The Dukpa Living Heritage Festival will be held at Buxa Hill at the end of November to showcase the Dukpa community of the region.
Located in the northern district of Alipurduar, Buxa Hill is at an elevation of about 2,600 metres above sea level and is home to 11 villages.
“We are organising the festival at the Buxa Fort ground from November 28 to 30. Experts in cultural tourism and intangible cultural heritage from across the country will be invited. Experts from Bhutan will also join to apprise the Dukpa community about their rich heritage,” said R. Vimala, the district magistrate of Alipurduar, during the festival’s poster launch on Monday.
The event, she said, is aimed at the preservation and promotion of the rich heritage of the Dukpa community. It will be hosted in association with the Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT). This year’s edition will be a larger celebration of the community’s traditions, art forms and cultural practices, the
DM added.
Experts attending the event include those involved in long-term exposure programmes and surveys who have noted a significant deterioration in the intangible cultural heritage of the Dukpa community, said one of the organisers.
“To address this, we have invited experts from the neighbouring country of Bhutan to showcase and teach traditional practices to the local Dukpa population,” he said.
Tour operators from across India and 10 cultural experts have been invited to attend the festival to promote tourism in Buxa Hill and support the Dukpa community.
“The mission behind organising the festival is to preserve and promote the cultural, traditional and natural heritage of the Dukpa community while ensuring it remains vibrant and intact. By fostering responsible tourism, we aim to provide sustainable livelihoods for residents and strike a harmonious balance between cultural preservation and economic development,” said Raj Basu, the convener
of ACT.
There will be cultural performances, art and craft exhibitions, workshops and interactive sessions, culinary experiences, heritage walks and tours, and activities for children.
The organising committee is also committed to developing a model village in
Buxa Hill.
“The goal is to create a sustainable tourism framework that safeguards cultural and natural heritage while supporting long-term economic stability for the community,” Basu added.