From the richness of Hindi theater to the charm of Punjabi poetry to the rhythm of Thumri and suaveness of Urdu literature, the citizens of Delhi are in for a year long cultural delight that will not only keep them entertained but also bring them closer to the diverse cultural heritage of India.

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi Smt Sheila Dikshit on Friday unveiled the calendar of ‘Delhi Celebrates’, a year long event put together by the Delhi government and the Department of Art, Culture & Languages, in the presence of Prof Kiran Walia, Minister of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development and Languages.

The Chief Minister said through the series of events, that were first unveiled during the Commonwealth Games, not only tourists return to their countries with fond memories, even residents of Delhi discover new delights.

She also announced the establishment of a new institution to promote spirit of art and culture among the schoolchildren of the capital.

“Currently, we have six Academies and the Sahitya Kala Parishad that regularly organize cultural events to depict our culture. Now, our government would like to establish a Children’s Academy that would work with the over 5000 private and state schools in the capital to kindle among our children a special interest and love for the country’s rich indigenous culture, tradition and art,” she said.

Unveiling Delhi Celebrates calendar for the upcoming year, the Chief Minister said: “Each year a huge number of artists from all corners of the country fill Delhi with color, music, dance, drama, flavor and fervor for the Delhi Celebrates series of event. The event series organized to add to the festivities of Delhi – the cultural capital of the country, has succeeded far beyond anyone’s imagination”.

The unveiling of the calendar was followed by a Santoor duet recital by Pandit Bhajan Sapori & Shri Abhay Sopori.

In the year gone by, Delhi fell in love with a series of events involving music, dance, drama and other programmes that take you on a roller coaster ride through a plethora of Indian cultural traditions and celebrates their diversity.

This year again, the series has returned to enchant the cherishers of culture and tradition in the capital and beyond.

So, the cultural year that began with a ‘National Integration Mushaira’ and ‘Sindhi Baal Utsav’ has much in store for everybody – from a Mango Festival, the begins today to Hindi Natya Utsav in July to much more.

“We have once again put together an ensemble of events that are laden with the scent of our soil and carry cultural lineages that can be traced to different states and languages. Our calendar is a reflection of the unbelievable diversity of our land,” says Shri Sajjan Singh Yadav, Secretary Department of Art, Culture and Languages.

For the first time, the Hindi edition of the calendar was also launched.

The programmes listed under the calendar will be presented by Sahitya Kala Parishad, Sindhi Academy, Punjabi Academy, Hindi Academy, Urdu Academy, Maithili and Bhojpuri Academy, and Sanskrit Academy of the Department of Art, Culture & Languages, Delhi government.

The month of August when India celebrates its Independence Day has a series of events lined up starting with Punjabi Kavi Darbar and Swatantra Divas Kavi Sammelan to a Thumri festival, a Maithili Bhojpuri festival a Punjabi theater festival and a Folk Festival that will have specially choreographed presentation of folk music and dances from various parts of the country.

For those who cherish the mythology associated with our land, there is a specially crafted dance drama ‘Krishna’ carrying pertinent messages for the contemporary world.

September will see poets from across the country converge for a Bhartiya Kavita Bimb to be followed by a Public Art Show, a Magic Festival, Mohan Rakesh Natya Samaroh and an Urdu Heritage Festival and much more.

A series of events over the coming months will be dedicated to theater in different languages – Delhi Natyotsav will be held in December, the Urdu Drama Festival in October, and the Bhartendu Natya Utsav that showcases seven best theater productions staged in Delhi during the previous year will be organized in March.

Music – both contemporary and classical — has its special events reserved for it with Delhi Classical Music Festival in October, Qutub Festival in December, Festivals of Ghazals and Qawwalis in February, Sindhi Sufi Music Festival in March, Bhakti Sangeet in April and Raag Rang in May.

So, get yourself a copy of the calendar and plan your year in advance. You would not like to miss many of the events that are scheduled for the upcoming year.