The Union Ministry of Culture has decided to organize the Festivals of India in Laos PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. The Festivals of India in Laos PDR would be held from February 9 to11, 2014 and in Cambodia from February 14 to19, 2014.
The Indian delegation to the Festivals of India would be led by Secretary Culture, Shri Ravindra Singh. An artiste delegation of 75 artistes would be participating in the Festivals.
The two festivals would comprise of the following:
a. Dance Festival: Classical Dance on Ramayana would be performed by the Kalakshetra Foundation over 3 days. The Kalakshetra Foundation would be performing Jatayu Moksham, Choodamani Pradanam andMahapatttabhishekam to celebrate the Ramayana in Laos PDR.
b. A Buddhist Exhibition: Dhamma Darshan would be presented with the objective of exploring and illustrating the life and teachings of Buddha as well as the sacred sites of events depicting the legend along with the dissemination of Buddhism which is based on Dhamma. The Buddhist exhibition would be presented by the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture.
c. A Buddhist Mahotsava: The Buddhist Mahotsava would be organized as part of the Festival of India will witness the construction of sand mandala, butter sculpture, sacred dance and Lama Chant by the monks from the Himalayan region. This is conducted to further disseminate Buddha’s messages in the world. The Buddhist Mahotsava would be presented by Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies Dahoo, Arunachal Pradesh.
d. A Food Festival: Indian cuisine Festival encompassing a wide variety of regional cuisines, native to India would be presented as part of the Festival of India. The Food Festival would be presented by Ministry of Tourism.
e. Mehendi Art and Yoga: Mehendi artists from the South Zone Cultural Centre and Yoga teachers from Department of Ayush would be participating in the Festivals of India.
f. A Film Festival: A film festival comprising of some of selected films of Bollywood would be presented in the Festival of India. Selected Films include, Jodha Akbar, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, etc. The film festival would be presented by the Ministry of I&B.
Festival of India in Vietnam and Myanmar will be held next month. In Vietnam the festival will be held from March 6 to15 and in Myanmar from March 17 to 21, 2014.
