Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre

EZCC
Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre
Formation1985
FounderRajiv Gandhi
Typeautonomous organization
PurposeEducation, preservation and promotion of arts and culture
HeadquartersKolkata, India
OwnerMinistry of Culture
Websitewww.ezcc-india.org

The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (abbreviated as EZCC) is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture (India), Government of India covering the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, registered under West Bengal Society Registration Act (Act XXVI of 1961).[1] Its headquarters in Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata, is situated in the Indian state of West Bengal, on account of Kolkata being referred to as the "Cultural Capital of India".[2][3] This zone is home to three classical dances, namely, Odissi, Sattriya and Manipuri dance; types of music include the classical Odissi music and semi-classical Rabindra Sangeet. In addition, Odia is one of the classical languages in India and the only living classical language from Eastern India.

Rabindranath Tagore is Asia's first Nobel laureate and composer of India's national anthem
Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and USA,[4] raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.[5]
A traditional, Pung cholom performer.
Odissi performer
A Manipuri performer strikes an evocative pose.

History

The EZCC was founded in 1985 and since, has been playing a significant role in promoting the numerous ethnic cultural centres and groups of excellence of the eastern parts of the India, with the objective of projection and dissemination of the traditional culture of Eastern India.

Composition

The EZCC is composed of the following members:

  1. Director, Cultural Affairs Department, Government of Assam
  2. Director, Arts, Culture & Youth Affairs Department, Government of Bihar
  3. Director, Department of Art, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Jharkhand
  4. Commissioner (Art & Culture), Government of Manipur
  5. Director of Culture, Government of Odisha
  6. OSD, Cultural Affairs & Heritage Department, Government of Sikkim
  7. Secretary & Director, ICAT, Government of Tripura
  8. Joint Secretary & Ex-Officio, Director of Culture, Government of West Bengal
  9. Director, Department of Art and Culture, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Administration.

Schemes

There are various schemes sponsored by The Ministry of Culture, Government of India gives grants to the Zonal Cultural Centers. These schemes are National Cultural Exchange Programme, Theatre rejuvenation scheme, North East Programme, Guru Shishya Parampara and young talent search. To promote the culture in youth there are many competition organise by EZCC in following fields :

  • Folk Music
  • Folk Dance
  • Classical Music
  • Classical Dance

To preserve this Indian tradition, the EZCC organises various Guru Shishya Parampara schemes, which include:

  • Gotipua Dance (Odisha)
  • Purulia Chhau Dance (West Bengal)
  • Paika / Paika akhada a War Dancs from (Odisha)
  • Nauta (West Bengal)
  • Bordoishilka (Assam)
  • Thang-Ta Dance (Manipur)
  • Bhatiali Folk Songs (West Bengal)
  • Kushan Dance (Assam)
  • Pung cholom (Manipur)
  • Maruni (Sikkim)
See also: Group theatre of Kolkata
An exhibition of painting and sculpture is going on at the Academy of Fine Arts, in the city of joy Kolkata.
The Mohiniyattam is being performed to commemorate of 150th birth anniversary of Tagore. It was an Indo-Bangladesh joint celebration in 2011 in Kolkata.

West Bengal's capital Kolkata is the largest city of this region. The states of Odisha and West Bengal share a lot cultural and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh and with the state of Assam. Together with Bangladesh, West Bengal forms the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal, which was also a unified administrative region until 1947.

Odissi is the oldest surviving classical dance, Pattachitra the most influential ancient classical painting, classical Odishian unique ancient architecture Kalinga architecture like Konark, Lingraja, lalitgiri etc. Odia is the only modern Indo-Aryan language accorded the status of a Classical Language in India, and Odissi music is claimed to be the classical Music among Karnatik and Hindustani Music.

Other Regional Cultural Centres of India

The Cultural Zones of India are seven overlapping zones defined by the Ministry of Culture[6] of the Government of India to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of various regions of India.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre Ministry of Culture, Government of India". Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre.
  2. ^ Pielou, Adrianne (4 March 2011). "India: Calcutta, the capital of culture". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC)". Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  4. ^ Georg, Feuerstein (2002). The Yoga Tradition. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 600. ISBN 3-935001-06-1.
  5. ^ Clarke, Peter Bernard (2006). New Religions in Global Perspective. Routledge. p. 209. ISBN 0-7007-1185-6.
  6. ^ "Zonal Cultural Centres". Ministry of Culture. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011.
  7. ^ West Zone Culture Centre, West Zone Culture Centre, retrieved 15 December 2010, ... West Zone Cultural Centre (WZCC) with its headquarters at Udaipur is one of the seven Zonal Cultural Centres set up during 1986–87, under the direct initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India ...
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