Taj Mahotsav (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: ताज महोत्सव,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

: ''Taj Festival'') is an annual 10-day (from 18 to 27 February) event at Shilpgram in

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This festival is inspired by the old

Mughal era The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and

nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

i style prevalent in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Arts and crafts

About 400 artisans from different parts of India display their works of art. These include wood/stone carvings from

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, bamboo/cane work from North East India, paper mash work from South India and

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, marble and zardozi work from

, wood carving from

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

, brass wares from

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...

, hand made carpets from

Bhadohi Bhadohi is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is home to the largest hand-knotted carpet weaving industry hub in South Asia. The city is 45 km west of Varanasi and 82 km east of Allahabad. Demographics As of 2011 Indi ...

, pottery from Khurja, Chikan work from

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, silk and zari work from Banaras, shawls and carpets from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, hand printing from

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. ...

and Kantha stitch from

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

.Various film production & media house of bollywood like

Dhaivat Records & Productions Dhaivat is the sixth svara from the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. Dhaivat is the long form of the syllable ध. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Dhaivat is pronounced as Dha (notation - D). It is ...

also participates and manages artists in Mahotsav.

Culture

The festival starts with a road procession with decorated elephants and camels like the victory processions of Mughal emperors and warlords. Drum beaters, trumpet players, folk dancers, skilled craftsmen and artisans also join the procession. Artists from all over India come here to display their art and craftmanship.

Initiatives

The Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society understands the importance of the event and uses different folk dances to campaign about AIDS awareness.

Theme

Every year the Taj Mahotsav is celebrated with a message or theme for the world. In 2017 the theme for Taj Mahotsav is "विरासत की छाँव में" ("In the shadow of Heritage"). Through this theme, the whole heritage of the zone which provides a backdrop to the festival is stressed.

Entry and tickets

* Entry ticket is for Rs. 40/- (children under age 10 are free). * All foreign visitors have free entry.

References