Author: Arijit Bose

Lucknow: The 61st Ramlila Festival organised by the Shri Ramlila Samiti, Mahanagar, began on Wednesday with Ganesh Puja and Mangalacharan. The opening day witnessed captivating performances depicting the birth of Lord Ram and the slaying of demoness Tadka, drawing enthusiastic responses from the audience. Samiti general secretary Hem Pant said the opening day featured several episodes, including the dialogue between King Dasharath and Sage Vashishtha, the birth celebrations of Lord Ram and Sita, Tadka Vadh, Ahilya Uddhar and the Pushp Vatika episode. The atmosphere came alive as the devotional song…

Lucknow: A special Navratri satsang and Kanya Pujan ceremony for 150 girls will be organised under the leadership of Sapna Goyal on October 19, 2026, on the occasion of Navami. The programme will be held in two phases, combining religious rituals, devotional singing, a community feast and a spiritual message on the significance of Navratri. The first phase will take place at Pratishtha Shri Parmanand Hari Har Temple on Deva Road, where havan, puja and kirtan will be performed, followed by a bhandara. The second phase will be organised at…

Lucknow: The English Literary Association of Navayug (ELAN) organised an open mic competition at Navayug Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Rajendra Nagar, providing students with a platform to showcase their creativity, literary interests and communication skills. A total of 21 students from different faculties participated in the event. The programme was conducted by Dr Reema Chhabra. The jury comprised Major Dr Manmeet Kaur Sodhi and Professor Manjula Yadav. College principal and programme patron Professor Manjula Upadhyay encouraged students to develop independent opinions on political and social issues, cultivate reading habits and remain aware…

Lucknow: Rivayat Lucknow Gharana Dance and Music Academy organised a cultural evening titled ‘Nritya Naad’ at the Kalka-Bindadin Deorhi in Kaiserbagh, Lucknow, celebrating the city’s rich Kathak tradition and the enduring guru-shishya parampara. The programme was organised by Ekta Mishra, a disciple of the late Pandit Arjun Mishra. It began with a felicitation honouring senior guru Rameshwari Mishra, popularly known as Munni Mishra, daughter of the late Pandit Shambhu Maharaj. The opening performance featured Pandit Ram Mohan Maharaj alongside his daughters, Ekta and Ankita Mishra, presenting the Shiva stuti ‘Angikam’…

Lucknow: The Akhil Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal will launch a campaign to ensure that the proposed 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions is not implemented, the organisation’s national president and former Uttar Pradesh minister, Sandeep Bansal, said at a traders’ conference in the Para area of Lucknow. Bansal said the Union government had temporarily deferred the proposed charge, but the organisation would continue to press for a permanent decision against its implementation. Its office-bearers would approach Union ministers and the Prime Minister to present the concerns of traders.…