Kalahandi Utsav

Kalahandi Utsav କଳାହାଣ୍ଡି ଉତ୍ସବ
Kalahandi Utsav Poster in 2013
Official name	Kalahandi Utsav Ghumura
Begins	January 14
Ends	January 17
Frequency	Annual

Kalahandi Utsav (Odia: କଳାହାଣ୍ଡି ଉତ୍ସବ) also called "Kalahandi Utsav Ghumara" is an annual exhibition or festival celebrated along with district administration in Bhawanipatna and Dharamgarh of Kalahandi District in the Indian state of Odisha.^[2] Kalahandi Utsav is a platform to encourage, motivate and showcase the art, culture, music, drama, literature, handy crafts of Odisha globally.^[3]

History

P.K. Jena, an ex-collector of Kalahandi first initiated the Kalahandi Utsav in 1997. Initially it was called Ghumura Mahotsav. Then it was organized at sub-division level at Dharamgarh by ex-sub-collector V. Karthikeya Pandian in 2003.^[4]

Venue

It is celebrated at Lal Bahadur stadium in Bhawanipatna and Panchayat playground in Dharamgarh. More than 300 stalls appear at both venues.^[5]

Performances

Hundreds of folk dance troupes and folk singers from different parts of the State and outside perform.^[6]

Preparation

Mahavir Sanskruti Anusthan,a Cultural organization based in Bhawanipatna trains local performers of Kalahandi district.^[7]

Gallery

Folk dancers performing on 15th Kalahandi utsav 2011, Dharamgarh
Overview of Lal Bahadur Stadium, Bhawanipatna during Kalahandi Utsav
Stage of Utsav
Kalahandi Utsav 2019, Bhawanipatna

References

^ "Colourful beginning to Ghumura festival in Odisha". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
^ "About District | Kalahandi District: Odisha". Retrieved 2019-01-04.
^ "Kalahandi Utsav winds up on Thursday". The Statesman. 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
^ "Kalahandi Utsav - GHUMURA - 2018 at Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi". allevents.in. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
^ "Kalahandi Utsav of Folk Art Forms". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
^ Pioneer, The. "Kalahandi Utsav 'Ghumura' kicks off". The Pioneer. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
^ "Folk artists of Kalahandi performed traditional Ghumura Dance at Daya Mahotsava". Development News. 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2019-01-28.