By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 30 Jan: Since the formation of the state, Uttarakhand has been fortunate to have displayed its tableaux at the Kartavya Path on Republic Day 14 times, so far. In 13 out of the total 14 times, Joint Secretary, Information, KS Chauhan has been the team leader. The tableaux are selected for display through a very intricate and complicated process. Only some states get the opportunity to display their tableaux. The final selection is done after 7 presentations before the expert committee of the Government of India. On an average, tableaux of only 14-15 states are selected every year.
KS Chauhan, along with being the team leader, has participated as an artist in the tableaux and is now considered to be an expert on the subject. As the team leader of Uttarakhand, he has had the privilege of meeting 5 Presidents since 2005.
It is worth mentioning that the Government of India invites proposals from all the States, Union Territories and Ministries for the tableaux in September each year. By October, the State Governments select the subject and send the proposal to the Government of India. After that, the Government of India invites the proposals for presentation. In the first meeting, the design has to be prepared and presented on the basis of the subject on chart paper. While making necessary amendments, three meetings are held in the context of design creation and the states whose designs are found appropriate by the committee are shortlisted. After that the model of the tableau is made. After the model, a theme song of 50 seconds duration is prepared which reflects the culture of that region. In this way, when the expert committee of the Government of India is satisfied from all levels, then the final selection of the tableau is done.
Under the leadership of team leader Joint Director, Information, KS Chauhan, 16 artists of Pithoragarh’s Bhim Ram’s troupe performed the famous Chholia dance of Uttarakhand to showcase the art and culture of the state in the tableau. Uttarakhand is also known as the land of the Gods as well as the land of Yoga. Baru Singh and Anil Singh played important roles while doing yoga on the tableau.
The theme song of the tableau, “Jai Ho Kumaon, Jai Ho Gadwala”, was written by famous poet Janardan Upreti of Pithoragarh and the music was composed by Saurabh Maithani and colleagues. The Theme Song was produced by Pahadi Dagdia of Dehradun. Crores of people in the country and abroad saw the tableau of Uttarakhand Manskhand at the Republic Day parade on the TV and social media.
