Dattanna’s Alai Balai: Speakers want spread of ‘love all hate none’ culture all over country
Alai Balai annual event was hosted by the Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and his daughter Bandaru Vijayalakshmi at the Exhibition Grounds in Nampally on Wednesday
HYDERABAD: Speakers at the annual ‘Alai-Balai’ sammelan sought the organisers to conduct similar programmes all over the country, particularly in the strife-ridden places to inculcate tolerance and brotherhood.
Alai Balai annual event was hosted by the Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and his daughter Bandaru Vijayalakshmi at the Exhibition Grounds in Nampally on Wednesday. The Aalai Balai Sammelan which was started by Bandaru Dattatreya 17 years ago on a small scale grew into a major annual event.
On Wednesday the celebrations started with the sharing of the ‘Jammi’ leaf and drinking of ‘Ambali’ a traditional beverage with a cooling effect.
This year, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan, Mizoram Governor K Hari Babu, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muralidharan, Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, State Minister Srinivas Yadav, Congress leaders V Hanumantha Rao and K Jana Reddy attended the Alai Balai and also addressed the gathering.
The leaders appreciated the efforts of Dattatreya in keeping the tradition alive for so many years and said that Alai Balai denotes love for all food unites everyone. “Spread the good word in Rayalaseema and Guntur where there is bad blood among factions, tell the Manipuri people about Alai Balai,” former MP and Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao said. Former Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao said that Osmania University must undertake a study on the tradition and history of Alai Balai.
The Alai Balai organisers saw to it that over 150 varieties of food items, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian were prepared for over 10,000 people at the exhibition grounds.