Gutenberg Festival celebrated by Offset Printers Association 

Ludhiana: Every year Gutenberg Festival is celebrated by Offset Printers’ Association (OPA) to remember the father of Modern Printing. The event is celebrated on day of Holi festival for the networking of the families of the members. It is whispered that Lord Macaulay while speaking about India in British Parliament on 2 February, 1835 said that  “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a bagger, who is a thief, such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage . . .”. Gutenberg Festival at Ludhiana is a humble beginning and throughout proved to be great success not only for the networking between member families but also for the remembrance of our cultural values and heritage. This year once again OPA Carnival was organized to celebrate 21st Gutenberg Festival 10 March 2020 at F2, Raceway, South City, Ludhiana. 

Welcoming the participating member families, Mr. Parveen Aggarwal, President OPA said, the main purpose of these celebration is to guide the members for living stress free life. Mr. Aggarwal added, ‘stress and tension have been linked to numerous ailments, including heart disease, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, anxiety disorders, insomnia, and substance abuse. Stress can also trigger a number of distinct physical symptoms, including nausea, headache, hair-loss, fatigue, and muscle pain. Relaxation has been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of stress-related diseases and disorders in many patients. Taking these facts in mind, for the networking of the member families and to relieve them from unnecessary stress, this event is organized every year by  OPA on the eve of Holi because this day all the factories and office are closed. 

More than 34 member families participated and there was fun and excitements stored for every age group.  The family gathering in the name of ‘Father of Modern Printing’ is the great step of OPA, said Mr. Hans Raj Chopra, Finance Secretary, he added that all the member’s wait for the day and enquiries start pouring from January.  Besides fun games there were many prizes for the puzzles and physical talent contests, besides the Lucky draw for the donners who purchased the donation coupons of OPA. 

On this occasion the talented children of the printers were also felicitated. Ms Sheena daughter of Mr. Narinderpal Singh, OPA member from Ludhiana was felicitated for her talent on providing ‘Cosmetic Bakery’. Young girl has given different escalation to Bakery Products, she is producing the cosmetic bakery products on the basis of online orders and her products are becoming quite popular in the city. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kushl Kumar Jain, Vice President said, our children are assets, it becomes a proud moment not only for the family of the child but for the entire OPA family to see our children shining. Today I feel is the day to remember, not only for the Gutenberg Festival but because, we are going to felicitate two bright youngsters, the shining children of printers, our members, for their exceptional talent in the fields other than Printing. 

Mr. Vishal Sidana son of Mr. Vijay Sidana, New Milan Printing Press, Mukatsar was felicitated for his singing talent, his first album is recently released and the songs are getting viral at social media these days. Mr. Parveen Aggarwal felicitated both the youngsters with the blessings of the house for their bright and successful future.  

Member families enjoyed the fun games and funny contests, like balloon bursting, cat walk, singing, laughing, and many more.

There was fun stored for everyone and Gutenberg Festival was celebrated with great fun and frolic. Members also enjoyed the various games and rides available at the F2-Raceway fun park. The event remained a great success, gift hamper to each and every member family was also given, items for this gift hamper was contributed by the Office Bearers and Executive members of the Offset Printers’ Association.  Here are some glimpse of the event: