Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav to begin from November 1

NEW DELHI: Varied folk, traditional, tribal and classical art forms from across the country will be showcased in the national capital at the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav that will begin from November 1.

The debut edition of the National Cultural festival being organised by the Ministry of Culture will be held from November 1 to 7.

"With an aim of encouraging the artists to continue maintaining the legacy of the traditional art forms, we have decided to make them available a national platform. This will be an annual feature from now onwards," Culture Secretary, NK Sinha said during a press conference here.

"Seven zonal councils are sending over 700 artists who will be presenting 49 art forms during the festival which will showcase how culturally rich and vibrant the country is," he added.

The plan in the longer run is not just to provide them a platform for presenting their art forms but also to offer them coaching and mentoring round the year in run up to the festival, the secretary said.

"The festival will also offer us an opportunity to closely observe and interact with the artists and get to know about any loopholes in the system which the Culture Ministry will try to work upon to help the artists take their art at a global level," Sinha added.

The seven Zonal Cultural Centres who will be participating in the festival include Patiala, Udaipur, Thanjavur, Kolkata, Nagpur, Dimapur and Allahabad.

Artists from Sangeet Natak Akademi will be performing at the closing ceremony on November 7.