By Tricitynews Reporter
Chandigarh 28th July:- Gaiety and
Traditional fervour marked the Teej Celebrations organised by the
Rural Development & Panchayats Department, Punjab. It was a day of fun and
frolic, as ladies clad in colourful dresses enjoyed them at the City Park,
Sector 68, Mohali, to glorify the rich heritage and culture of Punjab.
Dressed in
colourful and traditional attires, guests including the wives of local
Officers, women representatives of Panchayati Raj Societies and the women
employees of various government departments had a good time during the Teej festival.
On this occasion they performed folk dances of Punjab. The women enjoyed the
main attraction of the festival- the swings decorated with
flowers. The place reverberated with the beat of drums. The
participants presented songs from a series of their choicest collections.
Special attraction of the day was “Teej Queen” competition. Rajbir Kaur of
Kapurthala was selected as the Teej Queen.
Sikander Singh Maluka,
Rural Development & Panchyats Minister Punjab, sharing his feelings said
that earlier people, particularly those in rural areas used to
celebrate Teej in a big way. But with the passage of time, the
festivities have lost their glory and are confined to a few common places like
educational institutions in the urban areas and symbolic celebrations for the
entertainment of children in villages. He said that among the chosen
representatives of Panchayati Raj working system one third populations is of
women officers and members. To encourage their friendly association with each
other, department has taken such initiative. He added
that Teej celebrations nowadays are vapid due to many reasons, mainly
the growing individualism in the society, degradation of social values, change
in the professional temperament of people and missing of big trees of peepal
and neem on the banks of village ponds and the outskirts of the village which
used to serve the purposes for putting swings earlier.
He added that during the
month of Shravan, a decade or two ago, women used to go in the groups for
swinging in gardens after completing their domestic chores and used to sing
folk songs. Talking about the decline in the trend
of Teej celebration, he attributed it to the rapid growth of
entertainment means through electronic media. He added that earlier, major occasions
of entertainment used to be the festivals, Today’s young girls hardly remember
shravan folk songs and it shows a decline in our folk culture. Minister also
crowned the Teej Queen on this occasion.
The minister said that
that our young generation is following the western culture today and forgetting
their rich cultural heritage. He said that by organising this type of an event
an attempt has been made by the department to put in its bit to save the rich
cultural heritage of Punjab and portray one of its fast fading aspects to the
new generation so that they may be acquainted with our cultural heritage.
Besides the female
government employees, the members of prominent Non Government Organisations,
social workers, the wives of local Officers, Secretary Depinder Singh Director
Sukhjit Singh Bains Chief Engineer Parkash Singh, Deputy Director Kaur Butter
& Editor Sade Pind Magazine Jagtar Singh Sidhu also participated in the
celebrations.
