Singer and Bharat Ratna awardee Lata Mangeshkar, Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman and sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik have given their backing to the nationwide talent competitions meant to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.
On Sunday, the three celebrities digitally introduced the competitions announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his ‘Mann ki Baat’ address a week ago, saying that the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav must be filled with colours of art, culture, songs and music.”
While Ms. Mangeshkar used the social media to introduce a competition to write Deshbhakti Geet or patriotic songs, Mr. Rahman introduced the competition to write Lori songs or lullabies. Mr. Pattnaik introduced a rangoli competition.
Entries opened for public participation on Sunday. Detailed guidelines are available at amritmahotsav.nic.in. Competitions will be held from the tehsil and taluka level, right up to the national level as part of a #UnityInCreativity initiative, said a Culture Ministry statement.
