Bhatkal: Nawayat Mehfil has announced an online Nawayati song contest for children and has invited Nawayati-speaking kids from across the globe to participate in the competition.
The contest aims to promote, preserve, and celebrate the Nawayati language, literature, and culture. Children who can sing in Nawayati — whether residing in Bhatkal, Murdeshwar, Manki, Valki, Gersoppa, Shirur, Byndoor, Gangolli, Kandloor, or any other place — are eligible to take part. Participation is also open to children from Nawayati-speaking families living outside India.
To enter the contest, children are required to record a video of themselves singing a Nawayati poem or song of their choice and send the video via WhatsApp to 9742389007 or 9448729384. The deadline for submissions is 9:00 PM (IST) on August 4.
Providing the details, Zubair Jukaku, former General Secretary of Nawayat Mehfil and an active member of the organizing committee, said that the maximum age limit is 15 years for boys and 10 years for girls. He clarified that children can record their song at home and that memorization is not required at this stage. However, finalists will be invited to perform live on stage, where singing from memory will be mandatory.
All video submissions will be reviewed, and the ten best entries from boys and ten from girls will be selected for the final round, which will be held on August 16 in Bhatkal. Each finalist will be required to perform their song live on stage within a time limit of five minutes.
Mr. Jan Abdul Rahman, patron of Nawayat Mehfil, emphasized that children from any city or country are welcome to participate, but those selected for the final round must be present in Bhatkal to perform in person.
Speaking to the media, Ishtiyaq Ahmed Ruknuddin, General Secretary of Nawayat Mehfil, informed that a dedicated organizing committee has been formed for this contest, with Naufil Damudi appointed as the convener. He added that winners of the first, second, and third positions in both the boys’ and girls’ categories will be awarded prizes. Additionally, all selected ten entries from each category will be published on Nawayat Mehfil’s official YouTube channel.
Other committee members present during the press meet included Ajayib Shabbir, Mohtisham Irfan, Iqbal Saeedi, and several others