The Phulpur township of Uttar Pradesh reverberated with unprecedented cooperative bonhomie when the week-long celebrations of the 11th Inter Unit Cultural Festival (IUCF-2023) of the IFFCO family came to a glorifying close on Saturday evening.
And to lend josh and festivity to, perhaps the first cooperative cultural program in the country, IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi along with his wife Mrs Rekha Awasthi landed in the otherwise sleepy town of Prayagraj in the afternoon.
The evening saw a fierce competition among performers to beat each other, as scintillating programs, one after the other were presented before the audience comprising not only the IFFCO Phulpur Unit but also the rest of the Units including Aonla, Kandala, Kalol, Paradeep and a team from the IFFCO Headquarters.
The excitement turned uncontrollable when IFFCO MD announced the name of IUCF winner 2023, bagged by the host, the IFFCO Phulpur. Women and kids, boys and girls ran to the dais almost in a frenzy when the name was announced. A prize of Rs three lakh goes with the award. The IFFCO HO was declared Runner up with a prize money of Rs 2 lakh.
Awasthi also announced several other prizes. Two Shreshtha and two SarvaShreshtha winners were also announced. Isha Patel from Phulpur and Aliba Mandal from the IFFCO Paradeep were declared Shrestha awardees while Anjani Kumar Mishra and Kandala Unit’s Mehak Jadeja were declared SarvShreshth winners. The IFFCO Pradeep was also announced Best Disciplined Team bagging a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. MD had something for everyone as he also blessed a young boy who designed the logo for the IUCF-2023 with an award of Rs 15k.
Some of the programs presented on this occasion included a brilliant performance by Mehak Jadeja showcasing different forms and moods of the Goddess Durga. The dramatization of Mahabharat, Jatra and what is known as “Sanatani 5G” by Kalol Unit were captivating. The Phulpur Unit presented a dramatization of Rabindranath Tagore’s Geetanjali and Ras Nritya depicting Radha and Krishna on the occasion. The crescendo of The Ras Leela was reached when participants rushed down from the stage to the audience and began to shower flowers on them. Awasthi and his wife soon got drowned with petals, presenting a unique scene.
The show was indeed satisfying for the participants as they had put in more than two months rehearsing their
performances. More than a thousand IFFCO family members were camping in Phulpur with Unit Head Sanjay Kudesia and his wife Vinita Kudesia taking care of them with a profound sense of hospitality. The two got a special gift from MD and his wife as a token of appreciation for making the event a huge success.
On the occasion the IFFCO MD also spoke but not as the MD but as the Head of the family. Ignoring formalities for the evening, Awasthi talked informally and frankly as if he were talking to his family members.
Talking about the role of art and culture in life, Awasthi recalled his first visit to the IFFCO Phulpur unit in 1995, soon after he had taken over. “You all know Phulpur Unit was not peaceful at that time and then the idea came to me that we should hold cultural events to unify the family”, said Awasthi adding that the first IUCF took place in Kalol. He said when we move ahead in life we should not look back.
Awasthi also narrated several anecdotes from his life including his interaction with Dwakadish Shakarcharya who told him how Nanoparticles have played a role in the development of the earth. The Earth might have been born from the Planet but its growth was ensured by the activities of Nanoparticles, said Awasthi obliquely hinting at the Nano fertilizer saga of IFFCO family.
Sharing some secrets from his life on the occasion Awasthi said his books do not contain some facts which are too sensitive. “I have left them with my younger sister asking them to publish if she feels like later”, said Awasthi narrating an experience with a President of a South African country where he left the dinner midway when the latter suddenly turned critical towards India. “Do whatever you feel like but never ever allow anybody to condemn our nation that is India”, said Awasthi to the employees of IFFCO.
Awasthi’s books were also discussed as Kudesia and some others read from them and explained how some paragraphs could show them the path in times of difficulties. S K Singh and Mallika Srivastava presented the program admirably. The evening ended with groups after groups scrambling to have photo ops with Awasthi and his wife. Awasthi also announced that the next IUCF would take place in Paradeep.
