Minister of State for Education, Culture and Information Priya Sethi today said that festivals are a reflection of our rich composite culture and the true essence of festivals lie in bringing together people and spreading the intrinsic values of our traditions.The Minister was speaking at a function hosted by her to mark the ongoing festival season and jointly share the festivities of Karwa Chauth.People especially womenfolk from different walks of life attended the event and exchanged greetings among each other.Prominent among those who attended the event include, Chairperson J&K State Social Welfare Board Dr. (Prof.) Nirmal Kamal, Senior leader Yudhvir Sethi, Mamta Singh, Rajni Sethi, Anurdha Charak Usha Chowdhary, Baldev Baloria, Purnima Sharma, Anju Dogra, Sanchita Dogra, Neeru Anand, Monika Sharma, Rekha Mahajan, Savita Anand, Saroj, Sharda, Reva, Suriender Kaur and others.While addressing the gathering, Priya said the joint celebrations are a part of the rich culture of the region and composite fabric of society further gets strengthened by jointly celebrating events and festivals of different faiths.
She said women are the major stakeholder in the progress and prosperity of the nation and their contribution is immense in every field. She also said that women’s role in preserving and promoting our cultural heritage and cohesive social relations is both central and vital. She maintained that Women are also custodians of intangible cultural heritage which they pass on to the next generations.While extending festival greetings, Yudhvir said that our state has a long history of mutual coexistence and people from all faiths live in bonhomie. He said the special event has been organised to celebrate the ongoing festival season and extended warm greetings to all for the forthcoming festivals.Earlier, the artists of Cultural Wing of Department of Information and Public Relations presented cultural programme on the occasion.Officers from various departments were also present on the occasion.