OdishaLIVE Bureau
Dr. Nitin Bhanudas Jawale, director, tourism, odisha speaks to odishalive on the unique tourist attractions of konark festival 2017.
How you present the unique features of Konark Festival to the global tourist?
Konark festival 2017 will be a unique experience for all the visitors. We are adding the international element to it by inviting international dancers to come and perform Indian classical dances. Eminent Odisssi dance guru Ramli Ibrahim is going to perform at the festival. Ramli is well versed in Indian classical dance. He will be performing Bharatanatyam this year.
What is Odisha Tourism doing to spread word about the event?
We are making lots of efforts for the publicity of this festival. We have already put up outdoor hoardings and also engaged our social media handles to spread word about the same. We also have plans to put advertisement in television channels and all.
How do you expect to create an atmosphere around the Konark Festival?
There is a festive atmosphere around Konark these days due to this festival. Tourists throng Odisha to have an experience of this magnificent spectacle of Art, Culture and Music. Not only Konark but Puri included. We want more and more people in huge numbers to watch this festival.
Can you elaborate on the international reputation of Konark Festival?
The very fact that many reputed artists like to perform at Konark festival in itself is proof of a high standard. Of course there are other festivals in the country also like Khajuraho and Hampi. The only thing is that we have been here for very long and we have quite a good name in this sector and we have to improve upon previous years. We want to make it truly international dance festival. There are many artists from foreign sands who are not just practicing but excel in Indian classical dance. Every year we try to add more and more international visitors to the list of global audiences. We met a French lady last year who was here for the ninth time and we are quite hopeful that she will come there for 10th time also.
How do you plan to engage tourists around the festival?
Many people attend the festival and this goes to show that Konark festival is a hit among tourists and it gives recognition to state tourism. We have been more than successful in adding the International Sand Art Festival with the Konark festival and we plan to add more and more such events in future. So this whole package of good tourist experience is something that we want to blend in a big way and this will help us in the future to get more and more tourists.
Don’t you think the focus is more on attracting foreign tourists?
Our focus is not limited to foreign tourists alone. Lots of domestic tourists also line up to watch this festival. In fact it’s not about people coming to watch this festival alone. We want them to experience the whole thing as a unique package. We have lot of people in our country who love Classical dance forms, so many of them come to witness the Konark Festival.
Your comments on the rise of fusion classical music trend among the youth?
See the demand is very high among the young generations. There are a lot many people who are interested in classical dance forms. Some are into pure classical exposition while some are not. We encourage experimental performance. But on such an elevated stage, we have to maintain some standards and so, only pure classical dance forms are showcased in the Konark Festival.
