Srinagar: The annual cultural and literary festival of the University of Kashmir—Sonzal 2021—concluded on Tuesday.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmad presided over the valedictory function, where Inspector General of Police Kashmir Mr Vijay Kumar was the chief guest and Registrar Dr Nisar Ahmad a guest of honour.
In his presidential address, Prof Talat congratulated the students who participated in various literary, art, and cultural competitions.
He said the university is organising another Sonzal festival in October this year to enable more students from universities outside the Jammu & Kashmir to participate in various competitions.
“It is through these festivals that students are able to share their ideas with each other and also showcase their talent,” he said, congratulating the DSW for organising the festival continuously since 2008.
In his special address, Mr Vijay Kumar said participation of young students in sports and cultural events is a reflection of their desire to evolve as multi-dimensional personalities.
Appreciating the University of Kashmir for organising the Sonzal-2021 with participation of a huge number of students, Mr Kumar said it’s important for students to debate various pressing social issues like drug abuse and come up with solutions to help address the same.
Kumar also shared with students his experiences as a police officer, asserting that the police is an integral part of the society and the police-public relation has to be both friendly and strong.
Registrar Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir assured the university’s full support to endeavours like Sonzal, which enable young students from colleges and universities to come to a common platform to share their ideas and develop a culture of healthy competition.
He said the university’s various departments are working closely to develop a strong linkage with the society by making interventions in addressing some pressing social and environmental concerns.
Dean Students Welfare Prof Raies A Qadri gave an overview of various competitions held during the week-long festival, which is a widely-appreciated annual feature of the DSW.
Asserting that more than 1500 students participated in various events during this Sonzal, Prof Qadri thanked the university authorities for their support to various academic and literary activities undertaken by the office of DSW.
Cultural Officer Shahid Ali Khan conducted proceedings of the glittering valedictory session, which, among others, was attended by top university academics, officers and functionaries including Prof Showket A Shah, Prof GN Khaki, Dr Tabassum Firdous, Prof Peerzada Irshad A Shah, Prof Taraek A Rather, Prof M Hussain and Mr Nasir Mirza. Senior police officers including SP Hazratbal Mr Irshad Ahmad, SDPO Hazratbal Mr Musadiq Basu and SHO Nigeen Mr Gowhar also attended the valedictory session, where students showcased their performances in various forms of art and singing.
The Vice-Chancellor, IGP, Registrar and DSW—who earlier also went around a student art gallery—later distributed three merit and two consolation prizes each among the winners of 23 competitions held in the events including Debate, Elocution, Poetry Recitation, Painting, Poster, Collage-Making, Cartoon-Making, Clay-Modelling, Traditional Calligraphy, Contemporary Calligraphy, Mehandi Design, Bollywood singing, Ghazal singing, Western vocals, Kashmiri folk singing, Kashmiri instrumental, Sufayan instrumental, Classical instrumental, Western instrumental, Standup Comedy, Mimicry, Mime and Monologue. Experts who acted as judges during these competitions were presented with mementos.
