President Droupadi Murmu to inaugurate Darjeeling Hill Festival showcasing tribal heritage

KOLKATA: President Droupadi Murmu will inaguurate Darjeeling Hill Festival at the Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling, now rechristened the Lok Bhavan.

Curated by experts from the Indian Museum, the first-of-its-kind extravaganza of art and culture will be spread across Indian Museum, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Victoria Memorial Hall, Maulana Abul Kalam Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS), and Asiatic Society, along with universities, public institutions, and non-governmental organisations.




The festival was conceived by governor C V Ananda Bose, who is also the chairman of board of trustees at the Indian Museum.

The exhibition titled ‘Roots and Rhythm’ will showcase the country's rich tribal legacy: the artistic brilliance, oral traditions, social systems, and spiritual worldviews that shape Adivasi life across the nation. Spanning from the hills of the North-East, the forests of Central India, the red soil of the Eastern India, the southern highlands, and the island cultures of the Andaman & Nicobar, the exhibition will bring together a selection of rare artefacts from the Indian Museum’s ethnographic collections.

"From Adi cane helmets and Naga warrior sculptures to Santhal jewellery, Kondh Dokra effigies, Toda embroidered textiles, and Onge wooden vessels, each object reflects a world where art, ecology, and spirituality are seamlessly intertwined," explained Indian Museum director Sayan Bhattacharya.

As part of the exhibition, the Indian Museum, Kolkata will organise a Tribal Art Camp for school students from Darjeeling, creating an engaging platform for young minds to interact with indigenous art traditions and explore the creative expressions of India’s tribal heritage.


Tribal heritage

• India’s tribal traditions represent a way of life that has thrived for millennia.
• Deeply rooted in ecological wisdom, spiritual resilience, and artistic brilliance, the Adivasi heritage offers insights into sustainability, coexistence, and identity.
• Tribal communities not only live in the present with mindful awareness but also preserve their knowledge systems with a vision for future generations.
• Each community preserves its distinct identity while nurturing respectful relations with others, upholding the essence of unity in diversity.
• The exposition will emphasize on the importance of tribal knowledge in an evolving technological landscape.

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