Dogri Sanstha Jammu jointly with Jammu Cultural Forum launched an Audio-Visual CD of folk singer Ms. Manju Bala of Udhampur. The CD entitled ‘Kankaan Pakkiyan’ contains two Dogri geets, and a poem each of Padma Sachdev and Sita Ram Sapolia. All the songs in the CD are sung by Manju Bala, the music of which has been composed by veteran Music Maestro Sham Sajan. Manju Bala has also acted in the visualization of the songs.
The programme was presided over by Prof. Lalit Magotra, President of Dogri Sanstha, in which Gianeshwar Sharma, a renowned Dogri Poet was the Chief Guest, Prof. Veena Gupta also a senior writer was the Guest of Honour and Sita Ram Sapolia was a special Guest.
In addition to the screening of a part of the released CD, the highlight of the function was a musical programme in which Sham Sajan, Satvir Jamwal, Gursharan Kour, Bua Ditta and Sunandini Jamwal, all well-known artistes of the state sang Dogri Geets & Ghazals of prominent Dogri poets.
Those who provided accompaniment on musical instruments include, Krishan Kumar on Synthesizer, Sonu Kumar on Tabla and Sham Sajan on Harmonium. Ravinder Kaul, in his inimitable style conducted & anchored the proceedings. In the very beginning of the programme Sham Sajan gave a brief introduction of the contents of the CD and highlighted the efforts of all who contributed to this project.
Prof. Lalit Magotra, while speaking, congratulated Manju Bala on the release of her audio-visual CD. He said that musical rendering of geets &ghazals play a very significant role in popularizing the language and the poetry. He said, more such efforts should be made by all concerned to fill this gap in the field of Dogri language. He also appreciated all the singers and accompanists, who presented today’s beautiful programme.
Gianeshwar, in his speech, appreciated the dedication and spirit of Ms. Manju Bala, who has brought out this CD, purely by her efforts without any financial support from anywhere. He said that she deserves to be encouraged and urged all to buy her CD. He said that one must remember, on this occasion, the important role played by the Dogri songs sung, long back, by Lata Mangeshkar. He also said that person like Sham Sajan, who has composed the songs, is a living heritage of Dogra society who should be honoured and valued.
Prof. Veena Gupta, while appreciating the efforts of Manju Bala, urged the present Government to provide financial assistance to the artists to produce Audio-Visual and Audio CDs in Dogri to promote Dogri language and Dogra culture. Sita Ram Sapolia who also spoke on the occasion said that this initiative of Ms. Manju Bala will go a long way in promoting the Dogri language. At the end, Dr. Nirmal Vinod, General Secretary, Dogri Sanstha Jammu presented the vote of thanks.