INVC,,
Mumbai,,
Mumbai recently celebrated and witnessed the colors of Uttarakhand that set the city aglow. The Uttarakhand cultural festival “Kauthig” 2013 was inaugurated by Agriculture minister of Uttarakhand, Harak Singh Rawat and Actor Hemant Pandey. Sunday, 27th January, marked the conclusion of the 5 day festival. The festival came to a closing in presence of eminent personalities- Manikrao Thakre, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress President, Ganesh Naik, MLA, Belapur, Subodh Uniyal, cabinet minister Uttarakhand, Ganesh Godiyal, cabinet minister Uttarakhand, Durga Pal, cabinet minister Uttarakhand, Former Hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi (on whom film “Chak De India” is made)and Actor Sudhir Pandey. The colors of Uttarakhand flowed in Mumbai through the traditional classical Uttarakhandi performances presented by famous Uttarakhandi artists like singer Kalpana Chauhan and group, folk dances like “Badi”, performances by Indu Bhatt and group, dramas like Kamalvyuh, Chakravyuh, Jaydrath vadh by Arjuna etc. The festival came to a closing on day five with a grandeur performance staged by Shellnut group on goddess of Uttarakhand “Nanda Devi”. This drama on the local goddess garnered much appreciation and applause from the audience. The festival brought forth different nuances of culture of gods be it music, dance, dramas or the flavors of Uttarakhand. There were also matrimonial registrations, enrolment for employment and health camp organised. The festival had 40 stalls put up, over 100 Uttarakhandi artists performing and more than 40 prominent personality’s presence. The traditional pahadi instruments like Dor-Thakuli, Dhol-damau, Ransinga, Bhankor, Mochhang, Conch, Bell, Flute etc. were introduced to the Mumbaiites through this festival. Around 10 to 12 thousand audience gathered each day to celebrate the culture of Uttarakhand which was in its 6th year this year. The filmy stage put up which was a replica of pilgrim Jageshwar Mandir became the major attraction of the festival. Ganesh Sanwal, member of Parvatiya Natya Manch and art director of the festival, while talking about the festival said, “The culture of gods which is on the verge of extinction needs to be introduced to the next generation of the nation as also it needs to be preserved and forwarded which is the main aim of our festival.” Appreciating the festival Ganesh Naik and Manikrao Thakre were not only praises about the festival and sets but also promised to give the renowned Nanda Devi yatra, which takes place in Uttarakhand, a visit next year.
