bhubaneswar in an electrifying atmosphere amidst riot of colour rhythmic drum beats unadulterated fun and ecstasy the 11th edition of anjali international childrens festival kicked off here on friday a huge tableau of gautam buddha led the carnival of love along with children dressed as buddhist monks symbolizing the land of peace followed by hundreds of kids dressed in fanciful costumes masks and jewellery on the city streets adding zing to the carnival were camels and horses that led the fete which was attended by children from different parts of the country as well as from sri lanka and bangladesh the rich folk art and dances of odisha were also presented in the carnival it set the mood for the beginning of fiveday long cultural jamboree which was inaugurated by chief minister naveen patnaik later in the evening at adivasi ground at a platform such as this can you really differentiate between a child who is able and one who is not then why cannot we give a level playing field to each of them in all walks of life why do we discriminate between the two and create barriers for the unprivileged said sruti mohapatra founder of swabhiman a voluntary organization that has been working for disability rights and organizer of anjali summing up the 11 year long journey mohaptra said from project anjali in 2001 to anjali national children festival in 2011 the dream has grown large to encompass children from all over india and outside countrie breaking all manmade barriers i cannot express my happiness in words when i see anjali growing year after year and empowering children who had been stigmatized and oppressed so that they may participate fully in society and also bridging gaps between general and disabled children allow them to discover each other in the camp in this journey anjali has also grown into a joyful learning model during the inaugural function chief minister also felicitated braja prasad routray a revenue officer from kendrapada who was paralysed from waist following an accident with anjali bravey award the theme of the year being games and imagination a toy land has been created at the festival venue while a childrens film festival will be held at rabindra mandap from november 9 to 14 during indradhanush a celebration over the triumph of spirit over disability artists from ability unlimited foundation and supun dance academy from sri lanka will perform on november 4 and 5