By Brij Khandelwal

Mathura, Apr 3 (IANS): The long neglected Parsauli village, the "Sadhna sthali" of the blind bard of Braj Bhasha Soor Das for 75 years, will come alive as efforts initiated by BJP MP and veteran actress Hema Malini start yielding fruits.

Hema Malini has drawn up plans to popularise the notable contribution of the Bhakti movement poets like Soor Das and Mian Ras Khan, according to Mathura's culture-critic and activist Ashok Bansal who presented the actress-turned-politician his documentary.

Bansal told IANS that Soor Das had written more than lakh poems (pads) while living in the Parsauli village.

Many have been sung in films by Lata, Asha, Jagjit, even MS. In his poems, Soor Das has meticulously described the frolics and pranks of Sri Krishna as a child.

Hema Malini who recently visited Parsauli, said a three day long festival with Maha Raas, would be held in Parsauli village which has a beautiful pond surrounded by dense mangrove. A number of Bollywood artistes will be collaborating.

The MP was accompanied by Shekhar Sen and art director Salim Arif.

The initiative is being supported by the Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad, headed by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Hema Malini said she had a plan to build open air theatres and auditoriums at the important Shri Krishna shrines in the Braj Mandal area, that includes Nandgaon, Barsana, Gokul, Vrindavan, Goverdhan and Radha Kund.

Bansal said such programmes regularly staged would enable millions of Sri Krishna devotees to savour and soak into the "prem and Bhakti Ras", round the year.

If people can throng William Shakespeare's birth place Stratford-on-Avon, why can't sites associated with our great poets like Soor Das, Tulsi Das or Kali Das be developed, asked Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.