By Shobha Rao Smilemaker
Dec 29: In school, I would always be in awe about the adventurous activities of my friends who had join the Bharat Scouts and Guides division when for the first time I had heard about their celebratory get togethers called Jamborees.
It was an honour for the Alvas campus in Moodbidri Karnataka to be chosen as the venue for the first ever International Cultural Jamboree. Since India is a country with a rich and diverse cultural heritage, this was a great opportunity to showcase our local South Kanara district culture, to the whole world.
At the entrance gate itself I noticed the excellent parking arrangements and got a feel of the huge 'behind the scenes mega planning effort' that was put to organize this week long event from 21st to 27th December 2022 on such a large scale.
We were welcomed by larger than life statutes depicting our local culture like Yakshagana artists, bhoota Kola performers and more. The pulsating energy of the hordes of youngsters made it feel great to be a part of this amazing enthusiastic environment.
In the ground floor of main hall was the science exhibition or Vigyana Mela, held to reinforce the scientific attitude among the young generation. Here many projects made by the students were displayed. Our premier Space Institution ISRO's achievements were also showcased here. The aviation exhibition with a variety of miniature aircraft models was truly an exciting place to be. The fish tanks in the next room also had a lot of curious onlookers. They even had a mini planetarium which was a first time experience of the feel of the universe for most of the participants who had came some small villages or towns!
On the upper floors was the book exhibition or Pustaka Mela with a wide exposure to different types of books. Such places become a great opportunity to rekindle and develop the reading habit among the younger generations.
There were continuous sessions of cultural performances in different venues across the sprawling campus like the Nudisiri Vedike, Palace grounds, KV Subbanna Bayaloor Ranga Mandira or Dr. V.S. Acharya Sabanganna. It was a pleasure to listen to the soothing classing music concerts in in the background. I noticed that people of all ages were really enjoying the Yakshagana or the Bharatnatyam dance performances held in the various venues. The larger than life statues in local costumes added to the colourful ambience of the place.
From the hill top I appreciated the huge grounds where the massive crowds had attended the closing ceremony on the last day. I had to miss the art exhibition or the Kala Mela due to paucity of time and the fact that most of the exhibits were being wrapped up on this last day. It was a great platform to encourage artists, painters, photographers, cartoonists etc. I heard people raving about the grand crystal salt rangolis, the paintings and the amazing photographs displayed there. In the nearby area, they had recreated the forest experience, complete with wild animal installations, caves, bridges with an option to go trekking too. One day was not enough to get the whole variety of experiences in this International Cultural Jamboree.
I walked down the hill to watch the Horticultural show which was another favourite spot for clicking selfies in front of the variety of flower decorations. I was also amazed to see the vegetable gardens, especially the giant sized bottle gourds. We just had to purchase some seeds and plants from the many nursery stalls set up here.
The agriculticulture exhibition or Krishi Mela was another highlight of the jambooree where the youngsters were exposed to modern methods of agriculture to make them understand the importance of agriculture in daily life.
I was truly impressed by the display of the large amounts of food items like grains, oils, spices, vegetables donated by the locals for the event where free food was cooked throughout the day for around 1 lakh people in the day including volunteers, exhibition holders, and for the large number of day visitors too.
The 50000 outstation participants and their 10000 teachers staying in the 36 hostels had only praises for all the impeccable arrangements to make their stay comfortable. Imagine what a unique experience this would be for out of Karnataka visitors or for the delegates from 10 countries around the world!
There was an abundance of food stalls selling a wide variety of delicious items at the food exhibition or the Aahara Mela. We walked through another shopping section where there were stalls selling other consumer goods too.
This Jambooree experience at Moodbidri was fully expressive of their theme - 'Culture for Youth Solidarity'. It was a pleasure to see the youth of the future getting new knowledge about our way of life and being sensitized towards our cultural differences. The values of peace, tolerance and solidarity was clearly present among the youth.
As I bid goodbye to the sprawling colourfully lit up Alvas campus from the main road, I gave a silent prayer and blessings to the huge team of organizers for giving this like changing opportunity to all the stakeholders. I felt that this jamboree experience would have surely created lifelong unforgettable memories for all those who were privileged to attend this mega-cultural event in our very own South Kanara district of Karnataka.
Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.