The Inaugural Annual Function of the PD Tandon Foundation Trust was held at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow on 3rd October, 2021. Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Mr. Pramod Tiwari were among the guests present.
The programme started with lamp-lighting by both the Chief Guests, the President and the Secretary of the Foundation. The programme was conducted by Mr. Chandra Shekhar Verma, a writer, poet and grandson of eminent literary figure Shri Bhagwati Charan Verma. Mr. R K Tandon, President and Ms Chitra Malik, Secretary, welcomed the guests and the panellists.
Ms Chitra Malik spoke about PD Tandon, as her father. This was followed by a joint speech of Siddharth and Varun, who talked about their memories of their great-grandfather, Mr. PD Tandon and the qualities they imbibed from him. On the basis of the panel selection, PD Tandon Award for Outstanding Journalism was given to Mr. Oliver Fredrick of Hindustan Times and to Mr. Vishal Singh Raghuvanshi of Zee TV. They were awarded a trophy along with a cash reward of Rs. 25,000/- each. The Awardees were introduced by Mr. Ratan Mani Lal and Mr. Govind Pant Raju, respectively. The cheque, along with its replica and also a plaque were handed over to the awardees. This was followed by a short speech by Mr. Sharat Pradhan.
Thereafter, the Foundation also gifted two Smart TVs as educational equipment for smart classes to Drishti Samajik Sansthan. These were handed over to its directors, Mr. Atharva Bahadur and Ms. Shalu Singh, who also spoke about the working of Drishti Sansthan.
At the end, both the Chief Guests Ms. Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Mr. Pramod Tiwari talked about their memories and association with Mr. PD Tandon and shared various anecdotes pertaining to him. Vote of thanks was given by the President, Mr. RK Tandon.
Various books written by PD Tandon and his photographs with various personalities were put on display outside the auditorium. After the programme High Tea was organised outside for the guests.
PD Tandon was a freedom fighter, eminent author and journalist, whose name appears on fifty two books in Hindi and English, of which some were translated into Urdu and Tamil also. During the Quit India Movement of 1942.