Notwithstanding the political heat in Telangana, the ‘Alai Balai’ event, promoted by Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, has come as a huge relief with political rivals from almost all the parties sharing the dais that reflected the true spirit of Telangana and the bonhomie among them was all evident.
Interestingly, the get-together, organised a day after the Dasara festival every year since 2005 by Mr. Dattatreya comes a day after the Chief Minister and TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced the Bharata Rashtra Samiti (BRS) as an alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level.
The presence of popular filmstar Chiranjeevi, who played the drums and danced a bit before joining the dais, provided yet another positive element to the programme held at Exhibition Grounds.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, former Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Rajya Sabha member K. Lakshman, TRS secretary general K. Keshava Rao, BJP MLA Etala Rajender, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri, TJS president Kodandaram, TRS MLA Muta Gopal, senior Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao were among those who attended, apart from people from various walks of life. Mr. Dattatreya's daughter Vijaya Lakshmi organised the event and personally welcomed everyone.
Mr. Chiranjeevi was the cynosure of all eyes as the participants vied with each other to take pictures with him. At one time, well-known religious and spiritual speaker Garikapati Narsimha Rao was forced to stop his speech and request Mr. Chiranjeevi to stop the photo session as it was disturbing the speakers.
The actor apologised and later praised the get-together as a true reflection of Telangana culture and worth emulating everywhere. Political views apart, everyone was a part of this society and such meets only promote affection among different communities which the Indian culture is all about.
People who were part of the separate Telangana movement of 1969 and personalities associated with education, culture, and music were felicitated on the occasion. The rich culture of Telangana was presented as artistes displayed various forms of songs, dance and musical instruments.
