The Enchanting Indian Cultural Festival

India is a land of many pasts and cultures, and the sublime beauty lies in the fact that all these have blended so magically into our country’s socio-cultural narrative. In the hustle-bustle of today’s modern lifestyle, one often cringes to have a glimpse of the vibrant elements of our heritage and traditions, to have that sense of throwback and kinship. So when one came to know of the 7- day long “Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsava “(National Cultural Festival) being held at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi, I knew where to make a dash for! The festival’s idea was to showcase the spectacular diversity of India through folk, tribal and classical art forms in all its dimensions – dance, music, drama, entertainment and food. Tagging a close college friend along, we embarked on our day-long trail which turned out to be riveting, exciting, gastronomically delightful and educational : all at once:)

IGNCA- a quiet and usually serene place had transformed into a throbbing, buzzing space having a carnival-like atmosphere with hundreds of folks like us all around. The melange of colors, music, drum-beats, traditional dance-performances and zonal-exhibits was worth soaking in, which is exactly what we did. Walk through the images exhibit-wise (notice how distinct they are) to live some of these moments vicariously ! (PS: I am no photographer, just sharing the excitement with my lovely readers!)

1) North-East India:

Handicrafts from the Land of Seven-Sisters

Each Ganesha has been carved out of a single bamboo shoot !

There is the miniature peacock ! — There is the miniature wooden peacock !

One for the shutterbugs :D — One for the shutterbugs 😀

2) South India:

Entry to the exhibit, with traditional Dravidian style temple architecture

Mahishasurmardini - Chola dynasty inspiration — Mahishasurmardini – Chola dynasty inspiration

Famous Kalamkari Durries of Andhra - These have been awarded GI tags — Famous Kalamkari Durries of Andhra – These have been awarded GI tags

And there we dance :) — And there we dance 🙂

An artist's metal mastery ! — An artist’s metal mastery !

3. North India:

Entry to the Exhibit: Our eternal Taj Mahal

Brassware from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh — Decoration pieces in Brassware

4. Eastern-India:

The Huge Goddess Mask from Bengal-Jharkhand — The Huge Goddess Mask from Bengal

Entry to the exhibit: Seraikella from Jharkhand — Entry to the exhibit: Seraikella Chauu from Jharkhand

Yes, one after another there was so much to see and absorb, the experience was just fabulous ! And after having an eyeful of these rich, cultural depictions, we headed to the food-zone where 29 stalls from each of the states of India had their cuisines to offer.

Even though these dishes are readily available everywhere nowadays, flavor here was just par excellence. Probably traditional cooks who were at the venue provided that X-factor. In addition to pics below, Sikkim momos with green sauce were brilliant and juicy. Ah, the foodie in me can’t stop raving still !

Cheese Gun-Powder Masala Dosa from Mysore

Hope you had a good time glancing through and getting to know a bit about the diversity out here. Also, here is wishing all you awesome folks a very Happy and prosperous Diwali – do make a splash and enjoy the celebrations 🙂

Cheers!

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The Enchanting Indian Cultural Festival

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Aishwarya Raj

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