J&K, Ladakh miss opportunity to showcase rich culture
Bivek Mathur
MAHAKUMBH NAGAR, Jan 20: The Ministry of Culture (MoC), Government of India, has presented an exquisite prototype of the country’s diverse cultures at the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj (Allahabad).
This initiative, Kalagram, which literally translates to an art village, offers a glimpse into the arts, crafts, and cuisines of the country’s seven cultural zones, showcasing them to both domestic and international visitors.
The cultural extravaganza spans across an area of 10 acres and features stalls from different cultural zones of the country, including North Zone (North Zonal Cultural Centre), West Zone (West Zonal Cultural Centre), East Zone (East Zonal Cultural Centre), South Zone (South Zonal Cultural Centre), North Central Zone (North Central Zonal Cultural Centre), North East Zone (North East Zonal Cultural Centre), and South Central Zone (South Central Zonal Cultural Centre).
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The Kalagram showcases a diverse array of art forms, crafts, and regional cuisines through individual stalls that highlight each zone’s cultural heritage.
According to Ministry of Culture’s officials, during the ongoing Mahakumbh festival, which began on January 13 and will conclude on February 26, around 230 top artisans, craftspersons, and 14,630 artists will display their arts and crafts to the visitors through Kalagram.
Over 200 art forms and 28 regional cuisines are also being presented through 98 stalls set up as part of the initiative (Kalagram).
According to the Ministry of Culture’s officials, a key aspect of the event is to revive and promote dying folk art forms from each zone.
Among the notable dying art forms being showcased at Kalagram are Mukha Nritya of West Bengal, Dalkhai Nritya of Odisha, Badhai Nritya of Madhya Pradesh, and Mayur Nritya of Uttar Pradesh.
The festival also offers visitors a chance to experience various regional vegetarian (Satvik) cuisines, including Dal Baati from Rajasthan, Litti Chokha from Bihar, and Chhole Bhature from Punjab.
In addition to folk and regional artists who have been performing in the event on a daily basis through different art forms, renowned performers, including NSD-trained actors and celebrated singers like Maithali Thakur, are also performing at the event, thus adding to the cultural vibrancy.
However, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh regions have missed a golden opportunity to showcase their rich culture and cuisines.
Both Union Territories (UTs) have been notably absent from the Kalagram stalls.
According to officials from the North Zonal Cultural Centre (NZCC), the Ladakh stalls couldn’t be set up due to transportation issues.
For Jammu and Kashmir, the situation is equally disappointing. The NZCC officials said that two National Handloom Award-winning Kani Shawl artists from the region had their stalls set up to display the region’s renowned handloom art.
However, the cargo containing the Kani shawls, which was being transported through a private courier company from J&K, got stuck at Varanasi due to taxation-related issues.
As a result, two National award-wining Kani Shawl artists from the region, Umar Malik and Zahoor Ahmed, from Srinagar, returned to the UT.
As such, currently, there are no stalls from either Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh showcasing their art, craft, or food at the Mahakumbh Mela.
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