The first International Kala Mela has begun at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi. The 14-day festival, which will be organised till February 17, was inaugurated by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday.
With a total of 325 exhibition stalls, it has more than 800 participants from across the globe. These participants are from countries such as China, Venezuela, Peru, Portugal, Srilanka, Poland, Tunisia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Trinidad, Tobago, Fiji, France, Papua New Guinea, Czechia, UK, Spain and Brazil.It showcases the art and also celebrate various cultural forms of India, as well as provides platform to artists from abroad.
Speaking on the occasion, the Vice President said, "Alag bhasha, alag vesh, fir bhi apna ek desh. Vividhta me ekta, Bharat ki visheshta (Different languages, different couture, yet one country. Unity in diversity, India's specialty)."
"We believe in principle of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam. The entire universe is one -- that's the belief of this country and its people. Sarve Jana Sukhina Bhavatntu is the basic philosophy of this country," he said.
He said that International Kala Mela is the first of its kind in the country and is not only Indian but also International. He said that this is to showcase art and also celebrate various cultural forms of India, as well as provides platform to artists from abroad.
Present on the occasion was Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of Culture Dr Sharma, while addressing those present on the occasion said, "India's recognition is in its dense culture," he said. He also said that the presence of Vice President on the occasion of inauguration of first International Kala Mela is an "expression of his desire to spread the fragrance of India's diverse culture in each corner of the world."
He congratulated CS Krishna Setty, Administrator, lalit Kala Academy and the complete team of lalit Kala Academy for organising the fair.
"This is for the first time that the Akademi has planned the International Kala Mela at such a large scale. It is going to prove a boon to especially those artists who cannot afford to exhibit their works of art in the Art Galleries. With a firm commitment to the art fraternity, the Kala Mela will be a great delight to observe the paradigms of the contemporary nuances of the modernistic trends in art. All in all it is intended to be first of its kind and a great milestone event," said CS Krishna Setty, Administrator, lalit Kala Academy.