MP district to celebrate its ‘Gaurav Diwas’ on Aug 4

Bhopal : The district administration in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh has decided to celebrate the ‘Gaurav Diwas’ on the occasion of birth anniversary of legendary singer and film actor, Kishore Kumar on August 4.

Kumar, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most dynamic singers in the history of Indian music, was born on August 4, 1929, at a village in Khandwa district, which is nearly 255 km from the state capital Bhopal.

The decision in this regard was taken after a consensus among local elected representatives and a proposal to observe Khandwa’s Gaurav Diwas on August 4 has been sent to Indore Divisional Commissioner for further consideration and approval, a senior state government official told IANS on Sunday.

The idea of observing the Gaurav Diwas as the birthday of each village and town was initiated by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Earlier in January, Chouhan announced that the birthday of each village and town in Madhya Pradesh should be celebrated as the Gaurav Diwas.

During a meeting with District Collectors and the representatives of gram panchayats, the Chief Minister has appealed that every village panchayat and towns should decide a particular date to celebrate the occasion.

He has said gram panchayats or the district administration can fix a particular date for this purpose, coinciding with the heritage, historical or famous personality belonging to a particular area etc.

The aim of the initiative is to connect people with their roots, bring them back to their villages and cities so that they can contribute to the development of their ancestral places, Chouhan added.

A large number of Kishore Kumar’s fans visit Khandwa every year on August 4 to pay tributes at his memorial in the town, and some even make offerings of ‘doodh jalebi’, which was the singer’s favourite dish.

Kumar spent his childhood years in Khandwa before shifting to Mumbai and died in October 1987.