Quite frankly we have not been great fans of events organised by the government. Our experience is that these events are half hearted and not worth the time. Therefore while we saw/heard promotions of the The National Cultural Festival of India, we were not enthusiastic about covering it.

While driving around IGNCA we saw this magnificent gate and instinctively parked outside. This was the last day of the aforesaid festival and we were stunned at the grand but aesthetic environment that had been created. The fair area was divided in pavilions depending upon various parts of India. South, east, north east and Delhi.

Each pavilion was artistically designed with themes of that region.

The pavilions carried stalls selling handicrafts and handloom items of the region. There were performers rendering various folk arts by way of impromptu performances.

To add to the fun there were people dressed up as various characters from the epics. Young and old everybody was excited to get clicked with these characters.

Next we wish to mention the huge food court that had been setup. There were roughly fifty stalls selling food from all over India.

Some of the items from example Assam or Nagaland were really exotic. They had setup tables for the diners. Additionally that whole ground was laid with carpets for people to sit and eat on the ground.

No fair is complete without having the food from the fair. We had freshly made appam and stew from Kerala Stall.

Along with that we couldn’t resist having Amritsari Naan platter from Punjab. Spicy and loaded with butter, this made our Mela experience even more sumptuous.

They also had the photography exhibition happening simultaneously as part of Delhi Photo Festival 2015. Photographs were displayed on bamboo structures in open area.

At the other end of IGNCA there was a huge stage that had been erected for cultural programmes each evening. On the first day they had Gurdas Maan.  On the concluding evening we watched a Pungachoam performance as well as a sufi concert by Wadali brothers.

The magnificent stage, the early winter breeze, the sound of already 50 punga drums and the soulful renditions of the celebrated Wadali brothers filled us with awe about the team who had created the event.

We admit with a lot of happiness that we stand corrected about government initiatives.