally inaugurated the festival, Mr. Bhairav Singh Shekhawat. The theme of the festival was 'Peace, Progress and Prosperity'. The inaugural ceremony was really impressive. Representatives from each of the 28 states of India marched the stadium (this was more like the Independence Day parade in Dhaka) and showcased their respective cultures. The parade was followed by a spectacular parachute diving performed by paratroopers of the Indian Army. The last part of the ceremony was dazzling with the warm presence of Bollywood stars like Tushar Kapoor, Raj Pal Yadav and so on. The curtain fell with a stunning laser show.

After the inaugural ceremony, a 3-day long competition started on 13 Jan. The competition was in different categories such as folk song, folk dance, instrumental music, one act play etc. Young bright people from each of the states of India participated in the competition and demonstrated their talents.

In these 3 days, we attended different programs in different venues and witnessed the mind-blowing renditions by the performers. In a few sessions, we sang melodious Bengali songs that were greatly enjoyed by the audience. We also attended interactive sessions conducted by world-class personalities like Dr. Vijay Bhatakr, India's computer genius, Sheetal Mahajan, world's first lady to jump from parachute to both the North Pole and South Pole. We, the Bangladeshi group, felt very proud when Mr Bhatakr praised the initiatives taken by our Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus for the eradication of poverty.

In the 2nd last day of the festival, there was a special party for the international delegates. When we were being presented bouquets by the organizers, I was feeling really proud to represent my country in a foreign land. The thrill of it was something that cannot be expressed. This awesome gathering came to an end on 16 Jan. The grand finale of the festival was presided over by the Indian President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

On 17 Jan, we bade goodbye to Pune and were back to our beloved motherland with loads of experiences and knowledge regarding cultural diversity, mutual understanding, shared co-operation and most importantly the power of youth.

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