About:

• An autonomous organization under the ministry of Culture.
• Bharat Rang Mahotsav, or the ‘National Theatre Festival’, established in 1999, is the annual theatre festival of National School of Drama (NSD).
• It is acknowledged as the largest theatre festival of Asia, dedicated solely to theatre.
• It is one of the major organisations involved in preservation and propagation of the 13 Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements from India that have been inscribed till date on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Additional Details

• From India, the Intangible Cultural Heritages added into this list are:
  • Tradition of Vedic chanting
  • Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
  • Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre
  • Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas.
  • Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala
  • Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan
  • Chhau dance
  • Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur
  • Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab
  • Yoga
  • Nawrouz
  • Kumbh Mela

Why in News

• The National School of Drama is preparing for its first production since the pandemic shut down all public spaces in March.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/up-police-forcibly-cremating-hathras-rape-victim-at-night-allege-kin/article32728110.ece