Nagpur: To mark the 23rd foundation day of the world-famous Dragon Palace Temple at Kamptee, a three-day Dragon Palace Festival has been organised from November 8 to November 10. During the festival, various social, religious, and cultural programmes have been organised, said Adv Sulekha Kumbhare, former Minister of State and chief of Dragon Palace Temple.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Adv Kumbhare said that the festival would be inaugurated by Sudhir Mungantiwar, Forest and Cultural Affairs Minister of Maharashtra. For the first time, the Cultural Affairs Department of Maharashtra Government has extended co-operation towards organising the festival. Noted playback singer Sandesh Vitthal Umap will present Buddha and Bheem Geet programme at 6.30 pm on inaugural evening.
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Thursday 16 Jan. 2025
A concert of renowned singer Vaishali Made is scheduled to be held at 6.30 pm on November 10. A special ‘Buddha Vandana’ and ‘Dhammadesana’ has been organised in presence of Bhikkhu Sangh on November 8 at 10.30 am. Bhadant Mahapant, BhadantVinayrakkhita, Bhadant Gyanjyoti, Bhadant Gyanbodhi, Bhadant Dr Shilvansh, Bhadant Gyandeep, Bhadant Nandvardhan, Bhadant Nagdipankar, Bhadant Mettanand, Bhadant Nandita, Bhadant Jyotibodhi, Bhadant Nandmitra, Bhadant Paggabadra, Bhadant Dhammapriya, Bhadant Sanghpriya and others will be present prominently.
Adv Kumbhare will offer ‘Bhojandaan’ and ‘Kathin Chivardaan’ to the monks. Bhikshu Sangh from Japan will participate in the event through video-conferencing. Between 12.30 pm and 4 pm, cultural programmes will be presented by artists from Dragon International School, Hardas Vidyalaya, Dance Web Crave Group, Priyadarshan Group, and others. Pravin Bhivgade, who has to his credit record for singing non-stop for 100 hours, and other artists will present ‘Buddha hi Buddha’ programme at 6.30 pm on November 9.
An exhibition has been organised during the festival. It will remain open for visitors from 11.30 am to 7 pm. Various departments/agencies including MSME Development, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Handloom, Textiles, women’s self-help groups, voluntary organisations will participate in the exhibition. When Devendra Fadnavis was Chief Minister, the Maharashtra Government had approved the development plan for the International Buddhist Theme Park and Convention Centre at Dragon Palace Temple. However, Adv Kumbhare stated, the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government that followed did not make available funds. Now, with a change of guard and Fadnavis becoming Deputy Chief Minister, the temple would get funds for development, she added.
