Amid the shivering December winter and natural beauty of Havala village, Shilpgram Utsav 2014 commenced with artists coming from the corners of India. Governor Kalyan Singh and Home Minister of the state Gulab Chand Kataria inaugurated the 10 day long festival.

The festival commenced with the speeches from Kalyan Singh and Gulab Chand Kataria emphasizing the Utsav to be a stepping stone for all youth to embark the love for folk art and craftsmanship. This festival is one of the ways to bring the cultural and traditional aspects of India together on one stage.

The festival began with the performance by Odisha’s Gotipuwa Dance form namely ‘Bandha’ in which boys disguised as women performed acrobatics and traditional art. After this, Karma Tribal artists from Madhya Pradesh displayed ‘Baiga Karma’ dance.

The Dekhni dance form by Goa and Ghasiyari dance by Uttarakhand became the main attractions. Besides these, other art forms such as Baun (West Bengal), Rauf (J&K), Veerai Natnam (Puducherry), Gidda (Punjab) and Vasava (Gujarat) enticed the audience.

On the inaugural function, the President of WZCC, Mohammad Furkan Khan informed that the 10 day long festival will showcase artists from 21 states of India and it will be a great platform for shoppers to buy authentic and ethnic handicrafts.