Culture is one of the finest gifts handed down by our ancestors. The World Cultural Festival 2016 was a contribution towards raising awareness of cultures in our rapidly shrinking global village and an attempt to bind the strands of culture together in a single fabric bringing us closer. Here are some interesting things you need to know about the WCF’16!
1. It was the celebration of Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s 35th anniversary of Art of living foundation, held on the banks of New Delhi’s Yamuna River from 11 March to 13 March .The event had a budget of 400 crores, having the world’s largest stage built in 7 acres.
2. Over 35 lakh people came to participate and volunteer from different countries. Nearly 36,000 artists performed on a dance called ‘cosmic rhythm’ which was a mix of 30 dance forms. The event also saw magnificent performances by Sufi dancers from Pakistan and Argentinean dancers doing the Tango.
3. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the event saying that the world cultural festival was a very unique “kumbh mela”- a grand celebration of art and culture. He also said art of living is not in your comfort zone you need it to strengthen yourself, overcome difficulties and live on your own terms without being influenced by others.
4. The founder wanted to spread a message of peace in the subcontinent and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar went on to say that Jai Hind and Pakistan Zindabad should go together, amid the ongoing anti- national sloganeering at JNU.
5. The Wangala which had 25 artists and the colourful Bihu dance were the highlight performances of the last day which were performed by the North East.
6. The message of Unity in Diversity was rightly delivered by celebrating the spirits of humanity like never before through art, music and dance.
7. The event was successful in delivering the message of diversity, plurality and acceptance by 155 countries and 3.5 million people.
