An inspirational speech by Rasheed, a well-known visually-challenged folk singer, and sparkling performances by child artistes marked the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Balotsav-2014, a national-level inter-school cultural festival, in Kothagudem on Friday.
Mr. Rasheed of the Rela-Re-Rela TV show fame hogged the limelight at the opening ceremony of the 23rd Balotsav, a mega cultural festival of Telugu children.
He formally inaugurated the fete by lighting the lamp along with other guests at an impressive function at the Kothagudem Club earlier in the day.
Kothagudem RDO D. Amoy Kumar, Balotsav convener Vasireddy Ramesh Babu, well-known poet Ande Sri, noted artist Laxman Aelay and others were present.
In his inaugural speech, Mr. Rasheed recounted his inspiring saga of success against all odds which was possible with the support of his guru (folk arts instructor) and father.
He gave a detailed account of his struggle and success in his pursuit to excel in folk arts.
“I had spent Rs. 40,000, my initial earnings from a series of cultural shows, to meet my mother’s medical expenses. However, my mother died of chronic kidney ailment a couple of months ago, despite our best efforts to save her,” he said.
“I surpassed all the barriers with the help of my father and carved a niche for myself in folk arts under the guidance of my guru. My father and guru are like my eyes and they enabled me to explore my talent,” he said, with a sense of gratitude.
Mahati, a student from a Delhi-based high school, and others spoke. They thanked the Kothagudem Club for providing a perfect arena for schoolchildren to showcase their talent and spread the Telugu cultural and literary heritage.
The sprawling premises of the Kothagudem Club came to life with scores of schoolchildren from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, besides some other States including Delhi, thronging the venue to take part in the mega culture fete.
Competitions in spot drawing, short film review, folk and classical dance besides a host of other events featured on the inaugural day.
According to the organisers, around 5,000 children took part in the events held on the first day.
