Mandi: The Choti Kashi International Mandi Shivratri Festival – 2025 honored the legacy of Sahitya Chudamani Pandit Bhavani Datt Shastri with a grand literary gathering at Sanskriti Sadan, Kangnidhar.
Organized by the Mela Committee, the event featured a Mandiyali Gita recitation and a multilingual Kavi Sammelan, highlighting the deep-rooted literary heritage of the region.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Mandi, Sakshi Verma, graced the occasion as the chief guest, while senior poet Ganga Ram Raji presided over the event. The hall resonated with poetic expressions and devotional chants, drawing an enthusiastic audience.
Addressing the gathering, SP Sakshi Verma underscored the transformative power of literature in shaping society.
“Literature and music serve as the soul of civilization, providing direction and strength to communities. If poets and writers take up their role as reformers, many societal challenges can be addressed,” she remarked.
One of the key attractions was the recitation of the Bhakti Kanda (Devotional Chapter) of the Mandiyali Gita, translated by Pandit Bhavani Datt Shastri. A group of 20-22 women performed a synchronized recitation in the Mandiyali dialect, reviving a fading tradition and making it accessible to the younger generation.
The multilingual Kavi Sammelan brought together esteemed poets who enthralled the audience with their compositions. Notable contributors included senior Poetesses Rupeshwari Sharma, Hari Priya Sharma and renowned poets Jagdish Kapoor, Dr. Rakesh Kapoor, Dr. Kamal Pyasa, Murari Sharma.
Additionally, over fifty poets participated, including Vinod Guleria, Surendra Mishra, Rattan Lal Sharma, Anil Mahant, Deep Kumar, Paumila Thakur, Krishna Thakur, Yashpal Singh, Pankaj Dharwal, Jitendra Sharma, Dr. R.K. Gupta, Ved Kumar, Nirmala Chandel, Dharmachand Dhiman, Bharat Sharma, and Umesh Sharma.
District Language Officer Revati Saini honored SP Sakshi Verma for her support of literature. In turn, she felicitated Kavi Sammelan President Ganga Ram Raji and Champa Sharma, daughter-in-law of Pandit Bhavani Datt Shastri, for their contributions to literary preservation.
Munish Sood
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