Cultural parade mesmerises crowds during Dasehra festival in Kullu

The International Cultural Parade was held in the evening on the second day of the seven-day-long Kullu Dasehra festival here today. The foreign troupes of the participating countries carried out a cultural parade through the Meena Market and Dasehra grounds. They showcased their traditional attires and presented a glimpse of their culture.

The cultural troupes of Belarus, Kazakhstan, the USA, Tajikistan, Bolivia, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Venezuela, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Russia, Nepal, Myanmar, Indonesia and Guyana enthralled the audience while marching and performing various spectacular acts. A few troupes from within the country and the state also participated in the parade. The spectators were amused and the event was lauded by one and all.

The open air auditorium Kala Kendra, having seating capacity of around 15,000 persons, was nearly half empty during the first cultural evening of International Folk Dance Festival at Kala Kendra yesterday. The spectators were displeased as the expected cultural troupe from Sri Lanka, as per the invitation card of the festival, also did not perform. Dasehra Festival committee was expecting participation of cultural troupes of 21 countries. However, only troupes of five countries found a mention on the invitation card. Now around 17 foreign cultural troupes have arrived for the festivities.

The peppy Punjabi numbers by playback singer Shahid Mallya made the audience dance with his spectacular performance of about 40 minutes. The fashion show presented by Shaina Group was well appreciated by the audience. The first cultural evening started at around 6 pm and Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla was the Chief Guest.

Artistes from all over the state, who reached the podium of Kala Kendra after passing tough auditions, entertained the audience with their performances. The artistes made the evening attractive with the presentation of Kullvi, Pahadi, Punjabi and film songs and dances, receiving applause by presenting dance on Kullvi songs. A cultural group presented a captivating Kullvi Nati.

Foreign guests were impressed and praised the culture of Kullu Dasehra.