SRINAGAR: Secretary Culture, Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, said that cultural heritage is the spirit and soul of any society and the need is to project it in its right perspective.
He made these remarks while addressing a mammoth gathering after inaugurating the 8-day-long Theatre Festival Kashmir at Tagore Hall here organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages (J&K AACL).
Dr Syed Abid said that we have a rich cultural heritage and responsibility lies on the society as a whole for its preservation and promotion. He said that there are challenges for the revival of art, culture, and languages but we have to work collectively and come up with solutions in a better way.
Calling upon the artists to change their thought process with the evolving times, he said that there is a need to change our thought with time and project the nuances, requirements, and issues of the younger generation in our theatre. He said that we have to lace our cultural presentations with the issues of the younger generation and incorporate fresh ideas that resonate with them. He said that our efforts should provide a platform to young artists and make an enabling atmosphere for the youth to nurture their talent.
He assured the artists that government will extend handholding support and any decision will be taken only after proper consultation with all the stakeholders and processes will be made easy to facilitate them in every possible way. He further said that our efforts in the Culture department need to be all-inclusive and talent and hard work should be the yardstick for all.
He said that the festival will provide an opportunity to the artists to showcase their talent and inspire students towards theatre.
The 8-day-long Theatre Festival is being held from March 2 to March 10, during which registered Theatre groups of Kashmir will perform.
On an inaugural day, the theatre group SAATH performed Arnimal drama enthralling the audience. The other plays that are going to be performed during the festival included Gindan Tamashe by Young Dramatic Society, Chakder Pather by Azad Dramatic Club, Tankha by Dilshad Cultural Forum, Akh Pryetch by Yamberzal Youth Club, Tankha by S. R. Theatre Ganderbal, Dakhe Loor by Shahkar Cultural Society and Nam te Maaz by JK Cultural Revolution.
OSD Culture, Tufail Matto, while speaking on the occasion, said that we have to remain connected to our culture and committed to working towards the preservation of our mother tongue.
In-charge Divisional Head of JKAACL, Farooq Anwar, in his welcome address gave a brief about the different phases of theatre in Kashmir and urged upon all to contribute towards making the festival a great success.
