With a view to converting the vast and widespread cultural canvas of India into an objective cultural map, Ministry of Culture will launch the implementation of the national mission of cultural mapping of India. The initiative will kick off from Mathura village- the birthplace of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.
Union minister of culture and tourism, Mahesh Sharma said, “Purpose is that no cultural talent or heritage should remain unattended and if it is talent, it should be nurtured and if it is a heritage, it should be conserved and used as an icon to learn from the past.”
Under the initiative, the ministry has planned to hold talent hunt competitions with various rounds from Block level to National level. The scheme is set to cover all the blocks of the Country, involving a total of 6.40 Lakh villages over the span of next 3 years with a budget of about Rs 470 crore.
“The ministry has designed a mechanism to fulfill the aspirations of the whole artist community of the nation and preserving the rich cultural heritage of this country in the form of a cultural repository of artists and art forms,” said the minister.
Officials said that the mission encompasses data mapping, demography building formalising the processes and bringing all the cultural activities under one web-based umbrella for better results. The Mission also seeks to open a direct channel of communication of artists with the Government and peer to peer communication among artists for talent honing and handholding of each other.
Officials said that the ministry is eying to launch massive cultural awareness campaigns so that no artist is left behind. The artist also may register online at www.culturalmapping.nic.in. The Cultural mapping of India portal will serve as a consolidated database of information about cultural assets and resources.
Following the event in Mathura, the ministry will be organised similar Block level events in other States too so as to kick start the process of scaling up the efforts to cover all the Blocks of the Country. The current round includes Shimoga Block in Shimoga District, Karnataka, Thanesar Block in Kurukshetra District, Haryana, Chauri – Chaura Block in Gorakhpur District in Uttar Pradesh & Saraikela Block in Saraikela - Kharsawan District in Jharkhand.