April 10 : On completion of the 25 years of Zonal Cultural Centres of the country, spectacular Cultural bonanza awaits the public during the Grand Silver Jubilee celebrations of Seven Zonal Cultural Centres of India at the main venue- Parade Ground, Panchkula. The grand celebrations of the event are being organised under the aegis of Ministry of Culture by the Zonal Cultural centres of India and support of the Haryana Government. The Zonal Cultural Centres are the main hubs of Culture spread across all states of the country to propagate the great tradition of folk arts of India.
Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the four day mega cultural programme in the august presence of Respected Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson NAC and UPA as the Chief Guest of the Function. The Hon’ble Minister for Culture, Kumari Selja will be present during the Opening Ceremony which is scheduled to be held at 06.30 pm on April 13, 2012 at Parade Ground, Sector 5, Panchkula (Haryana). H.E. the Governors of Punjab; Rajasthan; Uttar Pradesh; West Bengal; Nagaland; Maharashtra; and Tamil Nadu who are also Chairpersons of the ZCC in their respective states and the host Chief minister, Shri Bhupender Hooda, the Hon’ble Chief Minister will be among the host of Dignitaries expected to witness the spectacular choreographed performances being put up by the Creative Director of the show Sh. Bansi Kaul.
The second day will see the Hon’ble Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Science and Water Resources Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal gracing the occasion as the Chief Guest. The Special show of North East India on the third day will have the Hon’ble Minister for DONER, Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar will be the Chief Guest. The closing day will have H.E. Shri Shivraj Patil, the Governor of Punjab as the Chief Guest with the Hon’ble Minister for Culture, Kumari Selja as president.
At the venue Parade Ground Sector 5 Panchkula , the whole village is being set up is on the theme “Matti ke Rang”. The infrastructure of the artisan Village spans seven hubs encompassing the rare spectrum of Cultural art & Heritage of all states of the country to be showcased during 25th Anniversary of Zonal Cultural Centres .The venue has been divided into three segments and seven courtyards are being set up, 15 mastercraftsmen would exhibit their unique artefacts in each courtyard. About 1500 renowned artists from the country would enthral the audience with their scintillating performances. Hundred of artists and artisans have come from various regions to showcase their talent and art forms.
During the cultural programmes to be organized, the public would also have an opportunity to taste different cuisines of seven zones, the food stalls shall be another attraction as a part of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations. There shall be diverse craft items of the various regions spread across all states and Zonal cultural Centres. Special Folk Music and Dance presentations will be showcased depicting the rich and unique cultural milieu of the country. There will also be the Martial Arts and Martial Dance of all the regions of India. The idea is to showcase the rich tapestry of our culture. The Ministry of Culture , Government of India has constituted a high power steering committee including Sh.Bansi Kaul, Smt Shobna Narayan, Smt Durga Jasraj,Smt Kiran seth, Sh.G.S.Channi and Sh.Rattan thiyan as members to oversee , guide and conceptualised the celebrations and programme which will be continue for one year as a part of Silver Jubilee celebrations of ZCCs.
The ZCCs have been envisioned and conceptualise by the former Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi , who realised that culture was the most suitable tool that can be used as the base for national integration – it has the capacity to reach across to people, cutting across barriers of time, space, language, values and traditions. It is pertinent to remember the words he spoke then: “The performing arts reach across all communities, all language barriers, and have a unique role to spread the values that have inherited. Participating in the performing arts is an osmotic process of building values, awareness, familiarity and respect and even reverence for different strands in the rich tapestry of our civilisation and our heritage. So integrating our country must be seen as one of the functions of the performing arts today.”
Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) were set up 25 years ago and conceptualized to preserve, innovate and promote the projections and dissemination of folk arts cutting across regional cultural borders and bring about unity through culture. The 7 overlapping zones comprising the Zonal Cultural Centres have promoted, cross-promoted and created opportunity for cultural exposure and awareness among the people of different states and regions. With the philosophical implication that the number 7 has, the seven ZCCs epitomizes a celebration of cosmic time and space.
The genesis of the seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCC) of the country can be traced to this dream of late Shri Rajiv Gandhi. These seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs), spread across the country, were set up in 1985 as autonomous bodies under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India with the objective of preserving, innovating and promoting the projections and dissemination of arts pertaining to the respective zones or regions. Formed to create awareness about local cultures among the people in the hinterland, these centres have been playing a supportive role to the manner in which local flavours merge into Zonal identities, and eventually into the rich diversity of India’s composite culture.
The 7 ZCCs comprises of North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata, West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur, North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur, North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad, and South Central Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur. These are Autonomous registered bodies under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India with the Governors of the host State as Chairperson of each ZCC.
While India’s diversity is a matter of pride and joy for the people of the country, it has posed tremendous problems towards the cause of national integration. The performing arts, especially folk and tribal art forms which reflect the sheer diversity of the country’s spiritual traditions, are the main thrust areas of the ZCCs, they have also been promoting other arts forms, such as handicrafts, the fine arts, literature, cuisine, documentation of rare and dying folk traditions, innovative ideas in the field of culture, encouraging young talent in folk arts etc. The youth has always remained a major focus area of these seven centres. Besides novel schemes like the Guru-Shishya Parampara, periodic training programmes and workshops for rural children and youngsters are organized on a regular basis to ensure their holistic development. Women oriented programes and special programs for the physically challenged children called “Umang” festival are organized by the ZCCs.
25 years is a long time for any organization to look back in retrospect at its activities. While the ZCCs can now look back and smile for having made a difference, they cannot relax as they have to ensure that the flag they have unfurled reaches newer heights. As the centres celebrate their silver jubilee year, they reaffirm once again their commitment towards unity through culture.