President inaugurates 27th Surajkund Fair

President Pranab Mukherjee has officially inaugurated the 27th Surajkund fair, terming it as a sumptuous feast of colour, culture and cuisine and emphasised on empowerment of the country's handicraft sector. 
"The mela has become a sumptuous feast of colour, culture and cuisine... and is a manifestation of nation's pride," he said in his inaugural address on February 02.

Maha Kumbh Mela begins

The Maha Kumbh began on January 14 morning with lakhs of devotees as well as ascetics and religious leaders of various orders converging on the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati in Allahabad for a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

The inaugural day of the two-month-long congregation, often described as the "greatest show on earth", was marked by the first "Shahi Snan" of 13 "akharas" wherein Naga Sadhus - a martial order of ascetics who move about either naked or scantily clad with matted hair and ash smeared bodies marched to Sangam in processions with their leaders perched atop ornately decorated elephants, horses and chariots and musical bands in attendance in a unique blend of austerity and opulence.

The first to move out were Mahanirvani and Atal Akharas, followed by Niranjani and Anand and then Joona, Awahan and Agni.
They are to be followed by Nirvani Ani, Digambar Ani and Nirmohi and Naya Udasin, Bara Udasin and Nirmal akharas in the same order fixed during the British period following a violent clash among ascetics of different akharas at a kumbh congregation.
The akharas have been allotted fixed time, ranging from 30 minutes to about an hour depending upon the size of their respective procession, for bathing with routes for going to and returning from Sangam so separated as to ward off possibility of members of rival akharas coming in contact with each other.
Devotees from across the country had started pouring in since on Sunday evening and the influx continues despite cold weather and elaborate security arrangements on account of which bathers are being made to park their vehicles several kilometres away from the holy confluence and reach the Sangam on foot.
Vehicular traffic has been banned on most of the roads in the city from Sunday till Tuesday to facilitate movement of people.
The "Shahi Snan", which is a star attraction of the event, began at around 6 AM as curious, awestruck onlookers gathered on both sides of the over-a-kilometre-long road of metallic chequered plates on which the processions of "akharas" proceeded towards the Sangam.  

The Mela, held every 12 years, will go on for next two months and will conclude on Maha Shivaratri on 10th March.
The administration is expecting a nearly 10 per cent rise in pilgrims attending the mass Hindu pilgrimage this year compared to the previous Maha Kumbh held in Allahabad in 2001. 

Inclusion of Western Ghats in UNESCO List

The Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that 39 locations in the Western Ghats in the States of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been inscribed as a World Heritage Site in the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 36th session of World Heritage Committee held in July, 2012 at St. Petersburg, Russia. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today she said, the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) establishes National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Tiger Reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972. Central assistance is provided to the States. No statutory authority is set up for the conservation of the world heritage sites in the Western Ghats.

4 day Film Festival organized in Jharkhand to mark occasion of 100 years of Hindi Cinema

On the occasion of the 100 years of Hindi Cinema, a four- days Film Festival- Suhana Safar is being organized at Ranchi in Jharkhand from September 12. The festival will begin with showing of first Hindi feature film Raja Harishchandra. Altogether 21 films, mostly in Hindi, would be screened during the festival. Films from other Indian languages like Begali, Odia and Tamil and two films in regional tribal languages would also be screened. The festival is being organized by the state government and Directorate of Film Festival .

River-island, Majuli Nominated for Inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage List

The Government of India  proposed to nominate the name of Assam's river-island, Majuli, for inclusion in the cultural landscape category of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage list. Majuli, located in the middle of the Brahmaputra is considered to be the largest freshwater river-island in the world.

Majuli situated in Jorhat district of northern Assam is about 80 km wide and about 10-15 km long, with a total area of 875 sq.km.  Various ethno-cultural groups inhabit the island. These communities are united by the social institution of Sattra, which was introduced by the Vaishnava revivalist, saint Sankardeva, in the 16th century.

Majuli currently faces a greater threat from flood and erosion by the Brahmaputra than from external and modern influences. The ecosystem and age-old cultural and social system in Majuli are under pressure following the displacement of the local people and an increase in the population.

Conservation architect G.S.V. Suryanarayana Murthy was entrusted with responsibility by the Archaeological Survey of India to prepare the nomination dossier. Murthy's consultancy firm M/S Kshetra is also associated with the management plan peer review document for the nomination of Hyderabad's three Qutb Shahi monuments for the UNESCO World Heritage award.

The Majuli dossier will likely be ready by October 2011 to be submitted to the UUNESCO in February 2012. Majuli was shortlisted in the World Heritage Site (WHS) Tentative List at the World Heritage Committee session at Suzhou in China. Following the World Heritage Committee session at Suzhou a comprehensive nomination dossier was submitted in 2006, it was complimented later by additional information in 2008.

The revised dossier to be submitted in 2012 moves a step closer to securing WHS status for Majuli, incorporating all referred points of past conventions.

Indian manuscript inscribed on Unesco's world register

An illustrated Indian manuscript recounting the history of Mughal ancestor Timur has been inscribed on Unesco's Memory of the World Register.

'Tarikh-E-Khandan-E-Timuriyah' was written and created during the reign of Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, a descendant of Timur, in 1577-78 A.D. and is one of the 45 new documents and documentary collections selected from all over the world.

"The Mughals influenced the social, cultural and economic life both of the Indian people and of the world. Their contributions to the development of astrology, astronomy, medicine, fine arts, architecture, paintings and literature are unparalleled," said the Unesco website.

According to Unesco, the paintings of the 'Tarikh-e Khandan-e Timuriyah' are unique examples of the height that was attained by the Mughals in the history of the art of painting.

Director-general of Unesco, Irina Bokova said: "By helping safeguard and share such a varied documentary heritage, Unesco's Memory of the World Programme reinforces the basis for scholarship and enjoyment of the creative wealth and diversity of human cultures and societies."

The Memory of the World Register, which now has 238 items, covers all types of material and support, including stone, celluloid, parchment, audio recordings and more, she added.

Eleven countries have entered the Memory of the World Register for the first time with the new inscriptions: Bulgaria, Fiji, Guyana, Ireland, Japan, Mongolia, Morocco, Panama, Suriname, Switzerland, Tunisia.

The inscriptions were recommended by the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Programme that met in Manchester, in Britain, May 22-25.

The Memory of the World Programme was launched in 1992 to guard against collective amnesia through the preservation of the valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world and ensuring their wide dissemination.

UNESCO representative list of India intangible cultural heritage of humanity

The Aalst Carnival in Belgium, the Peking Opera, Spanish Flamenco, the Wayuu normative system in Colombia, the traditional skills of carpet weaving in Kashan in Iran, and falconry, presented by 11 countries, are among the 46 elements inscribed today on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee, chaired by Jacob Ole Miaron from Kenya and meeting in Nairobi until 19 November 2010, examined and inscribed 46 of the 47 nominations presented.

India - Chhau dance - Chhau dance is a tradition from eastern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes. Its three distinct styles hail from the regions of Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj, the first two using masks. Chhau dance is intimately connected to regional festivals, notably the spring festival Chaitra Parva. Its origin is traceable to indigenous forms of dance and martial practices. Its vocabulary of movement includes mock combat techniques, stylized gaits of birds and animals and movements modelled on the chores of village housewives. Chhau is taught to male dancers from families of traditional artists or from local communities. The dance is performed at night in an open space to traditional and folk melodies, played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai. The reverberating drumbeats of a variety of drums dominate the accompanying music ensemble. Chhau is an integral part of the culture of these communities. It binds together people from different social strata and ethnic background with diverse social practices, beliefs, professions and languages. However, increasing industrialization, economic pressures and new media are leading to a decrease in collective participation with communities becoming disconnected from their roots

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India - Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan - Songs and dances are an expression of the Kalbelia community’s traditional way of life. Once professional snake handlers, Kalbelia today evoke their former occupation in music and dance that is evolving in new and creative ways. Today, women in flowing black skirts dance and swirl, replicating the movements of a serpent, while men accompany them on the khanjari percussion instrument and the poongi, a woodwind instrument traditionally played to capture snakes. The dancers wear traditional tattoo designs, jewellery and garments richly embroidered with small mirrors and silver thread. Kalbelia songs disseminate mythological knowledge through stories, while special traditional dances are performed during Holi, the festival of colours. The songs also demonstrate the poetic acumen of the Kalbelia, who are reputed to compose lyrics spontaneously and improvise songs during performances. Transmitted from generation to generation, the songs and dances form part of an oral tradition for which no texts or training manuals exist. Song and dance are a matter of pride for the Kalbelia community, and a marker of their identity at a time when their traditional travelling lifestyle and role in rural society are diminishing. They demonstrate their community’s attempt to revitalize its cultural heritage and adapt it to changing socioeconomic conditions.

India - Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala - Mudiyettu is a ritual dance drama from Kerala based on the mythological tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika. It is a community ritual in which the entire village participates. After the summer crops have been harvested, the villagers reach the temple in the early morning on an appointed day. Mudiyettu performers purify themselves through fasting and prayer, then draw a huge image of goddess Kali, called as kalam, on the temple floor with coloured powders, wherein the spirit of the goddess is invoked. This prepares the ground for the lively enactment to follow, in which the divine sage Narada importunes Shiva to contain the demon Darika, who is immune to defeat by mortals. Shiva instead commands that Darika will die at the hand of the goddess Kali. Mudiyettu is performed annually in ‘Bhagavati Kavus’, the temples of the goddess, in different villages along the rivers Chalakkudy Puzha, Periyar and Moovattupuzha. Mutual cooperation and collective participation of each caste in the ritual instils and strengthens common identity and mutual bonding in the community. Responsibility for its transmission lies with the elders and senior performers, who engage the younger generation as apprentices during the course of the performance. Mudiyettu serves as an important cultural site for transmission of traditional values, ethics, moral codes and aesthetic norms of the community to the next generation, thereby ensuring its continuity and relevance in present times.