Boost for cultural tourism: State to hold rural festivals

kolkata: The state Tourism department will hold rural festivals to boost up cultural tourism across Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also urged the Tourism department to hold the programmes to showcase the uniqueness of folk culture of different areas. The festivals will be organised in association with banglanatak dot com. The state Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) is contemplating a proposal to set up rural craft and cultural hubs in different areas. The Tourism department is laying stress on promoting weekend village festivals in February and March.

The Tourism department will organise three-day folk festival 'Folk Safar' between February 18 and 20. More than 200 folk artistes will take part in the folk performances and evening concerts. There will be exhibition of rural handicrafts.

From February 25 to 27, four village festivals will be held. Pingla Patachitra Mela will be held in West Midnapore, while Charida Chau Mask Mela will be organised in Purulia. Mamata Banerjee had urged folk artistes to make more compact Chau dance masks, which will be smaller in size, so that people can buy and put them up on walls as pieces of room decoration. Bikna Dokra Mela and Panhmura Terracotta Mela will be held in Bankura from March 4 to 6. Along with these fairs, between February 25 and 27 fairs will be held in Gorbhanga Baul Fakir's village in Nadia and Jalangi Fakir's village in Murshidabad. The wooden doll fair will be held at Natungram in East Burdwan and Maldi Chau dancers' village in Purulia.

A senior official of the state Tourism department said during the fairs the visitors could interact with the artisans. He said home stays had come up in the villages and they were in high demand.

He said many artists from Italy and Germany had been coming to Nayagram to learn Pattachitra. They are leaning the Pattachitra songs from the folk artistes.