Bollywood, Bhojpuri nights to be part of ‘Gorakhpur Mahotsava’ from January 11

The mahotsava will have a customised logo focusing on Gorakhnath Temple along with other historical places of importance in the state. The event is being projected as part of the government’s initiative to promote tourism and local traditions.

On Wednesday, the government had sanctioned Rs 33 lakh for the event, which is being managed by a committee headed by the Divisional Commissioner with the DM as the vice-chairman. A Facebook page has also been made to promote the event and bring it on the state’s tourism map.

While the venue of the event, which would be inaugurated by Governor Ram Naik, will largely be Gorakhpur University, the closing ceremony with a ‘bhajan event’ by popular singers Anoop Jalota and Anuradha Paudwal will take place at Smriti Bhavan of Gorakhnath Temple in presence of Adityanath, who will distribute prizes to the winners of various competitions.

“This is the first time that state government’s Culture Department has planned such an event in Gorakhpur and the idea is to promote the culture and tradition of the district from the point of view of tourisim. There will be events for school children, sports activities along with an exhibition on Mahant Gorakhnath at the university,” said Anil Kumar, who is heading the event committee.

He further said that two years ago, an attempt was made to hold a similar festival, but it was more of a private affair.

“The mahotsava has been scheduled to be held in January because the Khichdi Mela — an annual event in Gorakhpur which sees huge footfall — is supposed to start from January 14,” Kumar said.

The state government now plans to make the mahotsava an annual event. Kumar said that a ‘Shilp Mela’ will also be organised from Jaunary 11 along with a photo exhibition on Mahant Gorakhnath and Swami Vivekanand as part of the festival.

The customised logo of the mahotsava carries the photograph of Gorakhnath temple and Mahant Goraknath in the centre with a photo of Gautam Buddha and Kabir on either side, along with the Gorakhpur railway station, Imambara, logo of Gita Press as well as photograph of Gorakhpur planetarium. The tagline of the logo reads “Aa Roh Tamso Jyotih” (Rise From Darkness to Light) and sources said that a special theme song is also being prepared for the event.

On January 11, the mahotsava will hold a ‘Bollywood Night’, which will see music composer-cum-singer Shankar Mahadevan perform. On January 12, Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan and singer Malini Awasthi will perform as part of ‘Bhojpuri Night’. On the concluding day, there will again be a ‘Bollywood Night’.