Taj fest flagged off

After the Surajkund crafts fair (to end on February 20), it is now the ten-day "Taj Mahotsava", a crafts fair symbolising the end of the tourist season, which began today in Agra.

This annual Taj fest, which will continue till February 27, was inaugurated at the Shilpgram in Agra by UP Development Council Chairman Amar Singh and UP Tourism Minister Kawkab Hamid.

An interesting aspect of this year's Mahotsava is that unlike previous years, while Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has refrained from any publicity at the crafts fair, Reliance, Tata Indicom, and Airtel have installed large hoardings with "Mahotsav offers".

Bajaj Auto took full advantage of the Mahotsava to launch its environment-friendly auto-rickshaw "Eco-Rick", running on LPG.

Though an annual event, this year the situation is different. For the first time in its 12-year history, the inaugural ceremony of the fest witnessed several Bollywood personalities like playback singers Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhna Sargam, and Sukhvinder, who performed in a star-studded "Ismail Durbar Night" today at the BSNL stadium.

There was a song specially for the Taj Mahal with performances by over 20 dancers, 70 musicians, and nine top Bollywood singers. Other attractions are a kathak recital by Birju Maharaj, songs by Udit Narayan, Shankar Sahni, and Ila Arun, and a photography of the Taj Mahal's "different moods" by Raghu Rai.

This concert is the most expensive one in the 350th anniversary celebrations of the Taj Mahal.

Agra Divisional Commissioner Ashok Kumar told Business Standard this Taj fest, which had been included in the annual tourism calendar of the Union government, presented an opportunity for artisans to showcase their wares directly to foreign tourists, who arrive in large numbers at the "Shilpgram" during these ten days.

He said besides the artisans, the Taj Mahotsava was an attractive display platform for corporate heads to introduce their products to the people.

He said hundreds of craftsmen had been invited to this Taj fest from all parts of the country, and they will wear their state's traditional dress. About 50 stalls have been allotted to vendors.

Based on a Mughal theme, the Shilpgram has been built like a Mughal fortress. The UP tourism department has arranged for cultural events to be held every evening.