Children accompanied by folk artistes walk down the streets of Bhubaneswar in a carnival held as part of the Anjali Children’s Festival on Tuesday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 11: Hundreds of differently-abled children, accompanied by students of mainstream schools, took to the streets as part of the 13th National Anjali Children’s Festival that was flagged off by Ollywood actor Sabyasachi Mishra today.

Over 400 children, donning colourful costumes and with their faces painted, took part in the procession titled Carnival of Love.

Accompanied by various folk artistes’ groups from across the state, the children danced their way from Ram Mandir Square to Adivasi Ground, the venue of the festival. Draped in colourful accessories such as head chains, masks and feathers, children were seen swirling to the traditional beats of the ghantua and Punjabi dhol.

Around 150 college-goers, who are volunteering at the festival, also took part in the procession.

“This is a great effort to bridge gaps between the children with special needs and the mainstream kids. It will help build a society free of any kind of discrimination — where every child is treated with respect,” said Mishra.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik joined the inaugural ceremony in the evening at the Adivasi Ground. He gave away scholarships to meritorious students and Anjali awards to people, who had worked towards empowering persons with disabilities.

Kids from 16 districts in Odisha and 15 states of the country have come together to explore their creativity at the festival. An international team from Nepal has also joined the camp.

Complementing this year’s theme of solidarity and brotherhood, religious speakers will also deliberate on communal harmony.

“We aim to impart education through entertainment. That apart, the festival is an attempt to bridge the gap between rural and urban children and disabled and mainstream children,” said disability activist and chief co-ordinator of the festival Sruti Mohapatra.

Workshops will be conducted on painting, cartooning, modern dance, craft, first aid, magic, terracotta and pottery, ventriloquism, balloon sculpture, creative dance and paper quilling and tattooing.

A series of competitions, cultural programmes, musical performances and exhibitions will be organised during the four days of the festival that concludes on Children’s Day.