NAGPUR: Rendition of ghazals written by the late Wamandada Kardak, led by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, coordinator Sanjay Mohad , marked the third day of Buddha Festival , organized by Nagpur Buddhist Centre at Deekshabhoomi from February 22-26, here on Saturday. This is the seventh year of the festival. Mohad and his team sang ten ghazals written by the revered poet."All of Wamandada's songs are human centred, focusing on upliftment from all angles — cultural, religious and economical. He gave importance to interests of a person and also highlighted constitutional values through his songs. He shared a bond with Babasaheb Ambedkar; so much so, that his songs were a reflection of Ambedkar's speeches. He has written over 10,000 qualitative songs in his lifetime," Mohad said.Mohad was accompanied by Pankaj Shirbhate on violin, Praful Kale on tabla, Pravin Lihitkar on guitar, Shrikant Pise on harmonium and Jaydeep Jamdhade on Swarmandal, a small harp. They began by performing 'Trisaran panchasheel' in Bhup raag, followed by 'Budhasavech ba bhima' in Charukeshi raag. All the songs were a blend of Hindi and Marathi ghazals, and the assembly of visitors filled the lawns of the venue.Earlier in the morning, a Buddhist film festival was held for the first time at the Buddha festival. Sajata, a movie revolving around the caste system in India directed by Bimol Roy; Dhaulgiri Shanti Stupa, a documentary describing Dhauli hill and Daya river directed by Neerad Mohapatra; Samskara, a Kannada movie showcasing a Brahmin's fight against bramhanism directed by Pattabhirama Reddy; and Buddha Mahotsav, a short film based on Buddha's life directed by Rajagopal Rao were showcased at the festival.Apart from this, a workshop on meditation was also conducted by dhammachari Nagaketu and paper craft workshop by Sanjeev Kumar Chavan from Delhi.The festival is organized every year to promote art, culture and heritage that supports principles of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice. On Saturday evening, 'Chan tea Musical' was held by artistes of Boshan Zengjue Temple, Shangdon, China. "The musical is related to meditation and conveys that any activity should be done by fully involving yourself, which is the same as meditation," said Sunil Talware, chief coordinator of the festival.

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