Navratra Festival 2009 concludes

A view of singing competition winners during concluding ceremony of Navratra Festival - 2009.

Katra, September 28 - The 9-day long Navrata Festival in the holy town of Katra came to musical conclusion last evening with a native of village Jib in Udhmpur district of Jammu and Kashmir Mr. Anshu Sharma bagging the prestigious first prize in the mega final event of All India Devotional Song Competition, which was jointly organized by the Department of Tourism, J&K Government and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) Katra during Navratra festival. The function concluded amidst chanting of bhajans and beating of drums at Yog Ashram, last night.

Mr Vinod Kumar of Amritsar and Mrs Kirti Dubey of Bhopal clinched second and third prizes respectively in the bhaint competition. Other artists who participated in the mega final included Mr. Paramjeet Singh, Miss Nidhi Kaila, Mr. vijay kumar Magotra, Mr. Varun Kotwal, Mr. Anmol Jaswal, Mr. Anil Aftab, Mr. Shiv Sagar, Miss Sonali Dogra, Mr. Kapil Thapa and Miss Apoorva Jamwal.

Special guest and winner of previous year contests Miss Hemani Kapoor and Mr Rajan Gill, who had especially come from Ludhiana and Haryana participated in the final event. They also presented melodious bhajans in the obeisance of revered Mata Vaishno Devi.

Noted Bollywood personalities including Actor Mr. Sonu Sood, Managing Director of Venus Tapes and Records, Mr. Ganesh Jain, Producer Director, Mr. Mukesh Bhatt, Owner, Tips Records and Tapes Ramesh Torani, Trade Analyst and Producer, Mr. Vikas Mohan, Chief Executive Officer, Baba Films, Mr. Ajay Acharya, Subash Babber and Vice President, Zee Jagran Mrs. Barkha Arora were the judges of the mega final.

Speaking on the occasion Tourism Minister complemented the Managing Committee of Navratra Festival and other organizations for extending their cooperation in making the event a grand success. He said that the annual festival is gaining prominence at national and even at international level besides providing a platform to the budding artists. As a result, many artists especially the winners of previous All India Devotional Song contests are proving their worth in the film industry also, he said.

He also appreciated the noted Bollywood personalities for making it a point to ensure their presence in the mega competition saying that this would help the budding talent to get inspiration and excel in the field of music.

Addl. Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Katra, while speaking on the occasion lauded the sincere efforts of all organizations associated with the Navratra festival for its successful culmination. He said it was the result of coordinated and sincere efforts put in by the different agencies especially the people of Katra that the festival have achieved excellence in every field and was recognized as festival of culture, traditions, talent and harmony.

Earlier, the Minister accompanied by the renowned personalities of Bollywood, lit the sacred Jyoti near Asia chowk, Katra which was taken out in the form of a colourful procession with jhankies depicting the rich cultural heritage of the state. The procession after passing through the bazaars of the holy Katra town finally culminated at the venue of Devotional Song Competition.

The Minister also gave away prizes worth Rs. one lakh in shape of gold to the first winner, Cheques amounting to Rs. 25,000/- and Rs. 15,000/- were given to second and third winners of the mega bhaint competition on the occasion.

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