Chhattisgarh, Sikkim bag top awards in national tribal dance festival

Host Chhattisgarh and Sikkim bagged the top awards in two categories in the third National Tribal Dance Festival (NTDF) cum competition that concluded in Raipur on Thursday.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was present at the concluding session along with his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel.

Chhattisgarh’s troupe that performed the Karma dance won first prize in the ‘dance on the occasion of harvesting of crops’ category. The second and third prize went to Odisha for Dhemsa dance and Himachal Pradesh for Gaddi dance. Sikkim won the top prize in the ‘dance on traditional occasions and rituals’, while Odisha and Jharkhand teams won the second and third prizes respectively. The jury special mention award went to Gujarat. Teams from 10 foreign countries that participated in the dance festival were felicitated by Baghel and Soren.

Speaking on the occasion, Baghel said the event showcased the richness of tribal culture. “The lessons about nurturing and conserving nature and folk culture, taught through beautiful dances, are priceless for us,” he said.

He reiterated that the tribal culture united all and the aim of the event was to conserve it and showcase its richness on a mega level.

The chief minister announced that the state foundation day event has been extended by three days and the stalls of arts and crafts ware, departmental stalls, those of industries and public sector undertakings, food zone, and book fare among others would remain open for the public till Sunday.

Soren said in Chhattisgarh, Baghel was making efforts to give a forward push to a section of society that has been exploited for centuries. His (Baghel’s) government was working for progress and development of tribals, Dalits and other backward class people, he added.

“I am feeling proud to be on this platform,” he said.