my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 1 Nov: Sunday was filled with vibrancy at the grand Virasat Mahotsav-2026, being held at the Himalayan Cultural Centre in Nimbuwala, Garhi Cantt, in Doon. The day began with the attraction and entertaining spectacle of a superbike rally. Thereafter, the remarkable and historic presentation of the folk theatre Chakravyuh, based on Uttarakhand’s environment and folk traditions, was staged. Shayari and poetry also added delight to the Virasat stage.
Under Chakravyuh, the play presented under the direction of Dr. Purohit and Sushil Purohit conveyed a message of environmental conservation through episodes from the Mahabharata. Devaan Singh (Yudhishthir), Lokesh Rawat (Bheem), Ashish (Arjun), Prakash (Nakul), Ajay (Sahdev), Abhinav Bisht (Krishna), Ambika (Subhadra), Anjali (Draupadi), Ayush (Abhimanyu), Mamta (Village Woman 1) and Pinki (Village Woman 2) performed the roles of the Pandavas. On the Kaurava side, Ayush (Jayadrath), Ripul (Duryodhana), Mukesh (Dushasana), Vijay (Dronacharya), Rohan (Karna), Sunil (Kripacharya), O.P. Purohit (Shalya Naresh), Krish (Lakshman), Harish (Shakuni), Pawan (Ashwatthama) and Sushil (Messenger) appeared in their respective roles.
Musical accompaniment also played an important role in the performance. Aman Negi accompanied on harmonium, Akshay on hudka, Aman on thali, Harish on dhol and Kishori on dumau, while Gopi and Surendra accompanied on bhumkare. Raseen enthralled the audience with his flute playing. Dr. Shailendra Maithani, Dheeraj Rana, Divyanshu, Aman, Priya Rana, Riya and Ashish provided wonderful support through singing and vocals.
First, 24 old-model motorcycles participated in the morning’s superbike rally. The rally was flagged off from the Himalayan Cultural Centre by Vijayshree Joshi, Joint Secretary of the Virasat Organising Committee of REACH. After the rally began, the bikers rode along their designated route through Garhi Cantt, Dilaram and Mussoorie Diversion. During the journey, participants took a pit stop for rest at Brew Casa Café. All the bikers then safely returned to the Virasat premises, where the rally concluded.
High-performance motorcycles were the main attraction of the bike ride. The BMW S 1000 RR belonging to Neeti Raj Rawat and Manav Sharma was a particular centre of attraction. Several Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 cc bikes also made a strong impression. The event provided a strong platform for passion for biking, adventure and collective participations.
The Virasat fair witnessed a wonderful confluence of literature and poetry. At the poetry gathering organised on the fair’s cultural stage, distinguished and popular poets and shayars from different parts of the country moved the audience with their powerful compositions.
The poetry event, which continued from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., featured beautiful presentations of humour, romance, fervour, songs and ghazals, immersing the entire atmosphere in literary colours. The grand poetry gathering was coordinated by renowned Delhi-based Dr. Rajni Chauhan, a poet of the romantic genre. Under her able coordination, the poetry stage witnessed a unique confluence of diverse literary forms and different streams of poetic rasa.
At the gathering, national poet Arun Sharma from Meerut, internationally renowned shayar and litterateur Pradeep Mayus from Shamli, senior litterateur and lyricist Ramesh Chandra, lyricist Dr. Nikhil Chauhan ‘Man’ from Baraut, ghazal writer Gurudatt and Shri Divyansh Mishra enhanced the dignity of the programme with their compositions. Coordinator Dr. Rajni Chauhan also captivated the audience with her romantic and poetic presentations.
The poets’ compositions included tender expressions of love and emotions, while showers of humour and powerful sentiments infused the audience with new energy. The presentations of ghazals and songs added further splendour to the programme. On this occasion, Dr. Rajni Chauhan said that receiving an opportunity for creative expression at a prestigious cultural platform such as the Virasat fair was a matter of pride for poets and litterateurs.
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