Team News Riveting
Raipur, February 6
The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the grand tribal cultural festival ‘Bastar Pandum–2026’ on February 7, 2026.
Widely regarded as the cultural confluence of tribal heritage, the divisional-level Bastar Pandum will continue until February 9. This three-day celebration of the tribal community showcases the lifestyle, beliefs, customs and rich cultural legacy of indigenous communities. Closely rooted in folk art, local traditions and ancestral practices, Bastar Pandum serves as an essential platform to strengthen the identity, pride and heritage of tribal communities. Through this festival, the cultural richness of the Bastar region gains wider recognition at the national level.
Organised by the Department of Culture, Government of Chhattisgarh, the state-level Tribal and Folk Culture Festival “Bastar Pandum–2026” will formally commence at 11 am on February 7, 2026, in Jagdalpur. The inaugural ceremony will be presided over by the Governor of Chhattisgarh, Ramen Deka. The event will be attended by special guests, including Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Union Minister of State Tokhan Sahu, Deputy Chief Ministers Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma, Tourism and Culture Minister Rajesh Agrawal, and Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap.
Bastar Pandum is celebrated across the Bastar region with great enthusiasm and collective participation, offering a vivid glimpse into the traditional lifestyle of tribal society. This year, the festival is being organised on an especially grand scale, with presentations across 12 cultural disciplines. Young artists will showcase Bastar’s tribal dances, folk songs, theatre forms, traditional musical instruments, costumes and ornaments, ritual practices, indigenous crafts and tribal paintings. The festival will also raise awareness of traditional tribal beverages, local cuisines, regional literature, and the medicinal value of forest-based herbs from Bastar.
Members of Parliament Bhojraj Nag and Mahesh Kashyap, MLAs Kiran Singh Deo, Sushri Lata Usendi, Vikram Usendi, Neelkanth Tekam, Asharam Netam, Chaitram Atami, Vinayak Goyal, Smt Savitri Manoj Mandavi, Lakheshwar Baghel and Vikram Mandavi, along with Jagdalpur Mayor Sanjay Pandey, other public representatives and a large number of citizens will attend the event.
