Imphal: The Government of Manipur has declared December 4 as the “Sankirtan Day” with immediate effect, as per an order of the Governor of Manipur dated November signed on his behalf by Commissioner (Art and Culture) M Joy.
It may be recalled that “Sankirtana: Ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur” was inscribed on the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the eighth session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, held on December 4-7, 2013.
“Sankirtana encompasses an array of arts performed to mark religious occasions and various stages in the life of the Vaishnava people. Drummers and singer-dancers enact the lives and deeds of Krishna through devotional songs that often produce an ecstatic reaction among devotees,” UNESCO said of the art form.
