Mumbai: Priyadarshni Academy celebrated its prestigious annual 34th Anniversary Literary Awards and Educational Scholarships program on March 14, in Mumbai. Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra Shri Vidyasagar Rao was the Chief Guest.
Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman, Priyadarshni Academy, welcomed the dignitaries and the audience. Expressing pride at the activities of Priyadarshni Academy, in terms of recognizing literary writers, presenting scholarships to students, promoting the performing arts and conducting other activities, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani said, “While we are happy about this, we are sad that we are not able to do much more to help the vast number of students who need help.” He added that the presence of the Hon’ble Governor’s ‘adds sanctity to our programs’.
Mr. Nanik Rupani, Chairman Emeritus, Priyadarshni Academy, expressed thanks to the Hon’ble Governor for responding to the Academy’s invitation. While presenting the highlights of the Academy, he pointed out that students being charged 18% GST on special courses not recognized by the Universities was something that needed to be considered, and he requested Hon’ble Governor to take up the issue with the higher authorities.
Literary awards for work in the Hindi, Sindhi and Gujarati languages were presented to Mr. Hastimal Hasti, Ms. Maya Rahi and Dr. Pravin Darji respectively for their outstanding contributions to writings and teaching in these languages.
Each award carried a purse of Rs.25,000/- and a plaque. The literary awardees thanked the Academy and spoke about the contribution it is making by giving awards in different languages. 177 scholarships to deserving and financially needy students pursuing different fields of study were also presented.
The Honorable Governor commended the Academy for the work they are doing, which he said, made useful and important contribution to society. He spoke about the rich literary and educational traditions of Maharashtra, he also referred to the pride of place India has among world languages. He congratulated the literary awardees and the students who were beneficiaries of the program, and thanked the donors for their contributions.
Mr. Rahul Karad, Vice President, MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions cited the example of Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, noted scientist, who studied under street lights with a scholarship from the Tatas, and he is now a Director in one of the Tata companies. He suggested that Priyadarshni Academy should track those who received awards and scholarships and have now become important contributors to society and have them speak from the same forum to inspire others.
Mrs. Shilpi Karia, psychologist, also addressed the audience, while Dr. Mohanbhai Patel provided a summary and proposed a Vote of Thanks.
