Artists from northeastern states recently took part in the 10th All India Drama and Dance Festival in Agra.
The five-day long festival, which included dance and drama competitions, was organised by the Agra-based Sanskar Bharati Natya Kendra. Around 470 participants from 15 states, including Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam, took part in the cultural event.
On the concluding day of the festival, the participants took out a colorful procession on the streets of Agra where they performed classical and folk dances of their states.
"I would like to tell the artists that we may be from different parts of the country but our traditions and cultural heritage is one. We need to stay united so that we can say that India is a great country," said Ajay Dubey, organizer.
From Manipur, ten troupes, each comprising ten members, participated in the festival.
The Manipuri artists also performed plays in Hindi, a language not spoken widely in the region.
"We are all Indians. Hindi is the national language of India. So it is important for us to speak the language. Here, many groups from outside have come, and even we keep on going outside the state. Hence, it is important for us to know the language. Not only is it necessary, but we also get the feeling of being united when we speak the language," Yualvam Vidya Singh, a participant from Manipur.
The audience was overjoyed to see the willingness of the performers to learn the national language and connect with rest of the country.
"Hindi is not used much in Manipur. But, the fact that the people from there have come so far to showcase their tradition shows how much the artists and locals value the Hindi language. It is a very significant step in uniting the country that people have come here from Manipur to participate in the event," said Radheshyam Varma, an audience.
Events like this provide a platform to people from different parts of the country to interact with each other, thereby promoting national integration.
