Nagpur: The 28th Orange City Craft Mela and Folk Dance Festival commenced in the city on Friday, with colourful events. The Annual event will be open to the public till March 20.
Richa Khare, Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway, Nagpur Division; and Dayashankar Tiwari, former Mayor, lighted the traditional lamp to mark the inauguration of the festival. Anand Kasbe, Member, Board of Directors, South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC); Dr Deepak Khirwadkar, Director of SCZCC, also shared the dais.
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Monday 02 March 2025
Speaking on this occasion, Tiwari said that this was the first event organised by SCZCC in offline mode after Covid-19 pandemic situation. Culture binds various parts of the country and Orange City Craft Mela reflects the richness of diversity of India, he added.
‘Padma Shri’ Radheshyam Barley, Panthi dance artist; and heads of other folk dance groups were felicitated on this occasion. The first day performances started with Pournima Chavan and group presenting ‘Ganesh Vandana’. It was followed by Gotipua dance by Satyapira Palai and group from Odisha, Rai dance by ‘Padma Shri’ Ramsahay Pandey and group from Madhya Pradesh; Bihu by Giriraj and group from Assam, Chapeli by Prakash Bisht and group from Uttarakhand, Panthi by ‘Padma Shri’ Radheshyam Barley and group from Chhattisgarh, Kalbeliya by Shivnarayan and group from Rajasthan, and Lavani by Pournima Chavan and group from Maharashtra.
The guests also visited handicraft and delicacies stalls in the Orange City Craft Mela, and appreciated the artists and participants. Kachchi Ghodi performance by Banwarilal and group from Rajasthan,and Bahurupi performances by Shamshad and group attracted the attention of visitors.
Renuka Deshkar and Deepak Kulkarni, Assistant Director (Programme) of SCZCC, compered the programme.
