Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): The Khandwa administration has proposed to celebrate the city's 'Gourav Diwas' on August 4, the birth anniversary of legendary singer, actor and filmmaker Kishore Kumar.
Kumar was born on August 4, 1929 in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa town, located 255 km from the state capital Bhopal.
After a consensus among local elected representatives, a proposal to observe Khandwa's 'Gourav Diwas' on August 4 will be sent to Indore divisional commissioner (under which the district falls) for further consideration and approval, Collector Anoop Singh told PTI on Sunday.
He said there is no documented record in old inscriptions and gazetteers about when Khandwa came into existence.
Earlier this month, a novel initiative to observe the 'Gourav Diwas' of villages and towns was launched by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from his ancestral Jait in Sehore district, to coincide with the Narmada Jayanti.
The aim of the initiative is to connect people with their roots, bring them back to their villages and cities so that they can contribute to the development of their ancestral places, Chouhan said.
A large number of Kishore Kumar's fans visit Khandwa every year on August 4 to pay tributes at his memorial in the town, and some even make offerings of 'doodh jalebi', which was the singer's favourite dish.
The fans also sing some of his popular songs at the memorial.
Kumar spent his childhood years in Khandwa before shifting to Mumbai.
Apart from acting and directing films, he lent his versatile voice to several film stars - from Dev Anand to Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Kumar died in October 1987.
In December last year, CM Chouhan had said he wanted every city in the state to celebrate its birthday, which can be found with the help of historians. If the date is not known, then a date can be fixed to observe this day.
