Whoever said culture is dead among today's youth will have to swallow his/her words, punctuation and all, if the 'Yuva Utsava' being held at Hyderabad Youth Hostel is anything to go by. This is an expansive display of talent and co-ordination that would make even the most professional of troupes stand up and applause.
This competition has been going on for the past many years, now, and in Hyderabad for the past eight years. For those of you who don't quite realize what I'm talking about, this is as big as it gets. Yes folks, we're talking the national level. But that is still some time away to be held in Ahmedabad, next April. Actually, this competition is a prelude to Swami Vivekananda's birthday celebrations. Youngsters from all over the country participate and these people are selected from a state level competition, and that is what we are witnessing here, at the Youth Hostel. This event started off on the 25th and goes on till the 28th.
Organized jointly by the Directorate of Youth Services, Government of Andhra Pradesh and Nehru Yuva Kendra of the Hyderabad District, this event has brought under one roof, youth from all over the district and the state, from as far as Vishakhapatnam and Adilabad to name just a few. As Mr Satyanarayan Rao, the honorary Executive Director of Youth Services, later explained to this writer, importance is primarily lent to culture and the essence of art.
The event is divided into two parts - the competition and the exhibition. In the first, we have events such as instrumental, classical, one act plays, folk dance, folk music and elocution. Most of the events here are have a heavy and a rather high standard of participation. Especially popular are elocution and folk dance. The exhibition features local handicrafts and such arts like Impression cards and photography.
The events that may still be caught are the elocution and the one-act-play that are to be held on the last day of the event, which leads to the final prize distribution ceremony and the announcement of the results. From this a 75-member strong team will be selected to represent the state in the National edition.
The enthusiasm and the show of cultural and folk art by the youth of the state is quite remarkable and must be seen to be believed. Details in costume and picture perfect co-ordination were the hallmark of every group, and the judges, who happen to be all stalwarts of their given fields, are having a tough time weighing the performances.
We invite all those who still believe that the youth is being led astray from their culture by the gild and glamour of this fast-moving Cyberabad... they are only to drop in at the Youth Hostel to find the truth out for themselves.