Thank you Hindu Council of Kenya {HCK} and India in Kenya (High Commission of India, Nairobi) for giving me the platform to not just perform but also to manage the “Hindi Divas” event.

My concept of ‘ Zindagi ka safar’ though retitled as “Jeevan Sangeet “ with the immense support of my poet friends Sarika Falor, Nav Nidhi Gupta, Sarita Sharma, Shilpi Bisaria, Dr. Anjali Bajaj, Dr. Mahendra Chouhan, Renu Shivali, Vinay Rathi ji and singers Sanjay Oberai, Shweta Cheenu, Pinki Kaul, Prachi Gupta and Vaishali Whavale ji was very successful and much liked by the audience. Our musician trio were excellent too and added life to the poetry.

Special thanks to the Chairperson of Hindu Council of Kenya Sujatha Kotamraju Ji for her thought of holding an event to honor हिन्दी साहित्य (Hindi Sahitya) and trusting me with the planning and to Sarika Falor Ji for her precious input in adding poets and also composing the काव्यावली ( Kavyavali) with assistance from NavNidhi, Shilpi and myself.

Kavyavali was a new concept: not a kavita, not a qawali but a link of a poetic debate of the old and new concepts of life without using Urdu effects. The term was my own creation and I feel proud of the main singers Anjali and Sarita and the chorus teams .

Thank you to respected Deputy High Commissioner Rohit Ji for inviting us to perform our event at Apa Pant Auditorium as Hindi Divas and his team at the Indian High Commission for all the support extended to us. I hereby acknowledge Aditya Ji, Kapil Kesari ji, Nand Kishor ji for understanding our requirements for the event and obliging us.

Dr. Mahendra’s screen presentation was par excellence and I am thankful to the time he gave us despite his busy work schedule.

Sujata ji stunned the audience and her own team members with her flawless vote of thanks in शुद्ध हिन्दी भाषा.

Monica Gokaldas