Mangalore basks in Youth Festival buzz

The Hindu, Udayavani

• Participants gather information about beaches, temples

 

Mangalore, 11 Jan 2012: “Where is the nearby beach?” This was the common question on the lips of many delegates participating in the National Youth Festival, which begins on January 12. They wanted to know the distance between Mangalore and Goa. A few were keen on knowing the places in the city that they can visit.

 

 

“It was 24-hour long journey from Ahmedabad. We just want to spend some time at the beach and recharge ourselves,” said Nishant Patel, a member of the team from Gujarat. Kinjal Desai, also from Gujarat, wanted information about places they can visit. While hearing about places such as Gokarnanatheshwara temple, Ms. Desai said: “How far is the Mangaladevi temple? I have read about it on the website,” she said.

 

For many of the delegates, this was the first time they were visiting Karnataka. “It is not only a big opportunity for you all but also for us. Nice to be in this pleasant weather,” said Rashmi Goswamy from Rajasthan. She, along with 10 others had to endure a 31-hour train journey to reach Mangalore. “Mangalore Central (station) is bad, but the city is good,” said Gopalkrishna Bharadwaj, another team member from Rajasthan. “The winter here is good. The temperature at our place is 2 degrees Celsius,” said Ms. Goswamy’s teammate Rahul Tanwar.

 

Many delegates from other States arrived in the city on Tuesday and have been lodged at different centres. They were all at the T.M.A. Pai Hall in the city to have lunch and complete the registration and other formalities.

 

 

The delegates were impressed with the accommodation and lunch. There were a few who complained about the distance between their place of accommodation and the venue. “It takes nearly an hour to reach this place from the (Mangalore) University, where we have been lodged. We will be hardly left with any time to practise,” said Kshiti Prakash, a Hindustani vocalist from Odisha.

 

Students from different colleges of the city had been guiding the delegates at the T.M.A. Pai Hall and other boarding centres. “We are yet to make friends,” said Rajan, a student from Sri Narayanaguru College. He said the organisers had instructed them to advise the delegates against swimming in the sea.

 

Final touches

On Tuesday, final touches were being given to the stage and seating arrangements at the Mangala Stadium, where the festival will start on Thursday. Preparations are in full swing at the Karavali exhibition grounds where the food court has come up for the delegates. It will host a handicrafts exhibition and non-competitive events.