A message of peace

Staff Cor - NDTV - New Delhi, India

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

It was a musical treat for the people of Jammu, as Sufi singer Rabbi Shergil mesmerized an audience of over 2000 people with his hit number at the biggest auditorium of the state.

General Zorawar Singh auditorium, built at a cost of Rs 20 crore, was thrown open just last week in Jammu university.

The singer had a message of peace for the people of the violence-hit state who virtually scrambled to get a glimpse of the programme. "Today, I come and see that this city has a heart, no bomb explosions, no sectarian strife, nothing can ever slow down these people," said Shergill.

The state has remained in news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past but it was an occasion to showcase a more peaceful face of Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of the world.

"Those people who live in Delhi and south feel scared about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Such programmes will give them an impression that situation is good and they can come and spend there vacations here," said Viny Gupta, an audience.

After the eruption of militancy 17 years back, most outlets of entertainment in the state were closed down but now such events are giving more exposure to the locals. They cannot help but ask for holding of more such events in the future in other regions of the state, where people are still living under shadow of violence.

"Rabbi Shergill's coming to Jammu is a great thing in itself, because he's a Sufi singer and he's given a message of peace in his songs, it was a peaceful thing and such events should be held more frequently," said Prashansa, student.

People of Jammu had a great time and they hope this won't just be a one off event and events like these will be held more frequently in the city so that Jammu in deed becomes a more vibrant place.