Alva’s Virasat-2018 starts on a colorful note

Moodbidiri: “Alva’s Virasat-2018”, a national cultural festival held annually kicked off here on January 12 on a colorful note. The event showcases the rich cultural traditions of India.

Clad in Poothaniya gear, Ranjith of Karkala led the procession by performing the fire-spitting stunts. He was followed by Kadane, Garnal, Poothani, Kombu, Kahale, Kingkong, Kerala Chande, Kundapura Dolu, Nadaswara, Saxophone, Chande and Shankha.

After inaugurating the 24th edition of Alva’s Virasat, Nagaland Governor P B Acharya opined, “Virasat is the cultural legacy of India, a country rich in art, dance and literature and the role of educational institutions is crucial in propagating it further. Educational institutions aren’t just centres of knowledge but powerhouses of development and the students are the nodal agents to carry forward these ideals. Alva’s is one such institution that merges education and culture, therefore preserving it.”

“We find a reference to all the eight North Eastern states in the word, ‘NAMASTE’ (i.e Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura)”, said the governor thereby giving a musical and a pleasant way to remember the North Eastern frontier of our country. “A feeling of pride is created by Alva’s due to its proactive initiatives to inculcate the rich culture of the eight pillars”, he added.

“Strengthening the mainland and empowering the empowered must not be the agenda; wake up and change your mindset for India has the capacity to provide manpower to the whole world”, said Acharya. He lauded the efforts undertaken by Alva’s Education Foundation to nurture and preserve the unique cultural diversity of North East, by adopting students from that region. There is a lack of emotional integration in India. South Canara and Udupi regions are striving to achieve national integration by being in the forefront.”

The most-coveted Virasat Award 2018 was conferred to the distinguished classical vocalist musical duo, Padmabhushan Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra. A classical tribute of Devaranama by the child prodigy Sooryagayathri was presented in their honor. “Music, as a medium spreads love among all”, said Pandit Rajan Mishra in reply to their felicitation.

In his presidential address, Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr. D Veerendra Heggade said, “Dr. M Mohan Alva has successfully created Moodbidire as the cultural capital of our country. Alva’s Education Foundation is a representative of India in every sense where all the students are the citizens of one nation sans any barriers of caste, religion, language, culture. To build a nation we must forgo hate and achieve unity and equality with respect to opportunity. Educational institutions are needed to create such opportunities for the youth so they bloom to become ambassadors of our heritage. Love, respect and affection for all is the need of the hour.” He hailed Chairman Dr. M. Mohan Alva as an inspiration in this aspect.

Alva’s Education Foundation Chairman Dr. M Mohan Alva, Moodbidri MLA K Abhayachanda Jain, entrepreneur K Sripati Bhat, MP Nalini Kumar Kateel, MLC Ganesh Karnik, District Commissioner S Sasikanth Senthil were present on the occasion.