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Press Note |
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Taj Mahotsav is
celebrated each year from 18th to 27th
February. It was started in the year 1992
and since then it has become one of the most
eagerly awaited activity in Agra. Taj
Mahotsav is popular both among local
visitors and the Tourist. This February we
are celebrating the 19th year of Taj
Mahotsav with the theme ‘Ek Utsav Prem Ka (A
festival of love)’. The theme for Taj
Mahotsav this year is selected through
advertisement in leading news papers in
which the theme was invited from the people
of Agra. The selected theme winner shall be
given an amount of Rs. 2500/- on the closing
ceremony of Taj Mahotsav. The winner of this
year’s is Ms. Sapna Agarwal. |
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The objective of this
festival is not only to promote the art,
craft, culture of Uttar Pradesh but also of
various states so that the craftsmen from
different parts of the country also get
promoted. |
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About 400 craftsmen participate in this
fair. This year about 139 craftsmen are
invited from Dept. of Handloom, Ministry of
Textile in which 16 are from Maharashtra ,
10 from Gujarat, 10 from Madhya Pradesh, 9
from Delhi, 9 from Punjab, 30 from Uttar
Pradesh, 4 from Rajasthan, 8 from Jammu &
Kashmir, 35 from Bihar and 8 from Andhra
Pradesh. |
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Besides this there shall
be 150 craftsmen from Dept. of Handicraft,
Ministry of Textile, Government of India, 12
from JMDC, 8 from DRDA, 12 from SUDA, 25
from DIC, 2 from Coconut Board and 75 from
Organising Committee. |
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The variety of craft
available in the Mahotsav attracts both the
local visitors and the tourist. This year
the wood craft from Tamilnadu, Pashmina
shawl and ladies suit from Kashmir,
Terracotta from Gurgaon and Gorakhpur,
Kantha sarees from West Bengal, Silk sarees
from Varanasi, Silk clothes from Bihar,
furniture form Saharanpur, Carpets from
Bhadoi, Chikan work from Lucknow, Amla
products from Pratapgarh, Cane furniture
from Assam, Shawl from Gujarat, bedsheets
from Pilkhua and Marble inlay from Agra. |
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| Mahotsav is also a delight
for connoisseurs of good food as it is the
ideal place where both Veg and Non-vegetable
lip making dishes are available to pamper
the taste buds of the visitors. |
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| The local talent also get
boosted through this festival. As in the
past this year also during the day, the
children from different school will give 280
performances in Noorjahan Auditorium and 51
local artists will perform on the Open Stage
Theatre. Thus about 1500 local artists shall
get a chance to show their talents this
year. Besides this 22 anchors are selected
on local level for anchoring programmes in
the festival. |
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| The cultural programme in
the evening performed by the State and
National level artists shall be the main
attraction for the visitors. This year we
have a mélange of different art forms which
includes classical, folk, dance drama and
popular. The main high lights this year are
Rashtriya Saptrang by Northern Central Zone
Culture Centre, Pop singing by Daler Mehndi,
Ghazal Night by Hariharan, Krishna ballet by
Shri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra, folk singing
by Padamshri Sharda Sinha and Malini Awasthi
and Classical singing by Padam Vibhusan
Pandit Jasraj, performance by Little Champs-
Hemant Brijwasi and Shreyasi, Qawwali by
Aslam Sabri and dance performance by
Tanushree Dutta, Sanover Kabeer, Preeti
Jhangiani, Meghna Naidu and Kim Sharma. |
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| For the people with literary
fervour All India Mushaira, Kavi Sammelan,
Magic Show and Plays by IPTA and other
Organisations shall be organised at Sursadan
, Sanjay Place, Agra. 20 students from
Natnalaya Dance Academy, Australia shall
perform Bharatnatyam on 22 February. Besides
this Padamshri Devayani shall perform
Bharatnatyam on 19th February. Also this
year we have performances from artists of
Agra Gharan i.e. Gulaam Ali, Varnali Bose
(Vocal), and Vishnu Upadhyay (Sitar Vadan).
This year Khayal goi singing is also
included. On 20th and 21st February a flower
exhibition is organised at Shah Jahan Garden
where the nature lovers can enjoy the
natural beauty. For AIDS |
| Awareness a street play is
organized every day at 5 p.m. by Rang leela
in Mela Complex |
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| For the attraction of
children there shall be a funfair zone where
they can enjoy various rides. |
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| The ticket for Taj Mahotsav
is same as in the previous year i.e.
Rs.10/-. Entry is free for the children
below the age of 10 years. For a group of
100 school children ticket of Rs. 100/- is
charged in which two teachers have free
entry. All foreign visitors have free entry
in Taj Mahotsav. For the foreign tourist
small pamphlets shall be available on the
ticket windows on the different monuments
during the festival so that larger number of
tourists come to visit Taj Mahotsav. |
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| The security arrangements of
Taj Mahotsav are beefed up this year. To
keep vigil CCTV cameras are placed at
various points. On the entry gate DFMD will
be installed. Sufficient Police Force and
Private Security Forces are being deputed
for the festival to take care of security
arrangements. Keeping in mind terrorist
activities happened in the past, all
official and non-official staff and the
Craftsmen will be issued photo Identity
Cards. For any kind of assistance and help
Taj Mahotsav helpline Number is 5555 is
available. |
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| For the publicity and
information about Taj Mahotsav our website:
www.tajmahotsav.org is running on which the
latest informations about the Mahotsav is
available. |
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