Kashmir Festival in Dehi

To showcase rich art and heritage of Jammu and Kashmir countrywide, a mega festival is being held at New Delhi in 2nd week of December.

The Principal Secretary to Chief Minister B.B. Vyas while chairing a meeting, convened to chalk out the programme for organizing Kashmir Festival at IIC in the Union capital, said that emphasis should be laid on projecting the rare and unique art and heritage in the mega event.

The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Tourism Atul Duloo, Director, Tourism, Kashmir Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director Information, Khawaja Farooq Renzushah, Special Secretary to Chief Minister Zaffar Ahmad, Special Secretary, Forests, Additional Secretary, Protocol and Cultural Academy and other senior officers of Cultural Academy, Forests and Protocol departments.

The programme will be organized by Department of Tourism and Culture in association with Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Cultural Academy, Forests, Protocol Departments and Resident Commission, New Delhi.

It was decided in the meeting that the masterpieces of art will be exhibited in the Kashmir festival and films on environment of the State will be screened. A seminar will be held in which reputed scholars will deliver lecturers. Besides, INTACH will be organizing a seminar on heritage in which various aspects of State's heritage will be highlighted. The Cultural Academy will present sufi programme and traditional folk dances of the State.

The art lovers and those interested in multifaceted heritage of the State will participate in the gala event. The photo exhibition will be put up by Tourism and Information Departments jointly. A well known drama of Balwant Thakur's Baba Jito will be part of the event, in which different facets of State's culture will be artfully showcased.

Mr Vyas exhorted officers to make this programme a great success as it is an effort to introduce the cultural diversity of the State at a very big forum, which will be attended by a cross section of the Indian society, who are now taking keen interest in understanding the diverse cultural ethos of J&K.

He said that the event throws an opportunity to Tourism Department also to highlight panoramic view of the State to the wide ranging audience expected to participate in the event.