Saving girl child: Himachal folk dance aims for world record

Kullu, Oct 17: Over 13,000 artistes will perform a folk dance in this Himachal Pradesh town this month to highlight the message of saving the girl child, and will also aim to create a world record, an organiser said on Saturday.

The Guinness Book of World Record's office in London has given its approval to monitor the performance of more than 13,000 folk dancers during the Kullu Dussehra celebrations, Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar told IANS.

He said this attempt would be the largest voluntary participation in an event at one point of time.

"With this Kullu Natti (as the folk dance is called) is all set to enter the Guinness Book of World Record as the largest folk dance in the world," he added.

Last year over 8,760 artistes performed a folk dance at the Kullu Dussehra festivities and entered the Limca Book of Records.

Kanwar, the brain behind holding the folk dance, said the participants, this time both men and women, would take a pledge to work for the cause of the girl child.

"More than 13,000 participants have registered for the dance. They will be coming to Dhalpur grounds on October 26, dressed in traditional attire to make this world record and to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Kullu," he said.

"Since there is no prior category or record related to the folk dance, any number of participation will create the record, but our aim is to make a record that is difficult to break," he added.

He said the mascot of 'Pride of Kullu', a girl in traditional dress, designed by designer Gitesh Gupta has been launched.

The District Dussehra Committee, the organiser of the weeklong festivities, will now launch merchandise to promote the cause of the girl child.

The weeklong Kullu Dussehra festivities, which will begin on October 22 will conclude on October 29.

Kullu Dussehra is a centuries-old festival and celebrations begin on "Vijaya Dashami", the day when the festivities end in rest of the country.

IANS