PVPF 2024

Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival Kicks off with a Call for World Peace

We are all aware that literature and art have played a significant role in human civilization
on May 09, 2023

The first Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival (SALF), which took place at the top of the Khangchendzonga National Park amid undulating hills, began in the serene Yuksom hamlet with pleas for world peace and the promotion of the state's culture.

The festival, which is being organized at the historic site of Norbugang by the state government and Teamwork Arts, will feature discussions on a variety of subjects, including climate change, wildlife conservation, history, culture, and ethnicity, poetry, architecture, folklore, mental health, and writings from the northeast.

Kunga Nima Lepcha, the education minister for Sikkim, stated during the opening ceremony on Saturday that literature and the arts can bring people together and further the goal of global peace.

"We are all aware that literature and art have played a significant role in human civilization. The foundation of our culture has always been these two modes of expression. We are aware that literature and art allow us to connect and get to know one another, especially in promoting world peace.

The ability to share a variety of experiences and build human communities in a world "torn by war and greed" will be greatly enhanced by festivals like these, he added.

"Greed and conflict have split the globe apart today. Thus we all must work together to accomplish the ideal of global peace.

To comprehend each other's issues and the numerous factors contributing to the unrest on our planet, let's strive to make the universe a single entity. Peace must be brought to this globe, the minister continued.

L N Sharma, the minister of agriculture, Indra Hang Subba, a member of the Lok Sabha, and Aditya Golay Tamang, a lawmaker, all attended the ceremony.

According to Subba, the festival's goal is to meld Sikkim's traditional arts and culture with the rest of the nation.

"We want our art and literature to be blended with the traditional art, culture, and literature of the rest of the country, and in the coming time, with the rest of the world," he stated.

Chuden Kabimo, Ankush Saikia, Hoihnu Hauzel, Anand Neelakantan, and Anuja Chauhan, among others, will participate in the three-day event.

The event will also feature participation from authors Manjiri Prabhu, Karuna Ezara Parikh, Teresa Rahman, art historian Moushumi Kandali, Nepalese poet Nawaraj Parajuli, biochemist-writer Pranay Lal, and scientists Yangchenla Bhutia and Priyadarshini Gurung.

The event will feature performances by Sikkim's native artists, singer Harpreet, Himalayan folk musician Bipul Chettri, and Rajasthani folk-sufi music ensemble Kutle Khan Project.

On May 8, the SALF will come to an end.