Former Chief Minister Shibu Soren will inaugurate Central University of Jharkhand’s (CUJ) three-day international tribal fest titled Akhra on Monday. The lush green campus spruced up on Sunday as participants from across the country and abroad reached the campus for this annual fest.
State Assembly Speaker Shashank Shekhar Bhokta and Vice Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi Tribal University IG TC Demor will be present as guests of honour.
The mega affair scheduled to conclude on October 30 is expected to draw at least 500 participants from different parts of India besides members from Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Nepal, Serbia and Yemen. “It is basically not restricted to watch performances but an opportunity and platform to facilitate interaction among different tribal groups as well as to witness and appreciate the rich culture among the tribal peoples,” The CUJ’s chief communication officer Prasanta Bora said.
About 32 troupes will present tribal dance and culture besides activities on games, cuisine and traditional outfit. Monday’s programme list includes tribal folk game, documentary film show and open air performance of tribal dance in the afternoon.
Tribal folk games in particular will showcase bamboo or banana tree climbing, cock fighting, churi-cheero (female) and archery display while the open air dance performances would consist Munda tribe, song and drama division (Jharkhand), Mandar College (Jharkhand), Tea Tribe (Assam), War Jaintia Tribe (Meghalaya), Song and Drama Division (Jharkhand), Jhumri Dance (Odisha), Koya Tribe (Andhra Pradesh), Mavilan Tribe (Kerala), Orao lok nritya (Jharkhand) and Mahua Jari Group(Jharkhand).
According to university students, every year the fest is an attractive moment for the students and teachers to learn new customs and issues prevalent in other parts of the country and world.