'Come and get the taste of J-K': Tourism dept organise Dogri cuisine festival

A two-day festival to promote Dogri cuisine, culture, and craft festival being held in Jammu.

The festival is orgzed by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation in collaboration with the Directorate of Tourism. It showcased the affluence of Dogri food, culture, and craft.

"Come and get the taste of J&K - the aim behind this festival is to provide local experience to tourist along with it this festival is to revive our own rich culture, which we have forgotten," said Secretary of Tourism, Culture and Youth Services and Sports, Sarmad Hafiz told here.

"We often used to have a slogan in tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, that you come to J&K and we will show you the world. We just need to revive some of the tradition that we have," he added.

"We want to give a message that we're ready to host tourists who can come and enjoy here," said Director, Tourism Nisar Ahmad W

Visitors enjoyed traditional cuisines of various districts of Jammu including Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, and Kishtwar in this festival.

"I and my son have come here, people are taking interest in the festival, we have seen lots of variety of food, we have seen the process of making of 'makki ki roti', 'madra', 'Babru'and other unique Dogri cuisine. It is untouched by the world. People should come and get a taste of this," said a local resident Seema Malhotra.

Along with food, the rich art, and craft of Jammu like Calico painting, Basohli painting, Basohli Pashmina were also on display at the event. The old and ancient manuscripts, coinage, utensils, musical instruments, and pottery were also being showcased in the carnival depicting the legacy of Duggar culture and history.

The audience was mesmerized by local folk dances like Haran and Dhecku, vocal performances like Paakh and Kaarkaan, and practice of rutt-rare received great audience love and appreciation.

"This food, art, and culture is our identity, we need to showcase the hidden culture of Jammu," said another visitor.

All preventive protocols regarding COVID-19 like social distancing and mask-wearing were strictly adhered to in the festival. The festival was held on 26 and 27 December.

( With inputs from ANI )