First Gwalior Heritage Festival kicks off

Gwalior, Mar 8 (UNI) The historic city of Gwalior came alive with a musical beginning of its first Heritage Festival envisaged to promote the natural, cultural and architectural heritage of the city.

The three-day event, which started yesterday, is an attempt to relive the city's legacy by the Gwalior Heritage foundation formed by Member of Parliament and Maharaja of Gwalior, Jyotiraditya M Scindia. The event was inaugurated by Union Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chaudhary.

''It is our duty to preserve our heritage for the future generation, and I congratulate Mr Scindia for that. The attempt will attract a large number of tourists to the city,'' she said after inaugurating the festival.

The festival would showcase the renovation of Moti Mahal Palace and other historical sites of Gwalior. The renovation work has been taken up by The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a non-profit organisation set up in 1984 to protect and conserve in the country's vast natural and cultural heritage.

The restoration of such heritage buildings was an attempt to bring to the notice of public, the local art of the artisans, Ms Chaudhary said.

''With such restorations, we discover the artists whose hands still have that magic,'' she said.

Mr Scindia said the festival would ensure that the coming generation comes to know about the rich heritage of Gwalior.

''Our objective is to ensure that respect for the rich art, culture and music is also restored in the minds of future generation. The festival is an attempt to infuse new life and energy in the Gwalior heritage,'' he told the mediapersons.

''We will try and make it an annual event and this a small beginning to let people know the richness of Gwalior,'' he said.

The first day of the festival saw spellbound performances by Pandit Laxman Krishna Rao, Meeta Pandit, Begum Parveen Sultana and fusion band MRIGYA.

They performed at the Baija Taal, Moti Mahal Palace, which is one of the brightest example of Gwalior's grandeur and rich heritage.

It was built in the 19th century during the reign of Maharaja Jayajirao Scindiya.

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