The week-long International Kullu Dussehra, to commence from October 11, will witnesses the annual congregation of over 200 local deities of the Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh.
It will also witness the ‘Trans Himalayan Culture Festival’ for which efforts were afoot to invite cultural troupes from the hill
regions of the country, including leh-ladakh, Arunachal, Manipur etc.
This came out in a State level meeting of International Kullu Dussehra, presided over by the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, here on Monday.
Besides, the traditional folk dance ‘laldi’ would be revived in which local people perform traditional ‘Natti’ whole night.
A committee would also be re-constituted to organise ‘Grameen Khel Utsav’ (Rural Sports) comprising of local teams, in which rural games as Kabbadi, Volleyball, Tug-of-war, will be held.
Virbhadra Singh said that the Kullu Dussehra is known for its local demigods and ancient age old traditions that govern the lives of the ethnic communities inhabiting the lower Himalayan belts and celebrated since times immemorial. He said that Kullu Dussehra was a platform to showcase the rich culture of Himachal Pradesh and all local deities should be invited. He directed to maintain cleanliness during the festival and to adhere to protocol in respect of the local ‘Devtas’, who accompany the chariot of lord Raghunath.
The Chief Minister said that the State folk troupes should be given Kala Kendra to perform in the afternoon where cultural competitions between them should be held to select the best. He said additional security would be provided for ‘laldi’ folk dance during the night.
Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, Yunus said as of now, Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) had agreed for providing cultural troupes from Bhutan, Sri-lanka, Russia and Japan and efforts were on to tie up with North Zone Cultural Centre, (NZCC) to provide best folk artists from different states.
Top officials of the state government participated in the meeting.