Hindi Diwas is celebrated on 14 September every year to mark the day Hindi was made official language by the Constituent Assembly of Indian in 1949.
Sydney’s Indian Literary and Art Society of Australia Inc (ILASA) celebrated Hindi Diwas in Sydney on 13 September 2014. The annual 2014 Kavi Sammelan was attended by more than 80 people. The program was attended by the Consul General of India in Sydney Sunjay Sudhir and Vandana Sudhir. Strathfield Councillor Raj Datta and Hornsby Shire Council Deputy Mayor Gurdeep Singh attended the program.
ILASA coordinator and founder Rekha Rajvanshi welcomed the guests. Classical singer Sumathi Krishnan recited renowned poet Kabir Das’s dohas. A book of Hindi poetry by Vijay Kumar Singh was also lauched on the day. ILASA also honoured 84 year’s old veteran artist Ramesh Chandra Alandkar with ‘Life Time Achievement Award for Serving Community through Art’.
ILASA also showcased Gauri Torgalkar Nadkarni’s art work with Indian Australian themes.
The poets who recited their work at the program were: Sonu Sarda, Beema Jaan Youssaf, Vimla Luthra, Ritu Bhamra, Swati Tiwari, Rekha Rajvanshi, Gaurav Kapoor, Ajay Bajaj, Paul McKenzie (who read Banjo Paterson’s Clancy of the Overflow in Hindi), Harmohan Walia, Dr Prabhat Sinha, Kulwant Khurana, Ashraf Shad, Rajeev Kapooor, Rajpal Sandhu, Mranal Sharma, Vijay Kumar, Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, Suresh Makkar, Harnam Singh Sandhu, Ravi Singh, Pradeep Upadhyay, Dr Yadu Singh and Dave Passi. Most of the poems were in Hindi but poets of Tamil, Kannada and Punjabi languages were also invited to participate. They translated their work in English or Hindi. These poems reflected the poets’ feelings on politics, philosophy, social problems, loneliness, nostalgia, life, childhood and patriotism.
Nukkad Natak by Abha Kumar and Punam Wahan, based on parodies of film songs, evoked migrant experiences and their changing identities in Australia.
Published in The Indian Sun
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