SRINAGAR : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today described composite culture and inclusiveness as built-in features of the state’s ethos and called for integrating its rich diversity and heritage into the tourism industry.
“The composite culture and inclusiveness is intrinsic and built-in features of Jammu and Kashmir’s ethos. There is a need for integrating the state’s rich diversity and heritage treasure into it’s tourism industry,” Sayeed said here, after commissioning the renovated and upgraded Tagore Hall, built in 1961 in memory of Rabindranath Tagore, the great poet philosopher and Nobel Laureate.
He also announced setting up of a School of Sufiyana and Folk Music that would lead to a cultural revival by offering certificate courses in various performing arts.
“Please don’t keep this auditorium idle. Make it a vibrant centre of never-ending cultural activities,” he said.
Describing J-K as an all-season tourist destination, he said, there was an opportunity to utilise the state-of-the-art facility for organising cultural events, even during winters, which would showcase the state’s unique multiculturalism before the domestic and international travellers.
The chief minister referring to the state’s plurality and multiculturalism, hailed the state for its rich diversity and inclusiveness.
“I am sure you will make Tagore Hall a seat of cultural awakening and invite performing artists from within and outside the state to perform and enthrall the audience,” he said.
Hailing the contribution of noted litterateurs from J-K, some of whom were present in the audience, Sayeed specifically mentioned Jnanpith Award winner Rehman Rahi, Farooq Nazki and Mohammad Yusuf Taing, and asked them to become torch bearers and infuse a new life in the state’s cultural landscape.
Urging the culture lovers to keep the enthusiasm alive and kicking, the Chief Minister, who is also President of J-K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, said his visit should not be merely a symbolic exercise.
An itinerary of cultural activities be conceptualised so that the upgraded facilities at Tagore Hall and Abhinav Theatre, in Jammu, were optimally utilised, to enable the two centres to become self-sustaining institutions, he said.
Tagore Hall has been renovated by JKPCC in record time, after it was devastated in last year’s floods.
Matching any modern-day auditorium, the 426-seat Tagore Hall is laced with HVAC fire-fighting, heating and cooling systems and fully computerised stage management system. (PTI)
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