Says ‘Samanbal’ has become cultural movement in Kashmir
BUDGAM: Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board Chairperson Dr Syed Darakhshan Andrabi on Saturday inaugurated the three-day annual literary cum cultural festival ‘Saman Bal’ at Badran Budgam, organised by the Gulshan Cultural Forum in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
The festival was thrown open by Dr Andrabi in the traditional way of adding fragrant rue (Isband) to the traditional Kangri. The inaugural event was attended by session president Prof Gulshan Majeed, GCF President Syed Bashir Kousar, former Secretary of J&K Cultural Academy Dr Rafeeq Massodi, and eminent author, poet, and thinker Dr Satish Vimal. The proceedings were moderated by Gulshan Badrani, and the keynote for the three-day festival was presented by Dr Satish Vimal.
Dr Darakhshan presented the Andrabi Annual Awards of GCF for 2023 and 2024 to famed cultural activist G.R. Hasrat Gadha and former Head of Haqqani Memorial Trust Master Ghulam Mohammad Dar.
In her address, Dr Andrabi said that such grand events in a far-flung area acquire more significance as they inspire people from rural backgrounds to the fields of expression through arts and literature. Congratulating GCF for the meaningful and mega event, she said that ‘Samanbal’ has become a cultural movement in Kashmir.
“When people built walls around their courtyards, Samanbal opened the space for creators beyond borders. This cultural organization is consistently promoting literature, performing arts, and theatre since the past three decades,” the Waqf Board Chairperson said.
Dr Andrabi announced sponsorship for a mega event by the organization at Srinagar this summer. She also released the annual magazine of GCF titled “Faryad,” published continuously in Kashmiri language, hailing the efforts of the editorial team and the management for this standard publication.