The Shivratri organizing committee has decided to hold a Voice of Shivratri competition for singers during the Shivratri Festival, being celebrated from February 27 to March 5 this year.
Chairman of the cultural subcommittee, Additional Deputy Commissioner Mandi Rohit Rathor, said on Friday, “The voice of the Shivratri-2025 competition will be organized with the aim of enhancing the talent of budding singers during the festival; all participants above the age of 16 as of January 1, 2025, can participate in the competition by singing film songs, Himachali folk, Indian classical singing, and fusion.”
He said, “Participants from Himachal and other states can participate in the competition in solo singing as a duet, group songs, or group performances will not be included in it; the auditions for the artists will be held at the table tennis hall, Paddal ground, Mandi, from February 19 to 23rd from 11 am onwards.”
He said. “Participants can register by applying online without any fee through the official Google form link or offline in the District Development Office (Rural Development) Mandi; they will have to submit their Aadhar cards or any other proof of identity, recent passport-size photographs, and date of birth certificates, and the last date of registration has been fixed as February 18, 2005, 5 pm, after which no entry will be entertained.”
Explaining rules, Rathor said, “The first round of auditions for the voice of Shivratri will be held along with the auditions for the cultural evenings of the Shivratri festival, and only those participants who participate in these first round of auditions will get entry in the next round. No participant will be given direct entry for the main competition. The participant can choose any song of his or her choice for the audition. However, objectionable or inappropriate content will be completely banned. The jury will select the participants, keeping in mind various aspects like their voice quality and grip on notes, rhythm and timing, presentation and confidence on stage, originality, and live performance, etc. The jury can also ask to sing a song of their choice. The marks obtained in the first round will not be valid for the main competition (final round). If any participant of the final round withdraws his or her name, then the one with the next higher marks will be given a chance.
Participants can get other information about the competition by visiting the Facebook page of the Mandi district administration.
The winners of the competition will perform on March 4 at 4.30 pm at Seri Manch, during the last cultural evening.
The participants securing the first three positions will be awarded cash prizes, and all participants will be given consolation prizes.
