Jammu: As a part of week-long celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Coronation Ceremony of Maharaja Gulab Singh, founder of erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, former Minister Smt Priya Sethi in association with Shivang Satya Gupta, Chairman, Maharaja Gulab Singh Brigade, organized an inter school painting competition under the theme "My Heritage My Pride", here today.
A total of 100 students from several schools of Jammu including SP Smart Schools, Sainik School Nagrota, Jodhamal Public School, Heritage School, DPS Jammu, House Corp Co-operative Public School, Sidhra, Bhartiya Shiksha Samiti, Ambphalla and many Govt Schools took part in the competition.
On the occasion, students were made aware about rich cultural heritage of the Dogras and the role played by Maharaja Gulab Singh in conquering and annexing Gilgit, Baltistan, Ladakh, part of Tibet and several other areas in State of Jammu & Kashmir.
It is pertinent to mention that Maharaja Gulab Singh was administered 'Raj Tilak' by the Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh at 'Jeo Pota Ghat' on June 17, 1822 AD and became the first Maharaja (King) of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State.
On the occasion, Kunwarani Ritu Singh was the Chief Guest while former Minister and senior BJP leader Priya Sethi and Shilpa Gupta were the Guests of Honour. Shivang Satya Gupta, Chairman, Maharaja Gulab Singh Brigade was also present during the event. While, Ajay Khajuria, Anita Balloria, Neelam Sareen, Poonam Choudhary, Prikshit Singh Manhas, Sidhu Kapoor and V K Sehgal were among the special guests. K.K Gandhi, Mahesh Sharma and Vikas Dogra were team of adjudicators.
Speaking on the occasion, Kunwarani Ritu Singh appreciated the efforts of Priya Sethi for organizing the painting competition. She described the Maharaja Gulab Singh as a visionary, brave and enterprising ruler who is best known for extending boundaries of India outwards far & wide upto Afghans, Tibetans and Chinese.
Ritu Singh asserted that to ensure integrity of generation next it is vital to preserve rich cultural ethos and heritage as the same can bestowed upon progeny to create a meaningful connect between past and the future.
Former minister, Priya Sethi, in her address, asserted that the contributions made by the founder of Dogra dynasty are immaculate and remarkable which make people of J&K to feel proud and contented. She stressed on disseminating information about J&K’s rich cultural legacy and vibrant heritage as the generation next has been disconnected with its past due to many reasons including the stress of modern day world. She said that apart from today’s painting competition, several other programmes are on cards in run-up to the coronation day celebrations.
Addressing the gathering, Shivang Satya Gupta, Chairman, Maharaja Gulab Singh Brigade said that such celebrations play a significant role in connecting the young generation with the glorious past of the region which otherwise is difficult to revisit. He said that the aforesaid programme is part of initiative taken to make the present generation aware of the rich legacy which J&K holds with places like Jammu, Akhnoor, etc having special significance in the history of J&K.
Shivang Satya Gupta appealed to people of J&K to get involved in such celebrations as much as they can because these have the potential to groom the personalities of the people and enrich them with knowledge which cannot be gained from books or other sources.
In Senior Category, Atush Pratap (Class 12th, Sainik School) got first prize while Prashant Gupta (Class 12th, DPS Jammu) secured second prize and Kaushika Bhotyal (Class 11th B, Jodhamal Public School) got third prize. Consolation prizes were awarded to Prachi Motiyal (Class 12th l, Jodhamal Public School) and Meenakshi (Class 12th, G D Geonka).
In Junior Category, Atharan Dabgotra (Class 10th, Heritage School) secured first prize while Anu (Class 9th, DPS Jammu) got second and Arindam Rai (Class 9th, Heritage School). Consolation prizes were awarded to Medhansh Singhl (Class 7th , Sainik School, Nagrota) and Sparsh Uppal (Class 8th, DPS Jammu).
Team of organizers included Anil Singh Rakwal - President MGSB, S S Jamwal, Ashish Kapoor, Aman Gupta, Gourav Chadha, Sanjay Charak, Ayaz Ganai, Abhishek Gandotra, Vikas Samotra, Arush Gupta, Manohar Sharma and Tarsem Singh.