The glittering celebrations of the Teej festival at GHG Group of Colleges were inaugurated by the Chief Guest S. Maninder Singh Gill, Director for the Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience (SURR) Global Practice at World Bank Group. At this position as a Director, he is leading the Practice's engagement in inclusive & sustainable development. He was accorded a warm welcome with exuberant applause by the faculty members and the enthusiastic students. The entire college premises wore a festive look with bright and colourful decorations. The girls in traditional attire & a variety of cultural events added liveliness to the occasion. The audiences was captivated with cultural programme consisting of folk dance Giddha, Tappey and Punjabi boliyan; and were equally delighted by the traditional Punjabi dishes like tikkis, malpurhas and kheer. A variety of stalls displaying bangles, jewellery, purses, cosmetics and mehndi enhanced the festive fervour. Dr. S.S. Deol, Principal, welcomed the Chief Guest and provided an insight into his glorious career. He said that the festival of Teej is not only a symbol of our cultural heritage but also such celebrations are a way of reviving and keeping the Punjabiyat alive for generations to come. S. Maninder Singh Gill, Chief Guest, expressed his pleasure in visiting this college- a miracle in rural Punjab. In his address, he vouched for institutional reforms and women empowerment as the primary forces behind sustainable development. He emphasized that to be drivers of growth one needs to identify the drivers of change with educational institutions like this college being the front-runners. He congratulated S. Manjit Singh Gill, President College Governing Council, for contributing towards sustainable development and rural upliftment through quality education. He encouraged the breakdown of gender norms in favour of women for our country to harness its complete potential. Beyond this, he focused on the role of government and the unanswered challenge of accountability paradox. Lt. Gen. I .S. Singha (Retd.), Director, put forth the essence of change as the achievement of excellence in one's own sphere of influence. He emphasized that the privilege of freedom of speech can make immense difference only if exercised with great responsibility. Mrs. Sarbarinder K. Grewal, daughter of Late S. Pratap Singh Kairon, expressed pride in the talent showcased by the young girls. Various competitions like rangoli; Pakhi-making, nala-making, poster-making, dish-making; mehendi; clay-modelling; quiz; folk songs, hair-style & nail-art, embroidery and crochet; best out of waste; related to Punjabi culture were organised. An exhibition on Punjabi culture & heritage organized by the Sciences Department was the highlight of the festival. Traditional articles like more than a century old utensils, coins, weapons, & hand written religious books; bagh, phulkari, pakhian, bangles, parandian, charkha, chhajj, chakki, peehra etc. were on display in the Exhibition to elicit knowledge to the students about the tradition rich Punjabi cultural heritage. The winners were congratulated & awarded prizes. The occasion was also graced by Dr. Satvinder Kaur, Principal College of Pharmacy, Dr. Sarabjit Kaur, Principal College of Education, S. Charanjit S. Gill, S. Inderjit S. Gill, S. Avtar S. Gill, Dr. Harbans Singh, Mrs. Mohinder Kaur Gill, Mrs. Hareena Gill, S. Dilawar S. Gill and Ms. Priya Gill. The guests were later honoured by the management. Dr. H.S. Brar, Registrar, presented a vote of thanks.