Five-day Madhavpur Ghed fair to be held in Porbandar from Apr 6

Gandhinagar, Apr 2 (PTI) The Gujarat government will organise a five-day Madhavpur Ghed fair in Porbandar district from April 6, coinciding with the Ram Navami festival with around 1,600 artists from the state and eight north-eastern states presenting cultural performances, an official said Wednesday.
The fair is being organised under the joint initiative of Gujarat's tourism department and the department of sports, youth and cultural activities, an official release said.
This five-day fair will witness participation from Gujarat as well as all eight north-eastern states of India -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, and Nagaland, it said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will inaugurate the event on the evening of April 6 in the presence of state Tourism Minister Mulubhai Bera and Minister of State for Sports, Youth, and Cultural Activities Harsh Sanghavi along with other distinguished guests, it said.
"During the fair, cultural performances will be presented by artists from Gujarat as well as the north-eastern states. This will feature the largest group of artists from the north-eastern states performing in Gujarat," it said.
In addition to Madhavpur, grand cultural events are also being organised in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and Somnath, it said.
This year, the tourism department has planned a grand "arena", that is a stadium-style setup at Madhavpur Ghed. A total of 1,600 artists will showcase cultural performances, making it the largest joint cultural presentation ever, bringing together artists from two distinct cultural backgrounds on a single platform, it said.
"The Madhavpur Ghed fair embodies the vision of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The aim of this initiative is to promote the spirit of national unity by fostering strong and well-structured connections between all states and union territories of India," the release said.
The ultimate goal of the 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' initiative is to strengthen national integration and unity across the country, it said.
Apart from cultural performance, various sports activities such as beach volleyball, beach football, a 100-meter beach run, coconut throw, and beach handball will also be organised at Madhavpur beach, it said.
Along with Gujarat, stalls showcasing handicrafts and stalls showcasing various cuisines of the north-eastern states will also be set up during the fair.
The fair is a celebration of the marriage between Lord Krishna and Rukmini, which is said to have taken place at Madhavpur. It commemorates the journey of Rukmini from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat with Lord Krishna.
As per the legend, the Mishmi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh traces its lineage back to the great King Bhishmaka, who was the father of Rukmini and Lord Krishna's father-in-law.
A total of 1,600 artistes -- 800 from Gujarat and 800 from the north-east -- are ready to showcase their rich traditions to a nationwide audience.
Pagman Dineshwari, an artist from Manipur said, "In our culture, back in Manipur, we were familiar with Manipuri and a few other dance styles, and we would only see those. But after coming here, we have had the opportunity to witness a wider variety of performances, which is quite wonderful."

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)