KalingaTV News Network
By Tazeen Qureshy
Bhubaneswar: A bunch of children in the garb of famous personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa walk deftly as the other group from Nepal and Australia smile while taking selfies. In another corner of the long rally are children playing and dancing. The onlookers stop a while to take a look at the carnival that is going on in the middle of the road stretching from Master Canteen Square to Rajmahal. What many onlookers failed to realise is most of the children participating in the long rally were ‘differently-abled.’
The 16th edition of the Anjali International Children’s Festival began on November 14, Children’s Day. Like every year, a carnival march was held till Adivasi Ground, the venue of the Festival. It was inaugurated by Odisha Governor Dr. SC Jamir.
Started by Dr. Shruti Mohapatra, the Festival brings differently-abled children from across the country and a few international ones together on one platform. Over the course of the Festival, the children are given training on various activities and given a
platform to showcase their talent. Several renowned groups and personalities also attend the program. Students of different schools visit them and are given a peek into their lives.
Theme of this year’s festival is ‘Superheroes’. As many as 7,000 participants of 54 teams including three foreign teams from Australia, Nepal and Afghanistan will be participating in this five-day grand event.
The Anjali International Children’s Festival would conclude on November 18.
Ms Kalinga