DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE INTRODUCTORY
The Department of Culture continued its programme of preservation and conservation of cultural heritage through the institutions in the fields of archaeology, archives, museums, anthropology, performing arts and plastic arts, through libraries, akademies and Govern- mental or voluntary institutions.
A major event during the year was the Festival of India in the U. K. organised jointly by the government of India and Government of Great Britain. The Prime Ministers of India and the U.K. were the patrons of the Festival. The Festival was inaugurated on March 22, 1982 in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince of Wales when both the Prime Ministers were present. The Festival presented a number of exhibitions/events of performing arts and was on of the finest examples of cooperation between the scholars in India and Great Britain.
In the field of museums, the emphasis continued to be on documentation of the collections in the museums. The National Museum coordinated the collection of exhib- its for the Festival of India and on its own sent an exhibition of Indo-Arabic art to Saudi Arabia to coin- cide with the visit of the Prime Minister. The Museum also sent material from its own collection and from others to the exhibition of "Silk Route & Diamond Path" and 'Exhibition of Textiles' to the U.S. A. The Nation Gallery of Modern Art received a major exhibition of 80 works of German expressionist paintings; loaned works of art to the Tate Gallery, London and to the Exhibition of Contemporary Art Sponsored by the Festival Committee for London. The Gallery also sent an exhibition of modern Indian paintings to the U.S.A. to coincide with visit of Indian Prime Minister. Under the Cultural Exchange Programme, the Gallery organised a major exhibition of Rodin comprising 170 works.
Under the scheme of financial assistance for the reorganisation and development of other museums assist- ance continued to be given to private museums for docu- mentation purpose of equipment, publication of cata- logues etc. During the year the following catalogues were published : University, Varanasi; A Catalogue by Rahul Sankrityayan Sanshodhan and " Journal of Indian Museums" by Museums Association of India, New Delhi; "An illustrated MSS of Tarif-i-Hussain Shahi" by Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandal, Pune and folder don "Devel- opment of Museum and its Collection" by Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, 24 Parganas.
a major programme undertaken during the year related to a national project to study the effect of air pollution on cultural property by the National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property, Lucknow.
The Libraries continued to consolidate their existing programmes of printing of catalogues and preservation manuscripts.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi arranged a number of festivals under its various programmes. The Akademi organised Silver Jubilee exhibition in August 1982. It also sent musical instruments for an exhibition in Bristol, the U.K. The Akademi organised Festival of Tribal Arts of Maharashtra Sahitya Akademi continued its programme of publications during the year. The Lalit Kala Akademi had organised a number of exhibitions during the year. It coordinated collection and presentation of Exhibition of Contemporary Art in the U.K.
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The National School of Drama troupe visited the U.K. to present two plays as a part of Festival of India. The School introduced specialisation course in acting and production. The Centre for Cultural Re- sources and Training continued its programme of training of teachers by holding orientation courses, refresher courses, workshops,and seminars and courses in puppetry for education. The Centre organised 14 courses under these categories.
Under the scheme of scholarships/fellowships the Department continued to provide opportunities for tal- ented children, youngmen and outstanding scholars to pursue creative and critical studies under various programmes/ schemes. The emphasis is on the study of rare forms in the field of performing arts.
Financial support was continued to the institu- tions in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies, viz. School of Buddhist Philosophy, Leh, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan. Studies, Varanasi, Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology and Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala for preserving Buddhist traditions.
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