Sikkim Governor Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil on Saturday asked people to follow the teachings and directions of Sant Namdev for the betterment of the society. “Bhagat Namdev Ji gave the right direction to our society and we should adopt it,” he said while addressing a gathering on the second day of 88th edition of the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (ABMSS) here. The three-day fest began here on Friday. It is being organised for the first time in northern part of the country. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were present in this event. Saint Namdev, who hailed from Maharashtra, was an important saint of the Bhakti movement. He is believed to have spent the last years of his life at Ghuman, a nondescript village, located about 260 km from Chandigarh. His 61 shabads were included in Guru Granth Sahib, a holy scripture of the Sikhs.
On the second day (Saturday), a seminar on ‘Sant Sahit, Mandira Vich Hi Kyo, Vivhar Vich Kyu Nahi' was organised. Prominent speakers lalit Adhane, Bal Kulkarni and Sanjay Kumar Karandikar discussed about the life of Bhagat Namdev. The entire Ghuman village in Gurdaspur district has been given the look of mini Maharashtra. Special cultural programmes were being organised with participants getting a chance to see Punjabi folk songs, folk instruments, folk dances. Folk dance of Maharashtra “Rangra” and Naritya Bani were also performed. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday mourned the demise of two persons who came from Maharashtra to attend the event.
A Chief Minister Office spokesperson said Arvind Kulkarni from Nagpur and Krishanaji Ambatkar from Pune passed away at Ghuman village following a massive cardiac arrest. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister described this incident as extremely unfortunate and shocking. He shared his heart felt sympathies with the members of the bereaved families.