Darjeeling Hill Festival showcasing tribal heritage inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu.

Key facts

• President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the Darjeeling Hill Festival at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling, now renamed Lok Bhavan.
• The festival is curated by experts from the Indian Museum and involves Indian Museum, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Victoria Memorial Hall, Maulana Abul Kalam Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS), Asiatic Society, universities, public institutions, and non-governmental organisations.
• Governor C V Ananda Bose, chairman of the board of trustees at the Indian Museum, conceived the festival.
• The exhibition titled ‘Roots and Rhythm’ will display rare artefacts from Indian Museum’s ethnographic collections representing tribal communities across North-East hills, Central India forests, Eastern India, southern highlands, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• Indian Museum director Sayan Bhattacharya stated that objects include Adi cane helmets, Naga warrior sculptures, Santhal jewellery, Kondh Dokra effigies, Toda embroidered textiles, and Onge wooden vessels.
• A Tribal Art Camp for Darjeeling school students will be organised by Indian Museum, Kolkata to engage youth with indigenous art traditions.