Question : Festival of India

(a) whether the festival of India is being organised by the Government in Ghana from January 25 to March 16, 2017;

(b) if so, the details of the funds allocated along with the expenditure likely to be incurred during the said festival;

(c) the activities organised along with the artists and artisans who have participated/are participating in the festival;

(d) whether the Government proposes to organize such type of festivals in other countries in near future; and

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government to promote Indian Culture in the world?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR CULTURE & TOURISM
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) & (b) A Festival of India is being organised in Ghana from January 25 to March 16, 2017 with the likely expenditure of Rs.1,16,77,280/- .

(c) The activities planned during the Festival in Ghana are: (i) Amalgamation of Indian classical dances; (ii) Music (Sufi/Folk); & (iii) Saptarang – confluence of seven classical dance forms. In addition, the other events to be held in the Festival of India in Ghana are; (i) Food Festival, (ii) Film Festival; and (iii) Yoga & Meditation Lecture-cum-Demonstration by Indian Embassy in Ghana.

The detail of the artists and artisan participating in the Festival of India, Ghana is given in the attached Annexure.

(d) & (e) Festival of India is an ongoing scheme of the Ministry of Culture under which Festivals of India are held in foreign countries. As the part of the Festival, Ministry of Culture organises cultural events in different genres such as Exhibitions, Theatre and Literary events. Decision regarding the countries where Festivals of India maybe held is taken based on a number of factors including proposals received from Indian Missions abroad, announcements made during the VVIP visits, significant milestones in relation with the foreign nations, etc. This is an on-going process.

Annexure

Detail of the artists participating in the Festival of India, Ghana

(I) Dance Group (Inaugural Function)-Amalgamation of Indian Classical Dances by Lok Chhanda Cultural Unit

(i) Ms Maitreyee Pahari - Leader
(ii) Nibedita Mohapatra - Artist
(iii) Shailja Nalwade - Artist
(iv) Ritushree Choudhury - Artist
(v) Shilpa Verna - Artist
(vi) Shweta Devendra - Artist
(vii) Kuleshwar Thakur - Artist
(viii) Nikhil Lal - Artist
(ix) Nand Kumar - Artist
(x) Sandeep Nag - Artist
(xi) Shubhamani Singh Mayanglambam - Artist
(xii) Victoria Devi Kouthoujan - Artist
(xiii) Sangita Devi Sorokhaibam - Artist
(xiv) Anoop Joshi - Artist
(xv) Rajesh Saibabu - Artist

(II) Music Group – Sufi/Folk by Dr Mamta Rani alias Dr Mamta Joshi

(i) Mamta Rani Alias Dr Mamta Joshi - Group Leader
(ii) Chetan Mohan alias Chetan Mohan Joshi - Artist
(iii) Deepak Kumar - Artist
(iv) Gurmeet Singh - Artist
(v) Gurvinder Singh -Artist
(vi) Roshan lal - Artis
(vii) Gurinder Singh - Artist
(viii) Jaswant Singh - Artis
(ix) Surinder Singh - Artist

(III) Saptarang Classical Dance

(i) Shubhada Mahohar Vardkar - Leader
(ii) Latasana Devi - Aritst
(iii) Renjish Nair - Artist
(iv) Shreya Sabharwal - Artist
(v) Sanskriti Uday Bhanu Chatterjee - Artist
(vi) Pranali Vijaykumar Jambhale - Artist
(vii) Sujatha Nair - Artist
(viii) Neeru Sabharwal -Coordinator
(ix) Ajay Sambhaji Kasurde - Light and sound

(IV) Food Festival

(i) Shri Sundeep Katyal, Chef, Hotel Janpath
(ii) Shri Narinder Kumar, Cook, The Ashok Hotel