The 9-Day National Tribal Festival “Aadi Mahotsav” would kick off in Leh in Ladakh on August 17, 2019. The event would be inaugurated by the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Satya Pal Malik and would conclude on 25th August, 2019.
The National Tribal Festival or Aadi Mahotsav, is a joint initiative of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India and would be organised at the Polo Ground in Leh.
The inauguration ceremony would take place at 6 pm bedsides Shri Malik, Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri R. C. Meena, Chairman TRIFED and Smt Renuka Singh, Minister for State for Tribal Affairs would also grace the occasion.
The theme of this unique festival would be “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce” with TRIFED aiming to play the role of a ‘Service provider’ & ‘Market Developer.’
The event would feature approximately 160 Tribal artisans from more than 20 states across India, showcasing their masterpieces. Merchandise on display would include tribal textiles from Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Maharashtra; Tribal Jewelry from North East India, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh; Metal craft from Chhattisgarh; Black pottery from Manipur Tribal Paintings like Gond art from Madhya Pradesh, Warli art from Maharashtra; and Natural and Organic products from Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
The event will also feature 2 reputed local cultural troupes performing Ladakhi folk dances. The troupes will perform the Spawo, a heroic song and dance associated to K’sar the legendary hero of Himalayan region. The second dance would be the Jabro Dance – a nomadic dance and song of eastern Ladakh. The coming days would see other dance performances like Abex Dance/song, Ghazal Dance, Aleyyatoo, Flower Dance to keep the visitors entertained.
Mahotsav which will also cover to identify:(a) Food and Forest Produces, which can be processed, value added and marketed under the Van Dhan Scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs ; and (b) Artisans and master craftsmen and women of Ladakh for empanelling them as suppliers of TRIBES India. These products can then be marketed all over the Country through the 104 retail outlets run by TRIBES India across the country and 190 countries across the world through AMAZON, with whom TRIBES India has an agreement.
Tribes comprise over 8% of India’s population. The tribal textiles manufactured by Master tribal Craftsmen from Jammu and Kashmir in the North to Tamil Nadu in the South and from Gujarat in the West to Nagaland/Sikkim in the East will win people’s heart. The Traditional tribal jewelry, bamboo cane also promise to be the items of attraction.The Tribal handicrafts would be sold through 70-100 Stalls under the Tribes Banner by tribal Artisans. In line with the national aspiration to go cashless, for the first time the tribal artisans will be accepting payment through major credit/debit cards for which Point of Sale (POS) machines have been provided in each stall. A special training has been conducted by State Bank of India for smooth operations of this. The Mahotsav will display the rich digital commerce and e-commerce being promoted by Tribes India.
