Bangladesh to be guest country at Khajuraho Dance Festival 2017

Khajuraho: The 43rd edition of the Khajuraho Dance Festival here will have Bangladesh as the guest country.

Organised by the Department of Culture of Madhya Pradesh, the week-long festival from February 20 will be held against the backdrop of the Khajuraho temples in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India.

"We are introducing Atithi Devo Bhav this year to introduce their (Bangaladesh) cultural practices.

This year, we are inviting Bangladesh to showcase their culture and to celebrate the spirit of dance in musical extravaganza of Khajuraho," Rahul Rastogi, Assistant Director at Ustad Allaudin Khan Academy, Bhopal, told IANS.

With the artistes being chosen by national selection committee, the Khajuraho Dance Festival 2017 will see artistes perform different forms of Indian classical dances like Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Chhau, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi and Kathakali.

"The festival will also have programmes like Art Mart, Naipathya, International Film Festival to create a package for the audience. They are not only enjoying the musical extravaganza, but also educating themselves through discussions," Rastogi said.

"Art Mart is an international art exhibition targeted to the youth. Many other workshops are available to showcase our culture and cultural practices," he added.

This edition of the Khajuraho Dance Festival will have Bangladesh's popular classical cultural organisation Shadhona. The artistes of Shadhona will perform everyday at this week-long festival. 

The international art exhibition, Art Mart, will include different paintings, sculptures, graphics and photographs. 

Besides India, 22 countries, including Bangladesh, Canada, Bahrain, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Korea and Turkey, are participating. From India, 550 artists are taking part.

It will also host Kala Varta, which will include discussions on current scenario or art and art market. It will also have poetry, films, paintings, performing arts among other forms of art.