As the day sank into twilight, thousands of visitors braved the winter cold for more than an hour, to see the curtains go down on the grand spectacle that had the city throbbing for five days.
The valedictory function of the Fifth World Telugu Conference that was held at L.B. Stadium on Tuesday evening witnessed sizeable crowds despite the heavy security checks all the way inside.
The stadium’s entry points were thronged by people an hour before the arrival of President Ram Nath Kovind. Though the actual event began an hour late, they waited patiently for the chief guest and the Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, to arrive along with Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan.
Short films screened
Till then, various performances were showcased, typically reflecting Telangana art, culture and history, on the dais titled Bammera Pothana Vedika designed and decorated by art director Ambaji. Be it the dance ballet by Deepika Reddy and team, the Perini dance welcoming the guests, or the lengthy short films screened before the speeches, care was taken to watermark them with what was typical of Telangana.
A multi-starrer short film featuring many film and TV personalities, including the teen rage Devarakonda Vijay of Arjun Reddy fame and his female lead Shalini Pandey, showcased Telangana festivals, besides paying tributes to Telangana poets ranging from Palakurti Somanatha to Suddala Hanumanthu.
A replay of Glory of Telangana , another short film by Deshapathi Srinivas, unravelled the multicultural firmament of the Telangana State, by featuring all the locations of natural, cultural and multi-religious significance representative of the State. Though not raucous, the crowds in stands cheered every now and then, particularly when Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao was welcomed onto the stage, when he offered to conclude the speech with poetry on laughter and humour, and when the President chose to begin and end his speech with Telugu idiom and poetry. Most unlikely cheers came when the recently-inaugurated Metro Rail was displayed in the short film by Mr. Srinivas.
Fireworks lit up the sky in all hues as the meeting was drawn to a close, and it was time for the 16,000 delegates to bid farewell to the city.
