People's Democracy

Surjeet Inaugurates Safdar Hashmi Jan Sanskritik Pahal  

APNM artists performing at the inaugural function

TO spread the message of the 18th Party Congress of the CPI(M) through the medium of people’s culture, Party general secretary, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, flagged off Safdar Hashmi Jan Sanskritik Pahal today afternoon. As part of this 10-day long initiative, cultural evenings would be organised in 15 localities in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad, from March 9-18. Around 15 theatre groups, dance troupes, choirs, mime groups and poets from across the country would be performing in these cultural shows, spreading the message of the Party Congress.

Inaugurating the initiative, Surjeet called for effectively utilising the medium of people’s culture to spread the alternative policies of the Party among the people. He underlined the importance of culture in molding people’s thinking.

Noted theatre personality and playwright, Habib Tanvir, in his brief address on this occasion, lamented that culture has been neglected by successive governments who treated it as work pertaining to one department. He called on the CPI(M) to give more importance to this crucial field. He underlined that culture is more than mere song and dance; it is part of the way of living of masses.

A lively display of events by cultural troupes participating in this initiative took place in front of CPI(M) headquarters, AKG Bhavan. Andhra Praja Natya Mandali group from Andhra Pradesh performed Dappu Nrutyam (Dance of the Drums), Paschim Banga Vigyan Manch from West Bengal gave a display which exposed the fraudulent magic of babas, Habib Tanvir’s group rendered Aadmi Nama, while an artist from Yogesh Dutta Academy in Kolkata gave a brilliant performance of mime, calling for peace. A group from Punjab and an IPTA group from Bengal also performed on this occasion.

Speaking after these performances, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Prakash Karat said this was a good beginning to the preparations for the 18th Party Congress. He greeted the cultural troupes which have come from various parts of the country for participating in this initiative. Saying that vast number of people participated in the cultural programmes organised in various states on the occasion of Party state conferences, Karat said it is now the turn of Delhi people to benefit. He announced the news of thumping victory of the Left Front in Tripura’s ADC polls amidst loud cheers of “CPI(M) Zindabad”.

While reception committee chairperson, Joginder Sharma presided over this meeting, it was attended by committee vice chairperson Brinda Karat, secretary P M S Grewal, Haryana CPI(M) state secretary, Inderjeet Singh, Punjab CPI(M) state secretary, Balwant Singh, Madhya Pradesh CPI(M) state secretariat member B S Dhakkad, Uttaranchal secretary Vijay Rawat, UP state secretary S P Kashyap.