London, Jan 16: International Dogra Society (IDS) hosted the J&K winter harvest festival ‘Lohri’ in London on January 14. The function, the first event post-Covid-19, showcased Jammu & Dogra traditions to the fullest including bonfire, tricholi, chajja’s, Dogri Lohri songs as well as Lohri haar – a necklace for newborn and newly-wedded couples.
During the function, a thoughtful musical tribute was given to Padamshri Padma Sachdev (Bobboji). Lalit Sharma, Founder & Director International Dogra Society spoke about the late Padma Sachdev’s crucial contribution towards promoting the Dogri language & culture, and for bringing Dogri as a language to the world map.
Lalit fondly mentioned the story of how Padma Sachdev requested Lata Mangeshkar ji to sing her Dogri songs and made them eternal. Poonam Bhandari from Norwich, UK beautifully sang the famous Lori (lullaby) “Tu malla tu, log pannan thikariyan” written by Padma ji and sung by Lataji.
Virendera Sharma, Member of Parliament, Ealing & Southal graced the occasion as the chief guest and addressed the gathering talking about beautiful Jammu & Kashmir and the importance of keeping our culture alive specially abroad. He lauded the excellent effort by the team of the International Dogra Society in showcasing the unique cultural heritage of Jammu.
The function was supported and attended by Kashmiri Pandits in large numbers along with Dogra’s living in the UK countrywide who travelled to London specially for the event, and the Indian Diaspora in London.
