Khattar honours Rohtak’s ‘Sudama girls’
About a year ago, when a team of six girls of a government school in the interiors of Rohtak district sang a bhajan on Sudama at a function, they had no idea that their six-minute long performance would help them receive numerous accolades.
Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday felicitated the ‘Sudama team’ and presented ₹ 2,100 to each of the singers at a function at Deenbandhu Sir Chhotu Ram University in Sonepat.
The team was earlier honoured by Haryana assembly speaker Kanwar Pal on the last day of the budget session on March 10, who gave a cash award of ₹ 51,000 to them, a few months after the video of their performance went viral on social media.
Agriculture minister OP Dhankar had also lauded the girls at a government function and presented ₹31,000 to the singers.
The bhajan in chaste Haryanavi – “bata mere yaar sudama re, bhai ghane dina mein ayaa” — was prepared by part-time music teacher Somesh Jangra and sung by the girls of Government Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary School, Sanghi village, Rohtak.
The singers are Vidhi, Sheetal, Muskan, Isha, Rinku and Manisha.
The video was first uploaded on YouTube by Jangra about eight months back.
However, only four months ago, the performance began to get noticed after people started sharing it across various social media platforms —YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. On YouTube alone, the video has garnered a million views.
Fondly referring to the girls as ‘Sudama team’, Jangra said it was because of the support of school principal Jaipal Dahiya that their small effort gained momentum through social media and was appreciated by millions.
He added that many institutions and social organisations have been inviting the team to perform after it was warmly received on Geeta Jayanti in Kurukshetra last year.