The popular tourist and pilgrim town Puri is going to host the 20th Folk Fair 2022 at the Muktakash Rangamancha near the Gundicha Temple at Saradhabali from June 20 to 24.
The programme will be hosted by the Shree Shrikshetra Soochana (SSS), a nonprofit NGO, to protect and promote the socio-cultural fabric of the society with a clear focus on facilitating tribal arts and their expressions.
Odisha, with 62 tribes and well over 22 per cent of the tribal population of the country, is a unique mosaic of tribal culture. Even, as legend has it, Lord Jagannath owes His origin to Nilamadhaba, the deity worshipped by the tribal king Vishwavasu.
The contribution of the entire tribal gamut to the State’s social, economic and cultural life is immense. But sadly, the fast-paced modernisation is beginning to cast a dark spell on the traditional folk and tribal cultures which stand endangered today.
There is hardly any platform other than the Tribal Department of the Government of Odisha to sustain, preserve and promote the rich repertoire of tribal culture including their signature music and dance.