The 38th Chakradhar Samaroh Started with Dignity. | 20 Sep 2023

Why In News?

On September 19, 2023, Raigarh MLA Prakash Nayak and Dharamjaygarh MLA Laljit Singh Rathiya formally inaugurated the 38th Chakradhar Celebrations by lighting the lamp at the Municipal Corporation Auditorium of Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, famous throughout India for music, dance and literature.

Key Points:

• It is known that the 38th Chakradhar Samaroh is being organized with dignity at the Municipal Corporation Auditorium Raigarh from 19th to 21st September.
• On the inauguration of the festival, Raigarh MLA Prakash Nayak said that through the organization of the nationally renowned Chakradhar Festival, the audience will get a chance to get acquainted with various forms of art.
• Dharamjaigarh MLA Laljit Singh Rathiya said that Raigarh is the city of Sur Taal and Chakradhar festival has gained fame at national and international level. Organizing this will provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the talent of the artists.
• Raigarh Collector Taran Prakash Sinha said on this occasion that Raja Chakradhar Singh himself was a great artist and was a generous patron of artists. Raigarh is a city of art connoisseurs. On the initiative of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Ramayana Mahotsav was organized here, which gained fame at the national and international level.
• For the first time, the cultural talents of the district and state are being provided a platform in the Chakradhar Festival, where along with singing and dancing artists, talented local artists of the young generation are also taking part in the festival.
• This year, as part of youth participation in Chakradhar Samaroh, a large number of school students of Raigarh district are being given a group dance performance and a platform is being provided to local artists.
• A group of 60 artists from Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, which has the distinction of being the only music university in Asia for a long time, will also perform at the Chakradhar function.
• The team will present Chhattisgarhi folk music and dance based on classical singing, sarod playing, rhythm playing, tal Kachhari, Sugam music, Kathak and folk songs and dances of Chhattisgarh based on the forms in which Shri Ram has been seen.
• Chakradhar ceremony also has its own historical significance. Before independence, Raigarh was an independent princely state, where cultural and literary activities were spread on a large scale. Famous musician Kumar Gandharva and Hindi's first Chhayavadi poet Madhukar Pandey were from Raigarh. When the process of merger of the princely states into India started due to the efforts of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, King Chakradhar of Raigarh was the first king to sign the consent form for the merger.
• Raja Chakradhar was a skilled percussionist and also adept in music and dance. As a result of his efforts and encouragement, new styles of music and dance developed here.
• Since pre-independence, a rich tradition of cultural events developed here during Ganeshotsav, which gradually took the form of a big event. This event was so big that after the death of King Chakradhar, the cultural workers and art practitioners here started a ten-day cultural festival in his memory in the name of 'Chakradhar Samaroh' from the year 1985.