NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Tourism has planned a cultural extravaganza — a series of performances — showcasing the vibrant and colourful customs, arts and crafts of the states at Mahakumbh to be held starting January in Prayagraj. Following the consultation with the Uttar Pradesh government, the ministry has got prime space allocated close to the main Mahakumbh Mela venue so that more visitors can witness the festivities. For the first time, the ministry and the state government will jointly be hosting the cultural events at the Kumbh.Union tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told this newspaper that the cultural performances are being planned in collaboration with the state government, which had allocated 18 acres — more space than the last year — the ministry’s pavilion.“There will be cultural performances such as classical and folk dances depicting vivid tradition daily in the afternoon and evening. We will give out space to each state, where they exhibit their arts, crafts and tourism places; basically we will create a mini-India like the culture ministry did during the World Heritage Committee held in Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. It will be a grand show of culture, crafts, costumes and cuisines,” said Shekhawat.He held a meeting with the team of the UP government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath around Diwali to plan activities proposed by the ministry. Last year, the ministry was given space across the river; therefore, its pavilion got comparatively lesser footfall.“The ministry was allotted 12 acres of land along the other bank of the river, which resulted in fewer footfalls. Only 10 lakh people visited our pavilion in 40 days while it could be 1 crore. The ministry and the state government would operate cultural space parallelly. I decided that we would multiply our energy; we will not divide it. I held a meeting with the UP government and as a result of discussion, the ministry had got 18 acres of land near the tent city in Daraganj,” said the tourism minister.The UP government is in the process of identifying 15 locations, where the state’s performances will take place on a rotational basis around the venue.The Maha Kumbh 2025 will take place from January 13 to February 26, spanning 45 days. Speaking at an event earlier this week, UP CM Yogi Adityanath promised that the event would be one of the world’s largest religious, spiritual and cultural gatherings.He also talked about collaborative efforts of the Central and state governments being made for the largest religious congregation.
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