Seven distinguished personalities honoured; theatrical performances captivate audience
Lucknow, Nov 2026 : As part of the 61-year-old tradition of Ramanuj Laxman Deepotsav, associated with the religious and cultural identity of Laxmanpuri, a cultural evening and felicitation ceremony was organised at Laxman Udyan on Saturday.
The event, organised by the Shiv Singh Saroj Memorial Committee, paid tribute to Lord Laxman and Lord Hanuman while bringing together literature, folk art and India’s rich cultural traditions. Professor Harishankar Mishra presided over the programme. Member of the Legislative Council Pawan Singh Chauhan, Director of the Language Institute Sarvesh Kumar Singh, and former Assistant Director of the Directorate of Industries, Uttar Pradesh, Suryabhanu Singh Gautam, attended as special guests.
The programme was organised by the Shiv Singh Saroj Memorial Committee and Krishna Pratap Vidyavindu Lokhit Trust, with the support of the Department of Culture, Uttar Pradesh, and the Lucknow Development Authority. Seven distinguished personalities were presented with the Maa Urmila Laxman Awards.
Mrs Archana Satish and Satish Grover received the Maa Urmila Laxman Ideal Couple Award; Rajesh Singh was honoured with the Laxman Heritage Conservation Award; Professor Bharti Singh received the Maa Urmila Sahitya Ratna; Dr Karuna Pandey was presented with the Lok Kala Ratna; Dr Rashmi Sheel received the Awadhi Ratna; Neera Mishra was honoured with the Folk Singing Award; and Dr Anuradha Pandey 'Anvi' received the Kavya Ratna Award.
The cultural evening featured performances of Ganesh Vandana, conch-shell blowing, expressive dance based on the Ramayana, folk songs and poetic tributes, captivating the audience. Swasti Singh presented Ganesh Vandana, while Yuvraj Singh and Jyoti Singh performed the conch-shell recital. Suhani Singh, Shamila Prajapati, Aadya Srivastava, Aadya, Aastha Singh, Aastha Yadav and Namasvi participated in the expressive dance performances. Dr Rachna Srivastava recited an excerpt from the epic Laxman Mahakavya, written by Shiv Singh Saroj.
Dramatic presentations based on works by Dr Vidya Bindu Singh — Lachhiman Devra Vipatiya Ka Nayak (Sita Gatha) and Anyay Nahin Hone Doongi — were among the major attractions of the event. The first play was directed by Anupama Sharad, while the second was directed by Dr Vidya Bindu Singh, Kiran Yadav and Ayushi Gupta.
The plays featured performances by Chaitanya Srivastava, Manas Vajpayee, Jai Kaunteya, Achyut Vajpayee, Sonal Sharma, Harshita Arya, Rishita Prajapati, Sachin Maurya, Nandini Rawat, Mahi Maurya, Jaya Rawat, Akash, Vivek and Ravi.
The folk-singing segment was directed by Professor Sangeeta Shukla, with participation from Dr Apoorva Awasthi, Dr Anuradha Pandey, Geetika, Kalpana Upreti, Smita Tiwari and Poonam Tripathi. Lalit Chandra Bhatt accompanied the singers on the harmonium, while Anil Godiya played the dholak.
Through these performances, the organisers effectively conveyed messages drawn from the Ramayana, including Sita’s struggles, child welfare and the need to raise one's voice against injustice.
Senior folk singer Padma Gidwani, Vimal Pant, Lok Sanskriti Shodh Sansthan president Engineer Jitesh Srivastava, Dr Sudha Dwivedi, Dr S.K. Gopal and Anand Prakash Shukla were among the prominent attendees.
Engineer Sunil Kumar Bajpai conducted the programme, while the organisation’s General Secretary, Mrs Rama Singh, proposed the vote of thanks.
The event concluded with the offering of a ceremonial lamp tribute to the idol of Lord Laxman. Pandit Rakesh Kumar Tiwari performed the worship rituals, followed by the aarti and distribution of prasad.
