National Tribal Craft Mela-2023, National Tribal Dance Festival-2023 inaugurated

Bhubaneswar: This year’s edition of National Tribal Dance Festival and National Tribal Craft Mela was inaugurated today at Adivasi Exhibition Ground of Unit-I in the State Capital.

The two events are being organised by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute, Bhubaneswar every year with support from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt of India.

The National Tribal Dance Festival has reached its 12th year and the National Tribal Craft Mela its 10th year of celebration. Both events provide a platform to showcase the richness of the traditional heritage and culture of Indian Tribes.

Over the Year, these annual events are gradually becoming more popular and attractive.

The National Tribal Dance Festival will be organised from 13th-15th March between 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm and National Tribal Craft Mela from 13th-19th March between 3.00 pm to 9.00 pm.

In the National Tribal Craft Mela, 14 states like Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Odisha will showcase exquisite products of bamboo craft, lacquer craft, paddy craft, stonework, sabai & siali craft, wood craft, leaf craft, tribal painting, iron craft and textiles etc.

In this 3-day Tribal Dance Festival, 25 exhilarating and ethnic dance forms of 17 Indian Tribes from 12 different states will be staged, an official source said.

The national level events were inaugurated by Jagannath Saraka, Minister, ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare and Law, Government of Odisha.

Sulochana Das, BMC Mayor, Roopa Roshan Sahoo, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, ST & SC Development, M&BCW department, Indramani Tripathy, Director, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute, Bhubaneswar and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.