BHUBANESWAR: The stage is set for the Commencement of 10th annual Anjali National Children’s Festival at the Adivasi Grounds here on Wednesday. Being hosted by Swabhiman - the city-based social service organisation working for the cause of people with disabilities - it will conclude on November 14 coinciding with the Children’s Day celebrations. Festival director and Swabhiman founder Sruti Mohapatra said since its inception in 2001, the festival has included over 5,000 children and has helped a large number of physically-challenged students to complete educational courses and get employed. The theme of the festival this year would be ‘Tales & Legends’ which would be manifested in a colourful carnival that would be taken out before the inaugural ceremony. The carnival will be flagged off by Director, Social Welfare, Sujata Kartikeyan and Police Commissioner Bijay Sharma. It would start from the Ram Mandir Square and culminate at the Adivasi Ground. Over 1,000 students from across the country would participate. The event would have a wide variety of activities daily from 8 am to 8 pm, she said. Besides, five internationally acclaimed children’s films would be screened every morning at Rabindra Mandap here from November 10 to 14 in collaboration with the Mumbai-based Children in Society. A series of special cultural programmes have been planned. Delhi-based Ability Unlimited - a cultural group - consisting of wheelchair-bound performers, would present thrilling dances based on mythology and folklore. Another group, Articulate Bangalore, with visually challenged members would perform Bharatnatyam, while theatre troupe Shyambazaar Annyadesh from Kolkata would stage a play Rakta Karabi. One of the main attractions would be a fairyland that would be created at the Adivasi Ground. “The fairyland will have visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile effects to enable a differently-abled child enjoy the magical land of Tales & Legends,” said Sruti. Other activities would include interactive workshops, inter-school competitions, interface with celebrities and even sand art and magic camps. The children would get a feel of five Indian popular festivals -- Karthik Purnima, Id, Durga Puja, Christmas and Holi -- through the cultural programmes, she said and emphasised that the thrust would be on national integration through such celebrations. While Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would inaugurate the festival, Governor M C Bhandare would join them for the valedictory on November 14.
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