Iskcon recently held a unique event, titled Vatsalya, to provide women in the City with a platform to showcase their talents.

The three-day festival was also aimed at encouraging women to understand India’s rich culture and its myriad forms of traditional arts. The event also gave the participants a chance to appreciate the ancient Vedic art. The contest saw a record turnout — some 13,000 women participating in an array of colourful events such as Rangoli, painting, vocal and instrumental music, pushpa alankara, group singing, musical concert, essay writing, costumes display and cookery.

The key objective of the event was to bridge the cultural divide in today’s world and turn the spotlight on the splendid cultural heritage of India. A panel of judges evaluated the performances and the winners were announced the following day.

Veena Nagaraj and Vani Harish won top prizes for the music concert contest and Asha Upadhyaya, Harini P R and Prameela Harish won prizes for the cookery competition.

Instrumental music was dominated by Bhargavi and Vasavi, while Sree Vidya Sudha walked away with the honours in group singing.

The competition in pushpa alankara or flower arrangement was won by Mamatha N Swamy.

Proving her artistic skills, V Latha and Soumya Umesh bagged top prizes in painting (water colour).

Mamatha N Swamy again put up a good show in the Rangoli (solo) contest and was adjudged the winner. In the Rangoli (group) contest, the winners were Uma S J, Ashwini Nagraj and Mrudula Om Prakash.

Established in 1966 by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada), the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) has emerged as a key spiritual centre.


http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec302005/Metro%20Friday1343120051229.asp