Parab

Situated amidst the pristine splendor of the Eastern Ghats Koraput is home to a number of tribals for whom festivals are a way of life They celebrate various occasions of their lives with corresponding PARABs Iike pausa parab Chaita parab Diali parab Pond parab etc To honour their traditions the District Council of Culture Koraput decided to name its annual programme of culture and sports as PARAB This State Level Tribal Festival of Koraput Odisha is being organised by District Council of Culture Koraput since 1996The goal of PARAB is to search hidden talents int he field of art and culture and preserve the rich cultural heritage of the region During the festival thousands of artists and sportspersons participate in the District Level competitions Besides various cultural programmes in tribal dance folk dance and music Craft Mela Palli shree Mela Bookfair Artist camp cum Art Exhibition Seminar Mini marathon Cycle Race Mountain Trekking etc are organised The festival is like a forum of interaction and exchange among different kinds of tribal culture from all over the country Competitions in traditional tribal events like tribal music dance art and craft traditional sports etc has helped in preserving the heritage of this region against the threat of extinction because of rapid industrialization urbanization and modernization and cultural invasion Organisation of performances of various tribal and folkdance forms of this region and of other districts and States has helped in disseminating the richness of the tribal and rural culture and art The rich cultural heritage of this region is exposed to heritage of other region Through the 23 years of celebration of PARAB it has evolved into one of the States leading stages to showcasethe varied form of art and culture of India Renowned artists like Late Dr Bhupen Hazarika Late Kalpana Lazmi Padmashree Viswamohan Bhatt Kelu Charan Mohapatra Ms Saniukta Panigrahi Shri BijayaMohanty Odissi dancers Sonal Mansingh Ms DonaGanguly Padma Shri Illiana Citaristi Kathak dancer Nandini Sinha Sovana Narayan Dr GiridharlGomango onaki RaghavanKavita Ramu etc and other troupes like Bihuof Assam Chakri of Rajasthan Naga Dance ManipuriBhangra Karnataki Kerala BharatnatyamKuchipudi Pandavani Himachali Kashmiri PuruliaChhow Ravindra Sangeet Goan Siddi Dhamal etc haveperformed on the PARAB stage and it has alsoshowcased the international cultural troupe ie folkdance of Sri Lanka which was coordinated through ICCR