The Hindu : New Delhi News : Folk festival cancelled due to temple tragedy

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Tuesday, Oct 07, 2008
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Folk festival cancelled due to temple tragedy

As a sign of respect for the people who lost their lives or were injured

New Delhi: The second edition of the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF) has been cancelled as a mark of respect to those killed and injured in a stampede at Jodhpur’s Chamunda Devi temple recently.

The five-day festival, also known as the Jodhpur Folk Festival was scheduled to begin at Jodhpur on October 10. “This year’s Jodhpur RIFF has been cancelled as a sign of respect for the people who lost their lives or were injured, their families and citizens of Jodhpur City,” said a statement from the event’s organisers.

The Chamunda Devi temple inside the huge 15th Century Mehrangarh Fort was the scheduled venue of the cultural festival.

Over 200 people were killed and scores of others injured in a stampede at the temple on September 30, that marked the beginning of the nine-day festival of Navratra.

Organised jointly by the Jaipur Virasat Foundation of Jaipur and the Mehrangarh Museum Trust of Jodhpur and patronised by the Maharaja of Jodhpur, the festival according to organisers was aimed at providing an international platform to Rajasthan’s folk artists to showcase their potential worldwide.

Grammy-winning rock musician and songwriter Mick Jagger was billed as the highlight of this year’s festival. Jagger had attended the inauguration of the cultural event last October at the Mehrangarh Fort.

Shubha Mudgal and Ustad Sultan Khan along with a host of international artists like Ace Beat Boxer and Composer Jason Singh from UK, a gypsy band from Hungary and Jazz artists from United States and Netherlands were expected to perform at the festival. -- PTI

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