Compendium of 55
Lakh Artists and Artisans
Survey Plans by ASI
through ISRO (Gagan Based App)
Centrally
Protected Monuments in the Country now 3686
Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) for Artefacts in Museums
‘13th World Robot Olympiad’ to be held in Delhi during Nov, 2016
First
of its kind - ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav’organized by m/o Culture
|
Year End
Review 2015
|
|
Ministry of
Culture
|
Culture plays an important role in the
development agenda of any nation. It represents a set of shared attitudes,
values, goals and practices. Culture and creativity manifest themselves in
almost all economic, social and other activities. A country as diverse as India
is symbolized by the plurality of its culture. The mandate of the Ministry of
Culture revolves around the functions like preservation and conservation of our
cultural heritage and promotion of all forms of art and culture, both tangible
and intangible. The Ministry’s task is to develop and sustain ways and means
through which the creative and aesthetic sensibilities of the people remain
active and dynamic. The functional spectrum of this Ministry is wide, ranging
from generating cultural awareness at grassroots level to promoting cultural
exchanges at international level. In order to achieve these objectives, the
Ministry undertakes various activities that flow from subjects allocated under
the Govt. of India’s Allocation of Business Rules.
E-TICKETING OF
ALL TICKETED MONUMENTS:-
There are 116
ticketed monuments and 32 museums under the protection of ASI. E-ticketing
facility has been launched in coordination with Canara Bank with the aim of
providing online booking facility for visitors. Moreover, the facility is
proving to be less expensive when compared to manual ticketing system which was
prevalent earlier. Additional benefit will be in terms of relieving ASI personnel,
mostly monument attendants, who will now be able to concentrate on the security
and maintenance of monuments instead of dispensing and checking tickets.
As of
now, online ticketing service has been initiated for all ticketed monuments.
Process is underway to procure hardware to have computerized facility for the
sale of e-tickets at the Point of Sale also. E-ticketing facility (online and
at site) has already been started at several monuments in Agra and Delhi, that
include Taj Mahal, Agra and Humayun’s Tomb, Safdarjung Tomb, Tughlakabad Fort,
Old Fort (Purana Qila), Red Fort, Kotla Firozshah, Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.
Web
link: http://asi.payumoney.com/#/
3D PHOTOGRAPHY
OF THE ARTEFACTS IN NATIONAL MUSEUM, NEW DELHI
National
Museum has already digitized approximately 15,759 antiquities in 2D format and
now with the new vision of the Ministry of Culture, a 3D digitization Pilot
project has been initiated to take it to another level. This project once completed
will be a pioneering effort in the field of museum experience. It has been
taken up at the National Museum with a team of researchers and photographers
from the Deccan College, Pune. For digitizing the objects in 3D format a
standard procedure has been adopted.
For
the digitization of one object after it is taken out form the reserve, it
requires about 10-15 minutes for the photography of the object depending upon
its size. Presently, 3D photography work is going on in 3 departments (i.e.
Archaeology, Decorative Arts and Central Asian Antiquities) of the National
Museum, New Delhi. Till 31st December, 2015 around 50 objects in 3D
anaglyph shall be readily available.
These
3D images will give a rich experience to the public/viewers who would witness
these images with high sense of virtual viewing of the object including its
every detail in a credible manner. Such a project has been taken up in India
for the first time by National Museum.
NATIONAL VIRTUAL
LIBRARY OF INDIA:-
Under
the aegis of the National Mission on Libraries, the National Virtual Library of
India (NVLI) has been envisaged as the platform which would bring together all
information generated in India and about India and make such information
accessible to the citizens through user friendly search interfaces. A number of
web based information services have been conceived to make best use of
information technology. NVLI will provide a platform for users from all sectors
to seek information through well researched services implemented through user-friendly
interfaces.
Objectives:-
a.
Collect, collate and Disseminate information on all cultural
objects, rare books /documents, orphan books, museum artifacts, manuscripts,
archival documents, Audio-Visual collections of all MoC organizations, Heritage
sites, tradition & customs, tourism . Provide access to everyone in an Open
Access Environment.
b.
Content development – all existing digital resources to be
identified and sourced.
c.
Organization of information resource base using standard tools and
techniques.
d.
Plan, design and implement digital information services and
searching.
e.
Facilitate Multilingual Information Resource collection.
f.
Implement robust and secure computing infrastructure.
g.
Provide usage and impact indicators through user, resources and service
use statistics.
h.
Incorporate procedures for feedback and up gradation of the
system.
Target Groups/Sectors:-
All sections of the Society including Scientists and Researchers
, Students and Faculty, Children , Disadvantaged Groups , Skilled professionals
, Industry &Business, Agricultural Sector and Farmers , Health Sector ,
Legal Sector , Tourism Sector.
COMPENDIUM OF
ARTISTS AND ARTISANS & CULTURAL MAPPING OF INDIA IS IN PROGRESS
The
mandate of Ministry of Culture to preserve, promote, explore and share India’s
culture and heritage along with its ethos and values for the benefit of
mankind. In pursuance of this vision, among others, Ministry of Culture has
been administering a few finance-based schemes to identify, nurture hand-hold
and train the upcoming and budding artistes on a sustained basis. This is
carried out by way of grant of scholarships, fellowships, pensions, and other
forms of grants/assistance. With a view to reach every nook and corner
throughout the length and breadth of the country; there is a need to have
data-base of such art forms and artists, which we refer to as cultural
mapping”. This could consolidate the data at one place in a systematic manner
and help us to streamline and rationalize various financial grant schemes being
implemented by the Ministry for artists and cultural organizations, and ensure
effectiveness, transparency and value for money.
In
order to regulate these schemes and to carry out a survey on cultural
topography of the country, project of Cultural Mapping of India under which
data of artists shall be collected, has been initiated. In order to conceptualize
the project, a number of meetings of experts has been held since 15th May, 2015. The work of entry of data
of artists has been assigned to CCRT, New Delhi. Till date data on
more than 55 lakhs artists has been collected. In order to collect the data
of artists, Ministry is also taking the help of State Govt. and other
organizations.
Under
this scheme, a web portal would be developed through NIC for collection of data
directly from artistes online for cultural mapping, which will serve as an
artist repository and which can be used in future for the purpose of providing
grant-in aid under various cultural schemes administered by this Ministry. In order
to generate fund and to run the Mission, a draft mission document has been
prepared by a sub-committee of Experts constituted for this purpose. Once
the mission document of Cultural Mapping of India gets finalized, this will be
sent for consultation to NITI Aayog and other Ministries.
NSD’S
RE-DEVELOPMENT PROJECT – APPROVAL ACCORDED BY THE SFC
On
the occasion of Golden Jubilee Celebrations in the year 2005, a Committee
called Broad Based Committee (BBC) consisting of eminent theatre experts /
practitioners/ educationists, administrators and faculty members, was
constituted by the National School of Drama Society, a fully funded autonomous
organization under Ministry of Culture, to devise NSD’s vision for 21st
century.
The
Committee, inter-alia, made various recommendations including Re-development
Project to provide NSD a new campus. The proposed NSD’s Re-development Project
was placed before the SFC, chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Culture in its
meeting held on 14-12-2015. The Committee after due discussions /deliberations
approved the same at a cost of Rs.180 crores. This Project is likely to be
accomplished in three years & nine months period.
CONSERVATION
PORTAL FOR ASI WORKS:-
Portal for
Conservation works is being launched by the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI) which aims to capture details of all conservation and development works
being undertaken by its various circles. The portal has been developed to
increase transparency and will be accessible to public as a part of
e-governance initiative. The portal will have details of all works being
undertaken by ASI through its various circles, viz., conservation programme,
progress of work, attendance of workers, etc., including time line, which can
be monitored at different levels. The portal is expected to be launched
shortly.
EASE OF DOING
BUSINESS - WEBSITE AND GAGAN BASED APP FOR NMA PERMISSIONS:-
The NOC online web Application and processing system (NOCAPS)
provides a mechanism to obtain clearance from the National Monuments Authority (NMA)
on the proposed sites of construction / re-construction which fall within the regulated
limits of any centrally protected monument/sites without going through time
consuming paper work.
In this process, Form-I has to be filled up by any individual
applicant/firm/Govt. organization on the portal itself for obtaining the
clearance from the National Monuments Authority on their proposed sites of
construction/re-construction which falls within the regulated limits of any
centrally protected monument/sites. The form requires the details of the
proposed work with the enclosures viz. the building plans, maps, property
papers etc.
Thereafter, Form-II has to be filled up by the concerned
Competent Authority in respect of the applicant who has applied in Form-1 for
NOC/clearance from National Monuments Authority. The basic details of this form
contain the details of Form-1 as submitted by the individuals; this also
includes several reports e.g. inspection report, Impact Assessment report etc.
with the specific comments and recommendations of the Competent Authority. The
Application is reviewed by the concerned Competent Authority (CA) and then
forwarded to NMA for consideration. The recommendation of NMA will also be
communicated online.
The Applicant can track the application online and view the
status at various stages.
The online portal was launched on 29th September 2015 by Culture
Minister.
Now, NMA is in the process of creating CA login and organizing
training sessions for Competent Authorities to enable them to access the online
portal.
GAGAN
based App has been developed by ISRO in consultation with the Archaeological
Survey of India which will enable the applicant to upload the location of the
plot via-a-vis the monument/site through geo- coordinates in the ISRO BHUVAN
map. It will shortly be integrated with the web portal of NMA.
SURVEY
PLANS BY ASI THROUGH ISRO (GAGAN BASED APP):
·
As
per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, survey
plans are to be prepared for prohibited and regulated areas of all centrally
protected monuments and sites. Under the Act an area up to 100 m from the
protected limit has been declared as prohibited area and an area of 200m
further beyond prohibited area, has been declared as regulated area.
·
Parameters
for preparation of survey plans are defined in the rules made under the Act.
The job of preparation of survey plans has been assigned to the National Remote
Sensing Agency/ISRO. For this purpose Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has
already been entered into an MOU with NRSA/ISRO. It has been estimated that the
Survey maps indicating protected, prohibited and regulated areas of all
centrally protected monuments would be completed within the span of one year.
·
Once
they are prepared, they will be shared with Ministry of Urban Development and
also loaded on the web sites of MoC and ASI. It is also proposed that at a
later stage the Protected/Prohibited/Regulated areas of all the 3686 monuments
be incorporated in the Master Plans of the cities where monuments are located
for effective implementation.
·
As
capacity building, four regional workshops were organized by ISRO Regional
Centers to train Archaeologist and technical staff posted at various Circles.
Further, a National Level Workshop was organized at New Delhi on 10.12.2015
involving Officers of MOC, ASI, ISRO and National Monuments Authority. The
Survey map prepared so with the help of NRSA/ISRO shall be helpful for framing
Heritage Bye-laws and in the process of grant of permission for construction
related activities within prohibited and regulated areas near centrally
protected monuments.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF
ALL PROTECTED MONUMENTS
As
a part of digitization efforts, and for online visitors to have a virtual
experience of the monuments, a minimum of 10 number photographs per monument
(for all 3686 protected monuments under ASI) covering different aspects and
from different angles have been collected from all field offices. These
photographs are being processed and will be published on ASI’s website shortly.
PORTAL
ON MUST-SEE MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF INDIA
ASI
is developing a portal for the “Must-see Monuments and Archaeological Sites of
India”, under its protection. The purpose of creating the portal is to
highlight outstanding monuments and sites in India, comprising world heritage
properties, sites under UNESCO’s Tentative List, ASI’s ticketed and other
non-ticketed prominent monuments. Nearly a hundred monuments have been
identified for this purpose. Sites have been selected on the basis of their
exceptional art and architecture, planning and design, displaying exemplary
engineering skills and being a unique testimony to the civilization in the
past.
The
portal carries brief history regarding each monument and information such as connectivity
and access, weather conditions, timings of opening and closing, facilities
available at site, 360 Degree/panoramic views (in collaboration with Google)
and other Must-See monuments in the vicinity. The portal is being with the hope
that these will be visited by a large number of people from India and abroad,
and will contribute to their visiting these outstanding sites.
Information
for the portal including photographs has been collected from various field
offices. The portal work is in progress and it is expected to launch it within
a month.
RADIO FREQUENCY
IDENTIFICATION (RFID) FOR ARTEFACTS IN MUSEUMS
Museums
and Art Galleries, all small, medium and large, keep huge collections of
objects, antiques and artworks. These collections always remain dynamic - they
are constantly moved or checked for a variety of reasons e.g. display,
conservation, photography, research, storage redevelopment, inventory, audits,
maintenance etc.
Keeping
track of the whereabouts of each and every item within the collection is a core
function of every Museum and Gallery. Traditionally this has been done through
manual record-keeping, updating ledgers or card files with new locations
whenever something is moved. Typically stock verification is done once in 5
years in the manual system, which is highly inadequate from security of
artefacts point of view.
RFID
allows collections staff to track movement and take inventory of artifacts
without physically handling them, thus greatly reducing damage to collection
items and making it possible to do stock verification every week, which could
be a trend setter in museum security. For example a hand-held reader could
easily read 20 or more items stacked on top of each other in a storage drawer.
Besides the reduced handling, the ability to scan multiple items also has a
positive impact on staff productivity.
The unique
features of RFID technology (in particular that line of sight not required to
read tags and that 100's of tags can be read per second) enables Museums and
Galleries to totally automate these processes.
A
pilot project had been launched in National Museum, Delhi, with 211 passive
RFID tags for object/artworks. On the success of the project, Ministry of
Culture intends to replicate the project in other museums under the control of
Ministry of Culture in 2016.
SWACHH
BHARAT – SWACHH SMARAK
25
ADARSH SMARAK
·
25
ASI sites have been launched as “Adarsh Smarak” on 26th
December, 2014 for providing improved visitor amenities, especially for the
physically challenged, besides cleanliness, drinking water, and interpretation
centres, audio-visual films etc. All the 25 monuments will be conserved on
project mode basis. The civic amenities will be augmented at these sites. ASI
has already concluded an MoU with ONGC for providing these amenities at Taj
Mahal at an estimate of Rs.20.75 crore. Similar MoUs will be concluded for 5
more monuments. ASI also proposed to conclude MoU with BHEL and NBCC for
providing such monuments with these facilities.
·
Swachh
Bharat mission has been launched in the Ministry of Culture on 25th
September, 2014 with signing of an MoU between ASI, ONGC and Ministry of
Tourism for constructing toilets and other facilities at Taj Mahal. Five more
monuments have been covered under Clean India campaign.
·
After
detailed consultations, Archaeological Survey of India has finalized the
National Conservation Policy, Excavation and Exploration Policy and guidelines
on ASI Museums. The Village to Village Survey Scheme has been revived. The
Aurangabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Goa, Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Shimla, Thrissur and Vadodara Circles surveyed
2087 villages, of which 727 yielded antiquaries/ remains/ ancient mounds/
structures etc.
·
Vishnu
Temple, Vishnugudi, District Wayanad, Kerala was declared as a monument of
National Importance. The total number of centrally protected monuments in the
country is now 3686.
FESTIVALS
OF INDIA
·
To
promote India’s soft power and to further the MEAs focus on East Asia and South
East Asia, several Festivals of India have been held at various geographical
locations, in particular in the countries of Laos PDR, Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Seychelles and Japan. Festivals of
India in Malaysia, South Korea, Mauritius and Madagascar are going on and
Myanmar and Australia are in the offing. The running central theme of most of
these festivals has been the core contribution of Buddhism and the bilateral
relations.
·
Indian
Museum, Kolkata has organized an international exhibition titled “Indian
Buddhist Art” at Shanghai and Tokyo. Most of these festivals have been spread
over several weeks and have been organized in different cities. These festivals
have been quite successful and have registered high footfalls as well as
tremendous local media coverage and attention.
WORLD’S
HERITAGE
·
Rani
ka Vav (Gujarat) and Great Himalayan National Park (H.P.) have been inscribed
on World Heritage List during the 38th session of World Heritage
Committee held from 15-25 June, 2014 at Doha, Qatar.
·
The
9th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the safeguarding
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was held at UNESCO headquarters, Paris.
India’s nomination of “Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making
among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab, India was unanimously accepted
for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity. India now has a total of 11 elements inscribed.
·
Ministry of Culture participated in the III International
Conference “Cultural Policy, Policy for Culture: the role of culture in
‘Sustainable Development in Post 2015 Agenda” with Framework of the 70th Anniversary
of UNESCO held in Yerevan, Armenia from 10-14 July, 2015.
·
India
has been elected for the next four years (2014-18) to the Inter-Governmental
Committee for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in a vote on
4th June, 2014 at UNESCO headquarters, by the Central Assembly of
the State Parties to the Convention for the safeguarding of the ICH. India won
the election by a resounding 135 votes out of a total of 142 cast.
·
India
was also nominated as Vice Chair to the Committee for the Safeguarding of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage for the period November 2014 to November 2015.
E –
GOVERNANCE
·
A
new website of the Ministry of Culture and Mobile App has been launched. The
Ministry is now on social media platforms.
·
The
links and their total number of followers/subscribers are as follows:
|
S.
No.
|
Social
Media Platform Link
|
Total
Followers/Subscribers
|
|
1.
|
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/IndiaCulture.Goi
|
6720
Followers
|
|
2.
|
Face
book: https://www.facebook.com/indiaculture.goi
|
9447
Likes
|
|
3.
|
You
Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sanskritigoi
|
153
Subscribers
8,000
Views
|
(As on December 30, 2015)
SANSKRITI APP
Sanskriti is a
Mobile App to view cultural events of India. The main categories of events that
can be viewed are Music, Theatre, Dance, Exhibitions, Film Shows, Literature,
Lectures and Programs for children. This Application provides updates on the
Events organized under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It gives the
list of events and automatically detects current location of the mobile and the
city is selected accordingly. User can also select city of his choice and see
the listings. User can also search the events by Venue, Date or Location. There
are 9 categories in the App i.e Music, Dance, Theatre, Exhibition, Film Shows,
Children, Literature, Lectures and Others. There are number of sub categories
in all categories.
https://apps.mgov.gov.in/descp.do?appid=760
M/O
CULTURE’S GROUP ON MYGOV:
Group
on MyGov
web portal has been created in the name of Ministry of Culture to ensure
citizens active partnership in nation-building through Tasks, Discussions,
Polls, Blogs and Talks.
https://mygov.in/group/ministry-culture/
Currently,
one discussion on the portal is ongoing (web link placed below) to invite suggestions
and ideas for effective use of media in promoting Indian culture and heritage.
https://mygov.in/group-issue/give-suggestions-ideas-effective-use-media-promoting-indian-culture-and-heritage/
The
administration and implementation of the various schemes run by the Ministry of
Culture have been delegated to organizations under the charge of the Ministry
in order to facilitate and speed up processing. All major schemes have been
made online and application forms have been simplified. The system aims to
ensure transparency and effective monitoring.
DIGITIZATION
·
The
digital collection of more than 52,289 images in respect of selected Museums,
where Jatan software is being implemented in the first phase, has been
transferred to the Digital Repository at C-DAC Pune and is available for public
viewing on the web portal “museumsofindia.gov.in”. In addition, 12 virtual
exhibitions have also been uploaded on this web portal for public viewing.
·
National
Mission on Monuments and Antiquities has uploaded about 3.15 lakh entries
pertaining to documentation of Antiquities from various Museums/ Documentation
Resource Centres (DRCs) across India on the NMMA website.
·
Digitization
of records and open access to archival resources has been taken up in a big
way. National Archives of India has launched its online search portal “Abhilekh
– Patal” on its 125th Foundation Day on 11th March, 2015.
2.3 million catalogue entries and 12000 digital images have been uploaded.
About 15 lakh pages have already been digitized and more projects are underway.
·
After
the recent weeding out of the records by various Ministries, transfer of
official records from Ministries to NAI has commenced. 2000 officials of
various Ministries were trained on Records Management Practices by the National
Archives of India (NAI).
GANDHI
HERITAGE
·
All
components of Dandi project namely construction of National Dandi Memorial,
development of Dandi Heritage Path from Ahmedabad to Dandi and development of
21 Night Halt places have been approved. Government of India has also accorded
its approval for the construction of National Dandi Memorial at Dandi.
Construction of the Heritage path has begun. Work relating to 21 night halt
places is under progress.
·
Gandhi
Heritage Sites Mission has taken up several projects. These include upgradation
and modernization of Gandhi Ashram Trust at Noakhali (Bangladesh); upgradation
of the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Barrackpore, Kolkata; curating exhibition of
permanent nature at Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, South Africa and creation
of data base relating to Gandhi Heritage Sites etc.
·
Approximately
8,02,382 pages have been uploaded on Gandhi Heritage Portal.
·
The
Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2014 was conferred on Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO) by the President of India on 9th September, 2015
in recognition of its outstanding contribution in use of space technology for
the social, economic and political transformation of the nation through
non-violence.
INTERNATIONAL
CULTURE RELATIONSHIP
The
SAARC Heads of Government met in Kathmandu and agreed for enhanced focus on
cultural relations. The SAARC Culture Ministers met in Delhi and agreed on the
SAARC agenda for Culture for 2014-17 in the form of Delhi Resolution. India
hosted the SAARC Literary Festival on South Asian Poetry from 2-5 July, 2015 at
Bengaluru.
·
Programme of Cultural Cooperation between India and Uzbekistan
for 2015-17 was signed.
·
Cultural Agreement between India and Kyrgyz Republic was
signed.
·
Programme of Cultural Cooperation between India and Tajikistan
for 2016-18 was signed.
·
The 21st meeting of India-Russia Working Group on Culture and
Tourism, co-chaired by Ministry of Culture, was held on 27-28 August, 2015 in
Moscow.
·
Programme
of Cultural Cooperation between India and Bulgaria for 2015-2017 was signed on
4th September, 2015.
OTHER
ACHIEVEMENTS
·
The inaugural function of
two commemorations – Centenary Komagata Maru incident on 29th September, 2014 and Birth Centenary of
Begum Akhtar on 7th October,
2014 have been held. 125th Birth
Centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru had also been inaugurated on 14th November, 2014. The Centenary is being
celebrated with focus on Swachh Bharat and promotion of Scientific Temper. Some
more commemorations had been approved for celebration in 2015 like that of Lala
Lajpat Rai, Maharana Pratap, Rani Gaidinliu, Tatya Tope, Bhisham Sahni and 500
years of return of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Vrindavan. In addition, closing
ceremony of 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru had also been held on
14.11.2015.
·
The
National Archives of India is celebrating its 125th Foundation Year
in 2015-16. The inaugural ceremony was held on the Foundation Day on 11th
March, 2015.
·
Rs.200
crore has been released for the Statue of Unity – a statue of Sardar Vallabh
Bhai Patel.
·
Many
educational institutions have been chosen in Varanasi for development as
Interpretation Centres based on famous luminaries and important themes
regarding the city. Work in this direction is in progress.
·
Annual
conference of CIDOC, the International Committee for Documentation ICOM, took
place from 7th to 9th of September, 2015 at the National Museum Institute.
THE
EYE AND THE MIND: NEW INTERVENTIONS IN INDIAN ART’ A TRAVELLING EXHIBITION
ORGANISED BY NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ARTS IN THREE MAJOR MUSEUM IN CHINA
National
Gallery of Modern Arts organized a travelling exhibition entitled 'The Eye and
The Mind: New Interventions in Indian Art' at three major museums in China. The
exhibition at Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China from 8th January 2015
to 3rd February 2015 saw a footfall of 45,368, at China Art Museum, Shanghai
from 10th April 2015 to 12th August 2015, the exhibition saw a footfall of 11,
04,281 and at Minsheng Art Museum , Beijing, China from 23rd October to 21st
December 2015.
A
total of 39 artworks were presented by 24 artists in this exhibition. This
exhibition presented thought- provoking and cutting- edgeworks of art by well
known artists such as Anju Dodiya, Arunkumar HG, Atul Bhalla, Baiju Parthan,
Bharti Kher, Chintan Upadhyay, G.R. Iranna, Hema Upadhyay, Jittish Kallat,
Ranbir Kaleka , Ravi Agarwal, Reena Kallat, Manisha Parekh, M Kamath, Mithu Sen,
N.S. Harsha, Pooja Iranna, Rekha Rodwittiya, Riyas Komu, Sachin Karne, Sheeba
Chhachi, Surendran Nair, Tushar Joag and Veer Munshi. These are essentially
artists who have emerged in the 1980s, 1990s in India presenting their own
practice by portraying the reality that they have experienced and depicting
strongly their concerns as individuals. As the focus of world economies shifts
towards Asia, most notably China and India, it would be interesting to observe
how Indian artists respond to being placed in the global spotlight.
M/o
CULTURE CELEBRATED 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF
INDIA THIS YEAR
‘Abhilekh
Patal’- Portal for Access to Archives and Learning is an initiative of National
Archives of India to make its rich treasure of Indian Archival Records
available to one and all at the click of a button which was launched by the Minister
of Culture, Dr. Mahesh Sharma on the occasion of 125th foundation
year celebration on 11th March 2015.A new logo of the National
Archives of India was launched by the Minister of Culture on this occasion. An
exhibition entitled Treasures of National Archives of India was also organised
in the National Archives Museum premises which was open for public till 10
April 2015.During the yearlong celebrations, the National Archives of India
planned to release a series of publications, launched the renovated National
Archives Museum, organised archival exhibitions to raise the archival awareness
amongst masses, arranged workshops and seminars for the professionals to
highlight the role of Archives in Society as well as in the administration.
M/o
CULTURE CELEBRATED THE BIRTH CENTENARY OF LEGENDARY FREEDOM FIGHTER RANI
GAIDINLIU
Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the celebrations of “Birth Centenary of
Legendary Freedom Fighter Rani Gaidinliu” at Vigyan Bhawan on August 24, 2015.
The Prime Minister also issued a commemorative coin of hundred rupees and
circulation coin of five rupees on Rani Gaidinliu. Referring to her as
‘Rani-maa’, the Prime Minister said it is our misfortune that people such as
Rani Gaidinliu have either not been remembered adequately, or have been
deliberately forgotten. He emphasized that India must remember the glorious
heritage of the freedom struggle, and ensure that the legacy of the struggles
and achievements of our freedom fighters is passed on to succeeding
generations.
INDIRA
GANDHI RASHTRIYA MANAV SANGRAHALAYA, BHOPAL AWARDED WITH RAJBHASHA KIRTI AWARD
BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
In a
gracious ceremony held on 14th September, 2015 in the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the 3rd prize Rajbhasha
Kirti Award to the Director of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya,
Prof. Sarit Chaudhuri. This prestigious award was given to IGRMS in the
category of Boards and Autonomous Institutions. The President congratulated the
award winners for their commendable work and urged everyone to come together to
propagate the use of Hindi. It is worth mentioning that the Sangrahalaya had earlier
received Índira Gandhi Rajbhasha’ Award for the implementation of Rajbhasha
Policy in the same category during the years 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2013-14.
NATIONAL
COUNCIL OF SCIENCE MUSEUMS (NCSM) CELEBRATES “GOLDEN JUBILEE OF MOBILE SCIENCE
EXHIBITION (MSE) PROGRAM”
National
Council of Science Museums (NCSM) under Ministry of Culture celebrated “Golden
Jubilee of Mobile Science Exhibition (MSE) Program” at Science City, Kolkata
from 17th – 19th November 2015. This flagship program started as Mobile Science
Museum (MSM) in 1965 with a motto: “If the people do not visit the museum, let
the museum visit the people at their doorstep.” First MSE (then MSM), on the
theme ‘Our Familiar Electricity’ was inaugurated by Shri Praffula Chandra Sen,
then Chief Minister of West Bengal at Ram Krishna Mission School, Narendrapur
on 17th November 1965. However, the first MSE Bus was flagged off in
1966 from Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Kolkata. Since, then the
MSE buses have travelled a distance of 14,88,297 km and have been visited by
more than 6,45,19,367 people so far. This has made MSE the largest and longest
running non-formal science education programme in the country.
MSE
program is an attempt of NCSM to communicate science and technology in the rural
India. At present, 23 MSE buses attached with different Science centres of NCSM
spread across India, travel to unreach rural part of India and help develop
scientific temper in the society. Besides exhibits, there are programmes like,
Taramandal Show, Science show, Open house quizzes, sky observation programmes,
film shows and science demonstrations to enrich the minds of students and the
general public.
A
workshop on various themes like ‘Challenges in conducting MSE Program’,
Relevance of MSE program in current scenario’, Future model of MSE and add-on
activities has also been organised from 17th - 19th
November 2015. NCSM officials which included Education Officers, Technician,
Drivers etc. associated with MSE programs were felicitated on the occasion.
‘RASHTRIYA
SANSKRITI MAHOTSAV’ ORGANIZED BY M/O CULTURE
Ministry
of Culture organized the most diverse and first of its kind National Cultural
Festival of India- ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav’ at IGNCA, Janpath, New Delhi.
The 8 day long Festival was inaugurated on November 1, 2015. The festival saw a
cultural extravaganza including hours of daily cultural performances from 10 AM
to 6:30 PM at the Aangans and from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the Main Stage. The
events presented a cultural confluence with 150 Art forms, performances by more
than 1500 Artists; 32 forms of Paintings, Visual arts, 400 Master Craftsmen;
Cuisine by traditional Master Chefs. The 8 days festival witnessed live
performances by a number of renowned Indian artists like Gurdas Maan, Sharda
Sinha, Sandeep Mahavir, Roopkumar Rathod & Sunali Rathod, Malini Awasthi
and Taufiq Qureshi. The closing ceremony also witnessed a soulful performance
by renowned Sufi singers – the Wadali Brother’s.
7
Aangans by the Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCC’s) offered the visitors a range of
artifacts, handicrafts like Haveli paintings from Punjab, Rogan artworks from
Gujarat, Banaras silk, Kalamkari (hand-painted or block-printed cotton
textile), Tanjore paintings and many more. Starting from Bihu of Assam, Aji
Lamhu from Arunachal Pradesh, Sarlamkai from Mizoram, Wangala of Meghalaya,
Dang of Gujarat, Dhekni or Ghode Modni from Goa, Dummy Horse & Nyandimelam
from Tamilnadu, Panthi Dance from Chhatisgarh and much more, the festival
witnessed high energy & intensity filled performances by a number of
Maidani Kalakar and artists from 7 Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) including
Patiala, Udaipur, Thanjavur, Kolkata, Nagpur, Dimapur and Allahabad.
The
Food Court at the festival offered the visitors a range of traditional Indian
dishes from different parts of the country including Kheema ki Lukhmi, Dum ka
Chicken and Dum ki Biryani from Hyderabad, Nargisi Kofta, Murgh Yakhni, Rista
and Gostaba from Kashmir, Thaalipeeth, Misal Pav, Batata Wada and Masala Bhaat
from Maharashtra, Patthar ka Ghost - Spicy Mutton cooked on a thick stone slab
from Telangana and more such dishes like Matka Roti, Vegetarian Marwari
Platter, etc.
Activities
for school children including Poster making competition, Cultural Attire- fancy
dress competition, face painting, folk performances
(Singing/Dancing/Instrumental) and on the spot photography competition along
with various workshops including Origami, Block Printing, Puppetry, Mask Making
and Pottery/ Clay Modeling were also the part of the festival.
VICTORIA
MEMORIAL HALL WAS AWARDED AS THE CLEANEST MONUMENT IN THE ‘SAFAIGIRI SUMMIT AND
AWARD – 2015’
Victoria
Memorial Hall, Kolkata has been awarded the “Cleanest Monument in Safaigiri
Summit” organized by India Today. A team of 19 gardeners, seven sweepers and
four casual labourers maintain the entire 57- acre property. It’s Secretary Mr.
Jayanta Sengupta says that the museum is a no- plastic zone and about 250
trashcans, all evenly spaced have been kept to avoid littering. The monument
gets a steady stream of morning walkers picnic crowds throughout the day, and
visitor who drop in for exhibition or events such as the Kolkata Literary Meet.
“If you visit during the winters, you will just see a sea of people on the
premises. School children are given free entry. “he says. Sengupta and his team
are planning another block of toilets and a massive cleaning and renovation
drive to enhance and preserve its aesthetic appeal.
13TH
WORLD ROBOT OLYMPIAD’ WILL BE HELD IN DELHI DURING NOVEMBER, 2016
First
time in the history of World Robot Olympiad, Indian students won three medals
(1Gold & 2 Silver) and one position (Eighth) in the WRO-2015. The theme of
this year’s World Robot Olympiad was ‘Robot Explorers’. Students representing
more than 55 countries participated in the event. The winner students shared
their experiences with the Minister. The Minister interacted with the winners
and wished them grand success in the forthcoming events.‘13th World Robot
Olympiad’ will be held in Delhi during November, 2016 for the first time. It
will be organized by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) with India STEM
Foundation (ISF). Team India Storm Divers and India Thunder Divers from
Ahmadabad won 1st and 2nd rank respectively in Elementary category
and Team India Shadow Bots and Path Finders from Delhi won 2nd and 8th rank
respectively in Open category. To showcase their talent and creativity teams
from over 225 different schools across India participated in this event.
DANDI
SALT SATYAGRAHA MEMORIAL PROJECT
A memorial
to mark the historic Dandi March led by Gandhiji in 1930, is proposed to be
built at a 15 acre plot in Dandi, Gujarat, at the site where Gandhiji and his
fellow marchers picked up salt from the sea beach to break the salt law of then
British India. The Dandi Salt Satyagraha Memorial is conceived as an
experiential journey recreating the spirit and the energy of the Dandi March,
taking visitors step -by-step to understand the Dandi March story and the
methodology of Satyagraha – the non-violent movement – which finally led to
India’s freedom from British colonial rule.
A
statue of Gandhiji inside a pyramid of light, followed by a cluster of
life-size stoneware sculptures of the group of the 80 fellow marchers will be
the main memorial. It is proposed to create a pathway towards the main memorial
which will replicate the Dandi March route, through 24 spaces representing the
24 halts. Each space will have a panel carrying a visual depiction of the main
events which occurred during the day’s journey to the halt, through bas-relief
sculptural narratives in stoneware.
The
proposed design for the memorial was formulated by a National Design Team which
included artists and professionals from leading design schools from India,
under the aegis of a High Level Dandi Memorial Committee constituted by the
Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The project of creating the memorial
is envisaged to be a participatory one where the creative minds of the nation
and the world come together to recreate and remember an event that changed the
political destiny of the nation.
FESTIVALS
OF INDIA ABROAD- 2015
SAHABAT
INDIA- THE FESTIVAL OF INDIA IN INDONESIA 2015 IN YOGYAKARTA
The
Festival of India was inaugurated on 13 March at Prambanan Temple Complex,
Yogjakarta by Mr. Sripaduka Paku Alam IX, Vice-Governor of Yogjakarta, Mr.
Gurjit Singh, Ambassador of India to Indonesia & Timor Leste and Ms. Lailly
Prihatiningtyas, President Director, PT TWC. Indian artists from Charkula Art
Academy, Mathura (India) performed the traditional folk dance on the theme of “Krishna
and Radha", while the Indonesian artists performed the Ramayana ballet,
which was enacted in Ramayana International Festival in India in February 2015.
FESTIVAL
OF INDIA IN MAURITIUS 2015
This Festival
was organised by the High Commission of India with the support of Ministry of
Culture, Government of India, and in collaboration with Ministry of Arts and
Culture, Government of Mauritius. It was launched at a gala inaugural ceremony
on Friday 21 August 2015 at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture,
Phoenix. The Festival was inaugurated by Lady Sarojni Jugnauth, in the presence
of the Hon. Santaram Baboo, Minister of Arts and Culture, and the Chief Guest
from India, Minister of State (IC) for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of
India, Dr Mahesh Sharma, who visited Mauritius from 21‐22
August 2015 specially for the event. Two very special inaugural performances
kicked off the Festival of India following the lighting of the ceremonial lamp
and presentation of the Festival logo to the dignitaries ‐ a
Ramlila presentation by the famous Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, Delhi and
'Nrityarupa', a composite presentation of classical dance forms conceptualised
by the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi. The Festival of India in Mauritius,
which continued till 1 November 2015, comprised a series of presentations of
Indian performing arts by renowned artistes, including classical and folk
dances & music, theatre, and even traditional puppetry. The Festival also
included exhibitions on various cultural and educational themes, literary
conferences and seminars, and film/documentary screenings. Besides showcasing
Indian artists and performers, the Festival also presented artistic
collaborations with Mauritian artists and organizations.
The 3rd World
Urdu Conference was also organized under the umbrella of Festival of India in
Mauritius. A seven member strong delegation of Urdu Scholars/poets from the
Sahitya Akademi took part in the Conference. The deliberations were followed by
a cultural performance- Mehfil-e-Qawwali on 28th November, 2015.
FESTIVAL OF
INDIA IN REPUBLIC OF KOREA 2015
The Festival of
India was inaugurated in Seoul at the Millennium Hilton on the evening of
Monday, November 9, 2015. A 20‐minute
performance by the Drums of India group sponsored by the Ministry of Culture
and a sponsor‐supported
Indian food festival was held at the inaugural event. 180 specially invited
influential guests included senior corporate figures from Korea, cultural
figures (noted Korean author and long ‐standing friend
of India, Ryu Shihwa and academics, cultural event managers, and some of
Korea’s most famous TV, theatre and pop music stars, Government officials,
Korean media (English and Korean language), diplomats and Indian community. The
second performance in Seoul at Lotte Culture Hall, Yeongdongpo was held on
Tuesday, November 10, 2015 where Drums of India troupe followed by an Odissi
Dance Troupe, arranged separately by the Mission performed in front of 150
persons. The Drums of India Troup performed at the inauguration of India’s
first Cultural Centre in Busan on November 11, 2015 – India’s Cultural Centre
is the first standalone Cultural Centre in Korea’s largest city. The
performance had an audience of around 300 persons including members of the
local Consular Corps, officials of the City of Busan including the military
garrison, the President and Vice President of the Tongmyong University, leading
India‐scholars,
and business representatives.
FESTIVAL OF
INDIA IN SRI LANKA 2015
The Ministry of
Culture in collaboration with the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka
organized the Festival of India in Sri Lanka from the 19th November
2015.The High Commission of India in Sri Lanka launched ‘SANGAM’ - the Logo for
the Festival of India in Sri Lanka on 18 November 2015 in Colombo.
The
inaugural event of the Festival ‘Nrityarupa’ was organised at the most iconic
venue in Colombo – the famed Neelum Pokuna Theatre, on 19 November 2015. Former
President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the chief guest
at the inaugural event. A number of Ministers of Sri Lanka and members of the
Diplomatic community were also present on the occasion. Given below is the
Rangoli in the foyer of the Nelum Pakuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre at the
Festival of India in Sri Lanka.
FESTIVAL OF
INDIA IN MONGOLIA- 2015
The Festival of
India in Mongolia was inaugurated in the Central Cultural Palace in
Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia on 7th November, 2015 coinciding with
celebration of the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations
with Mongolia. The main event of the inauguration was “Drums of India”
performed by a troupe of percussion artists from different parts of India. MP
Mr D Demberel, former Speaker and currently Head of the Parliamentary Group on
India in the State Great Hural (National Parliament) was the chief guest during
the inaugural event. Others who attended the inaugural ceremony were present
and former political figures, ambassadors and representative of foreign
missions, senior government officials from Ministry of Education and Culture,
Foreign Office and other departments, large number of students, monks from
monasteries, art and yoga enthusiasts etc. The function was very well attended
and enjoyed with enthusiasm. The event received wide coverage in print and
electronic media.
FESTIVAL OF
INDIA IN MADAGASCAR
The Festival of
India was opened at Hotel Ibis in Antananarivo, Madagascar on 9 November.
Around 300 invitees including high ranking officials in the local Govt, members
of the Diplomatic Corps, members of the India Diaspora and persons of Malagasy
and other nationalities attended the opening ceremony. The festival is being
organised by the Embassy of India in Antananarivo with support of Ministry of
Culture, Ministry of Tourism & Indian Tourism Development Corporation
(ITDC). The Festival continued till 15 November, 2015.
*****
Sanjay
Kumar/jk/Culture Year End Review-2015/31.12.2015