India has nominated Gujarat’s famed traditional dance form Garba for inclusion on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
The latest nomination will be considered for the next year cycle, a top official said on Saturday.
The Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage had added Durga Puja in Kolkata to its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last December.
Curtis had said.“The latest nomination will be considered for the next year cycle. The nomination files will be examined by the evaluation body mid-2023 and the inscription will be decided at the 2023 session of the committee by the end of next year”.
In one of his slides, which carried an image of Garba performers, and captioned ‘Garba of Gujarat India’s next element’, mentioned that the “file was currently undergoing technical treatment by the Secretariat”.
Curtis, during his address, had praised India for its rich and diverse intangible cultural heritage, saying it has “a whole breadth and diversity in its intangible cultural heritage”.
India currently has 14 Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) elements which are inscribed on this list, including Ramlila, Vedic Chants, Kumbh Mela and the latest being Kolkata’s Durga Puja.
The country had received the honour of Kolkata’s Durga Puja being inscribed on the coveted list at the committee’s 16th session held at Paris, France.
The committee had commended Durga Puja for its initiatives to involve marginalised groups, and individuals as well as women in their participation in safeguarding the element.
Eric Falt, Director and UNESCO Representative for the UNESCO New Delhi Office, who attended the event, stated that the recent inclusion of Durga Puja on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, represents how all stakeholders came together.
“India, perhaps offers more intangible cultural heritage practices than any other country in the world. And, many of them are in need of safeguarding. We at UNESCO work closely with the government of India in preservation of monument and the intangible cultural heritage, which many times tourists miss or are not much aware about,”