A). Background of NCZCC-
                            North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad was established as a society under the society registration Act 1860 in the year 1986 with its registered office at Allahabad. The main objectives of this Centre, inter alia, include preservation, innovation, promotion and dissemination of the various art forms covering the broad disciplines of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, literary activities and craft traditions with special focus on folk and dying art forms within the constituent states of U.P., M.P., Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Uttarakhand. While working in collaboration with other zonal cultural centres and the State and Central Art Academies, effort is made by organising cultural events to showcase the composite culture of our country with a view to reinforce the spirit of "unity in diversity" as a hallmark characteristic of Indian Culture. In addition to this, publication and documentation of folk art forms and, in particular, the dying traditions, is also done. The Centre has an Auditorium, an Art Gallery and a Shilp Haat popularly known as 'Allahabad Haat' to support cultural activities. Shilp Haat is turning out to be hub of cultural activities where crafts, performing arts and traditional cuisines are being blended together during craft fairs to ensure that general public is conscious of its great cultural traditions to which they can fully feel proud of.
                             The major achievement for this institution has been to strengthen its infrastructure so much so that the institution has become a model cultural centre.  The 'Allahabad Haat' has started hosting theme based craft-fair round the year. It hosted 'Uttarakhand Parva', Aadishilp Parva', 'National Shilp Mela', 'Gandhi Shilp Bazar' and so on under assistance from constituent State Governments, various departments of the Central Government  and also private organisations. TRIFED (Tribal Federation of India), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, New Delhi has, now , opened a permanent  outlet in the campus of NCZCC.  An outlet to promote the sale of publications of NCZCC was inaugurated on 28th August 2008.  The air-conditioned auditorium hosts staging of plays including theatre festivals round the year. Similarly, two storeyed art gallery provides support to visual arts for exhibitions. In addition to this, the centre provides full residential facility to the artisans and the artists. 
B). Infrastructure of  NCZCC
The headquarter of the Centre is located centrally at Civil Lines in Allahabad and is spread over an area of 4 acres. The campus is set in idyllic surroundings having a beautiful office complex, two big lawns/gardens, art gallery, indoor and open air auditoria, shilp-haat, seminar hall and library.  

(i) Terracotta Garden -  Terracotta Garden in the front law­­­ns of the NCZCC Campus was inaugurated on 30th June 2001. Terracotta artifacts produced during one - month long camp represent all major forms of terracotta from different regions, have been displayed as permanent exhibition in the front lawns of the NCZCC Campus.

(ii) Madhyotri Kala Bhawan - Madhyotri Kala Bhawan in the Campus of NCZCC has one workshop hall on the top floor of the Bhawan, wherein Seminar, Lectures and Workshops are held from time to time. There are two separate large dormitories - one each for male and female artists to stay during the performances and cultural events on the first floor. The ground floor houses the library.

(iii) Sculpture Garden - Sculpture Garden at NCZCC displays permanently the creations of Folk and Traditional Sculptors' Camps held at Udaipur and at Garhi, New Delhi.

(iv) Library- The Centre has a reference library in the Kala Bhavan having a collection of 2207 books, periodicals and journals on various subjects relating to performing and visual arts. The centre also has a collection of 561 video, 290 audio cassettes and 640 CDs/VCDs, on a variety of themes produced during various art events organized from time to time.

(v) Auditorium- The indoor air conditioned auditorium of the centre has a seating capacity of 390 and is used for cultural programmes and for staging plays. Under a scheme of promoting amateur theatre, the auditorium is provided at subsidized charge to theatre groups for staging plays. The open air auditorium of the centre has a seven layered open air stage which is used for performances during major fairs and festivals. 

(vi) Art Gallery- The Mahatma Gandhi Art Gallery of the centre was established in the year 1997. It has two exhibition halls for display and exhibition of paintings and artefacts. Established as well as amateur artists of the Zone and from outside are allowed to use the art gallery. The Centre's Art Gallery has its own collection of around 838 paintings (tribal, folk, traditional & contemporary) in addition to terracotta, wood and stone sculptures and photographs produced during various camps organized from time to time. 

(vii) Allahabad Haat- Allahabad Haat is culmination of years of experience of organising craft and cultural festival in the Centre. It has been launched on the pattern of "Dilli Haat" in New Delhi in the erstwhile Shilp Haat complex of the centre. It has 48 permanent stalls, one multipurpose hall, public conveniences block, open air stage and beautiful landscaping. It provides a blend of handicraft, culture and traditional cuisine during the culture programmes that are organised regularly. These events provides regular and strong platform for cultural groups and handicraft artisans in an endeavour to preserve, promote and disseminate Indian art and culture in its entire spectrum with a  view to showcase  the concept of 'unity in diversity' a characteristic feature of Indian Culture which further promotes domestic and International tourism in Allahabad.

C). The major cultural activities  undertaken from April- 2009 to December- 2009 are as follows:-

1.  Sparsh -2009- An Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings -

Under the scheme of promotion of upcoming talents, an exhibition of contemporary  and  traditional  paintings  by  Vijay  Kumar  Tripathi (an upcoming  artist from Allahabad, U.P.) was put up  for public viewing  from  28th to30th April 2009 at  MGAG, NCZCC, Allahabad, U.P.

2.  “Spundan”  – A Group Exhibition of Paintings -

Under  the scheme to   encourage  young talents in the field of  visual arts, an exhibition of  paintings in Oil, Acrylic and mixed  media was put up for  the art lovers and public viewing from 4th to 6th May 2009 at Mahatama Gandhi Art Gallery, NCZCC, Allahabad. There were six upcoming local   artists (painters) in a group who showcased their 30-paintings based on variety of themes, i.e., nature, expression, experience and composition etc. A senior art critic Prof. Ram Chandra Shukla , the ex-HoD, Department of Visual Arts,  BHU, Varanasi ,  as a chief guest on this  occasion,  expressed his views  to encourage  young artists.

3. “Natyanjali” -  A Theatre Festival-

In commemoration of 150th Anniversary of first war of Independence-1857 and 60th Anniversary of India’s Independence a four-day theatre festival was organized in collaboration with Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, in the auditorium of NCZCC.  The plays titled – Apne Waqt Ke Albale, Soz-e-Watan, Jhansi Ki Rani and Dharti Aabaa were staged.

4. An Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings –

Under the scheme of promotion of upcoming talents, an exhibition of contemporarypaintings prepared by two upcoming artists of Allahabad was displayed for public viewing from 20th to 22nd May 2009 at MGAG, NCZCC. Dr. Ajai Jaitley, HoD of Visual Arts, University of Allahabad was invited as a chief guest to discuss the finer points of paintings with art lovers, critics and young artists of town.
5. Production Oriented Summer Workshops for Children-

NCZCC has been organizing production oriented summer workshops for children in the month of May and June every year to develop creativity among the children and also for overall development of personality of children. This year in the month of May 2009, a  10-days long workshops  for children in (1) Mime (2)  Nautanki – a folk theatre style and (3) modern theatre  were held from 20th  May to 30th May  2009.  Theatre experts were invited to impart training to all 125 participants in the age group of six to sixteen years.  The productions will be staged on 2nd and 3rd June 2009 in the Auditorium of NCZCC, Allahabad.

6.Theatre Workshop for Children -

In collaboration with  Nandikaar, Kolkata, a three-day  theatre workshop for children was organised from 22nd to 24th  May 2009. The production during this workshop was staged by 27-participants on 25th May 2009 in the auditorium of NCZCC, Allahabad.
The other plays "Tomaar Nam" and "Paakhi" were enacted on 23rd May 2009 under direction of  Swatilekha Sengupta from Kolkata,W.B.

7. Production Oriented Summer Workshops for Children- "Balotsav and Abhivyakti"

NCZCC has been organizing production oriented summer workshops for children in the month of May and June every year to develop creativity among the children and also for overall development of personality of children. This year in the month of May  and June 2009, a  10-days long workshops  for children were organised  in  various styles of  artforms, i.e.,  Mime, Nautanki – a folk theatre style of U.P.,  modern theatre, Badhai folkdance from M.P., Madhubani folk art from Bihar, Handicraft, folksongs from U.P., Dholak and modern painting. The productions of  the workshops organised  in the month of  May  were staged  on 2nd and 3rd June 2009  and  the other productions which were prepared during the workshop held in the month of June 2009 were  performed  in the auditorium and exhibited  in Mahatama Gandhi Art Gallery  of NCZCC on 15th June 2009. The experts - Sudhir Tewari for Badhai dance, Urmila Devi Paswan for Madhubani folk painting, Punam Kumari for handicrafts and Shyam Behari Gaud for folksongs of Uttar Pradesh, Ramchandra Shrimali for Drum and Asit Bhattacharya from Allahabad for modern painting  were invited to impart training  to participants in the age group  between six and  sixteen years. 

8.  Kaliyan Jo Khil Kar Mahake -

Under  the scheme to   encourage  young talents in the field of  visual arts, an exhibition of  paintings in Oil, Acrylic and mixed  media and  Rangoli - floor decoration were put up for  the art lovers and public viewing on  11th  and  12th June  2009 at Mahatama Gandhi Art Gallery, NCZCC, Allahabad organised in collaboration with Ekta Sanstha of Allahabad. These productions were the outcome of  local  school   children  who were trained during the Summer Workshop.  Approximately   70-paintings based on variety of themes, i.e., nature, expression, experience and composition etc. were showcased. The chief guest on this occasion expressed his views to encourage young artists and talents.

9. "Rang-Dhara"  - A National Theatre Festival

NCZCC has been organizing National Theatre Festival every year by inviting various theatre troupes from  across the country. They are being given a platform where they can interact   with each other, with local theatre artistes and the art lovers as well.   In the sequel,  this year in the month of July  2009, a  3-days each  theatre festivals   were organised  in  Lucknow from 18th  to 20th July 2009 at Sant Gadge Ji Maharaj Auditorium, in Allahabad from 19th to 21st July 2009 at NCZCC and  in Bharat Bhavan , Bhopal  from 22nd to 24th  July 2009.  During this event, the three plays which were staged    - 1. Sankraman  direced by  Manohar Teli ( Mumbai),                2. Pop-Corn directed  by Ashish Pathak ( Jabalpur) and 3. Ek Booda  Din by Laeek Hussain (Udaipur). In Lucknow, Rang-Dhara  was held in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Uttar Pradesh and in Bhopal, this event was held in a joint venture with  the Department of  Culture, Madhya Pradesh .
10. Children Theatre Workshop –

To develop creativity among the children, a 15-days Production Oriented Children Theatre Workshop was organized from 20th July 2009 to 3rd August 2009 at Tyagi Inter College, Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. A play titled “Laapata Sipaahi” directed by Premendra Kumar Singh was produced during this workshop and the same was taged  on 3rd August 2009. 42-children participated in this event. Approximately 1500 spectators witnessed this programme.
11. An Exhibition of Paintings –

To encourage young talents in the field of paintings and visual arts An exhibition of Paintings in mixed media was put up for public view in Mahatama Gandhi Art Gallery, NCZCC in Allahabad from   6th to 8th August 2009. These paintings were executed by an upcoming artist – Sri Krishna Kumar from Varanai, U.P.

12.  Malhaar Mahotsav -

In collaboration with District Administration, Jabalpur, M.P.  Malhaar Mahotsav was organized   on 21st & 22nd August 2009 in Jabalpur, M.P. Hema Singh and her party from Allahabad for Kathak recital, Ajeeta Srivastva and her party from Mirzapur for Kajari Gayan and Reena Pandey and party from Ballia, U.P. were invited for folksongs of Uttar Pradesh.

13.   Rang - Tarang ,  A  3-day Theatre Festival-

In order to promote Theatrical activities, a 3-days Theatre Festival was organized   in Darpan Samagaar, Shilpgram, WZCC Udaipur, Rajasthan from 27th  to 29th August 2009. The plays 1.  “ Nithalle Ki Diary ”  directed by - Arun Pandy from Vivechana Rang Mandal Jabalpur. 2- “Batware Ki Aag” – in  Nautanki style staged by Swarg Rangmandal Allahabad, Directed  by  Atul Yaduvanshi and   3.  “Bhookha Bukamp Pyasi Sunaami” – Directed by Rizwan Zaheer Usman, Dugdugi Natya Sanstha Udaipur  were presented.   

In  Kurukshetra , Rang Tarang  was held from  29th  to31st August 2009.  The plays-1.  “Nithalle Ki Diary ”  directed by-Arun Pandy from Vivechana Rang Mandal Jabalpur. 2-  “Batware Ki Aag” – in  Nautanki style staged by Swarg Rangmandal Allahabad, directed  by  Atul Yaduvanshi  and the play  3- “Bichchu”  by  Peoples’ Media & Theatre  of  Jaipur, Rajasthan was  directed by - Ashok Rahi  .  

14. Rang - Tarang,  A  3-day Theatre Festival-

In order to promote Theatrical activities, a 3-days Theatre Festival was organized   in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Patna, Bihar. This Theatre Festival titled Rang Tarang  commenced  from 31st August  2009 and concluded on 2nd Sep 2009 in Patna Bihar. and the same festival was held in the auditorium of NCZCC, Allahabad from 1st to 3rd Sep 2009. The plays 1. “ Nithale Ki Diary”  directed by - Arun Pandy from Vivechana Rang Mandal, Jabalpur. 2- “Batware Ki Aag” – in Nautanki style staged by Swarg Rangmandal Allahabad, Directed by  Atul Yaduvanshi and   3.  “Bicchu” – Directed by Ashok Rahi from Jaipur, Rajasthan were presented.   In Allahabad, the play- “Ram Leela” in folk style was staged under direction of Anita Gupta of Allahabad

15. Workshop on story writing & enacting-
In Collaboration with Sahitya Kala Academy, Bhopal NCZCC organized a five days Workshop on story writing & enacting them. 14-experts- 1. Hemant Sesh, 2. Prabhakar Kshotriya3. Hari Ram Bhatnakar (Bhopal,MP) 4. Hari Ram Meena (Jaipur, Rajasthan) 5. Ashok Rahi (Jaipur, Rajashthan) 6. Surya Bali  (Mumbai, Maharashtra) 7. Ved Prakash Vaidik (Delhi) 8. Alok Chatterjee (Bhopal) 9. Urmila Shrish (Bhopal,MP) 10. Dr. Girish Rastogi (Gorakhpur, UP) 11. Praveen Kumar & Party (Begusarai,Bihar) 12. Dinesh (Delhi) 13. Mukesh Chaturvedi & Party Bhawai Madhonagar 14. Gagan Mishra (Jaipur, Rajasthan) were invited for this event.
16 .Uttarakhand Parv –

In order to promote and preserve the traditional values of  art, craft and  ethnic cuisine, a 10-days craft-fair from 20th – 29th Sep. 2009 was organized in collaboration with Uttarakhand Handicrafts and Handloom Development Council, Govt. of Uttarakhand. The cultural programmes from Uttarakhand were presented   every   evening during the fair. This event provided regular and strong platform for cultural groups and handicraft artisans from Uttarakhand in an endeavour to preserve, promote and disseminate Indian art and culture in its entire spectrum.

17. Naman-Cultural Eve-
An evening was devoted to folk songs, dances and classical music in order to welcome the new Chairman of NCZCC on arrival in the Center for the first time on 9th Oct 2009. 45- folk artists from Uttar Pradesh were invited to perform Dhedia dance, Pai Danda Dance and  Holi dance. Pt Vidhyadhar Mishra rendered classical songs and Aarti singh presented Kathak recital on this occasion.

18. National Theatre Festival -
Theatre festival has achieved national standard for last four years is being  organised  annually. A 5-day long theatre festival having achieved national standard for last six years, was organised in Chandigarh in collaboration with WZCC, Patiala from 21st to 25th Oct 2009. In this event, Prangan Natya Sanstha from Patna, Bihar, Meeta Kanishatha from Mumbai, Praveen Shekhar from Allahabad, Sudesh Vyas from Bikaner,Rajasthan and Ashish Pathak from Jabalpur, MP were invited to enact plays.

19. Zara Yaad Karo Kurbani-
In collaboration with the Department of Culture, Govt of U.P. & District Administration  of Ballia to commemorate the sacrifices of martyr Mangal Pandey, the event “Zara Yaad Karo Kurbani” was organized on 3rd -4th Oct 2009 in Ballia.

20. Suranjali-an evening devoted to upcoming artists-

This event is organized every Saturdays at NCZCC auditorium to provide an opportunity to upcoming artists to showcase their skills and talents. In this month, on 7th Nov. 2009, Manjari Srivastava & Party from Gorakhpur invited for Light Music, Rajesh Kumar Gupta & Party from Allahabad for Folk Songs, Bhupendra Kumar Shukla  & Party from Allahabad for Ghazal singing and Varsha Dubey & Party from Allahabad were invited for Kathak recital. On 14th Nov. 2009, on the occasion of celebration of Childrens’ day, an evening was devoted to Bhajan folk singing, classical and folk dances in which  20 children in the age group of 6-15 participated. On 21st Nov. 2009, Varun Mishra & Party (Allahabad) for Light Music,  Priya Pandey & Party (Allahabad) for Folk Songs, Kuhu Malviya & Party (Allahabad) for Tabla recital, Rajesh Yadav & Party (Allahabad) for Raee Dance were invited to perform.  On 28th Nov 2009, 14 upcoming artists in the field of folk songs, light music classical instrumental recital and classical dance were invited to showcase their talent.

21. Pratibha Utsav
To encourage and provide platform to upcoming talents and Scholars of Govt. of India, NCZCC has been organising    “Pratibha Utsav”. The participants are honoured at the end of the function by presenting memento to them.  In the month of November 2009, Pratibha Utsav was organized on 27th and 28th Nov. 2009 in Patna, Bihar in collaboration with Department of Youth and Culture, Bihar. In this event, Chandan & Party (Patna) for Tabla Recital, Nisha Kumari & Party for Folk Song,  Pratish Kumar Sinha & Party  for Guitar recital, Anupam Bhattacharya & Party Sitar recital , Anshu Mala & Party for Folk Song were invited to perform. Approximately 400 spectators witness the programme.

22. Workshop on Technique of Compere-
On 30th Nov to 6th Dec 2009 in collaboration with the Directorate of Culture, Uttarakhand, a workshop on different techniques of compeering the cultural programme  was held in Dehradun. In this workshop, 50-participants were imparted training on various technical aspects during anchoring a cultural event. The following experts were invited:

1. Panchdev Pandey (Delhi), 2. Sanjeev Upadhyay (Delhi), 3. Mahesh Chandra (Delhi), 4. Kuldeep Singh Kang (Delhi), 5. Asha Nivedi (Delhi) ,6. Narendra Acharya (Varanasi), 7. Laxmi Shankar Bajpai (Delhi), 8. Jasdev Singh (Delhi), 9. Mahesh Kumar Sinha (Ghaziabad, UP), 10. Azeez Hasan (Dehradun), 11. Amar Nath Amar (Delhi).

23. International Cultural Festival of India in Kuwait-
The Ministry of Culture, Govt. of  India , New Delhi  organized a 7-days  “Festival of India”  under the ambit of the India – Kuwait CEP 2009-2011 in Kuwait from 8th – 14th Nov. 2009,  in collaboration with Embassy of India, Kuwait  and  the National Council for Culture , Arts & Letters, State of Kuwait. The North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad was appointed as the Nodal Agency to organize  the aforesaid Cultural Programmes in Kuwait.  The inauguration of the  “Festival of India – 2009 ”  was held on 8th November 2009  for dignitaries and diplomats etc. and  the second day on 9th November 2009,  the  programme was replicated for a larger spectators. The festival concluded on 14th November 2009. The Folk troupes selected for the Festival of India in Kuwait were invited for dress rehearsal and choreography from 30th Oct-02nd Nov. 2009 at NCZCC in Allahabad. The folk artists were- 
1. Abdul Azeez & Party (Keral)  Oppanna Dance
2. Srishtidhar Mehato & Party  (Jharkhand)  Chhau Dance
3. Daksha Mahendra Joshi & Party (Ahmedabad , Gujarat) Dandia Raas, Hudo, Garba 
4. Rupinder Singh & Party (Patiala) Bangra Dance  
5. Jagoi Marup Party (Manipur) Basant Raas & Martial Dance, Dhol Cholom

Performing Art on 08th -9th-11th-12th & 14th Nov 2009 in Keifan auditorium, Kuwait
1. Pt. Shiv Kr. Sharma & Party  (Mumbai) Santoor Recital
2. Ranjana Gauhar & Party (Delhi)  Odissi Ballet
3. Abdul Azeez & Party (Keral)  Oppanna Dance
4. Srishtidhar Mehato & Party  (Jharkhand)  Chhau Dance
5. Daksha Mahendra Joshi & Party (Ahmedabad , Gujarat) Dandia Raas, Hudo, Garba 
6. Rimpa Siva & Party (Kolkata)  Tabla Recital
7. Shikato G. Shohe &  Party (Nagaland) Warrior Dance
8. Rupinder Singh & Party (Patiala) Bangra Dance 
9. Jagoi Marup Party (Manipur) Basant Raas & Martial Dance, Dhol Cholom
10. Rajendra Prasanna & Party  (Delhi) Flute Recital
11. Pt Hari Prasad Chaursia & Party (Mumbai) Flute Recital
12. Kalamandalam N. Ramankutty  & Party (Keral) Kathakali Dance.

An Exhibition of Woven Textile, Indian Traditional Shawls & Folk Art of Madhubani was organized from 09th-13th Nov 2009 at Al-Sadu House, Kuwait.
Traditional & Shadow Puppet Shows, Exhibition of Traditional Indian Dolls & Traditional Art of Henna Application was organized from 09th -13th Nov 2009 at Discovery Center, Kuwait.

An Exhibition of Old Photographs of “Mumbai through the Ages-Past & Present” from 09th -13th Nov 2009 at Al- Fanoon Hall, Kuwait. 

An Exhibition of Arabic Calligraphy and Indian- Muslim Religious posters & Calendar Art was displayed for public viewing from 10th -13th  Nov 2009 at Grand Mosque, Kuwait. 
An exhibition of contemporary and traditional paintings was displayed form 10th -13th  Nov 2009 at Avenues Mall,  Kuwait . The artists participated in this were:
Charan Sharma  (Mumbai), Nidhi Jain, (Jabalpur), Shail Choyal  (Udaipur) and  Kalyan Joshi (Bhilwara, Rajasthan)

A special programme was held in Embassy of India on 10th Nov 2009 at Indian Embassy in Kuwait.
This evening of cultural programme was exclusively devoted to Indian crowd in Kuwait.
1. Ranjana Gauhar & Party (Delhi) for Odissi Ballet, Rimpa Siva & Party (Kolkata) for Tabla Recital, Rajendra Prasanna & Party (Delhi)  for Flute Recital were requested to perform.

The various folk dances from different states of India were also presented in the evenings for the local crowd from 11th -13th Nov 2009 at Avenues Mall, Kuwait .

24. Manchan-2009- Natya Samaraoh –
In collaboration with Department of Culture, M.P. and District Administration, Ujjain, M.P.  a 3-day Theatre Festival  was held from  4th to 6th Dec. 2009 at Kalidas Academy, Ujjain .M.P,.and the same 3-day Festival  was held on 8th & 9th Dec.2009 in collaboration with District  Administration, Bikaner, Rajasthanin Bikaner. 1. Vijay Kumar & Party of Manch Theatre (Mumbai, Maharastra) staged the play called “ Doosara Adhyay” , 2. Sailesh Srivastava & Party of Abhinav Theatre Group from Allahabad, U.P. presented the paly –“The Great Raja Master Drama Company” and 3. Sambhav Arts Group from Delhi staged the show - “Dancing with Dad” directed by Devendra Raj Ankur (Delhi) at both places.

25. Suranjali Cultural Programme –
On 5th Dec 2009, with the assistance of District Administration, Allahabad U.P. Suranjali Cultural Programme was organized at NCZCC, Allahabad. In this programme, held every Saturday of the Week, the upcoming artistes from folk, classical and instrumental are given a platform to showcase their talents. This week, the young artists:  Baby Rawat & Party of three members for Light Music, Radha Jaiswal  & Party comprising seven members  for Folk Songs and  Sonal Kesarwani &  Party of seven members  from Allahabad  were invited to perform  in presence of approximately two hundred  spectators.

26. Workshop on Puppets Making Artform–
A  15-day Workshop  on Puppets-Making  was organized  from 08th-22nd  Dec 2009 on the campus of  NCZCC, Allahabad. This workshop was attended by ten local artistes who had taken keen interest in learning various ancient styles of puppets from Rajasthan. The Experts in Puppet making, Mangilal Bhatt, Rajesh Bhatt, Chauthmal Bhatt, Tikam Bhatt, Sarwan Bhatt and Naukaria Bhatt  from Rajasthan were  invited to impart training  in puppet making  artform. On 22nd Dec. 2009, there was a presentation of Puppet show in one of the evenings during Rashtriya Shilp Mela in Allahabad Haat, NCZCC. The various styles of Puppets were exhibited on 23rd Dec.2009 for public viewing in MGAG, NCZCC.

27. Rashtriya Shilp Mela -2009,  A  13-day National Craft -Fair & Folk Dances
In order to promote and preserve the traditional values of art, craft and  cultural heritage of  our country, a Rashtriya Shilp Mela is organized annually. There was  a blend of handicraft items, culture and traditional cuisine on the occasion of this fair. This year Shilp Mela was organized from 11th to 23rd Dec.2009 for 13 days in Allahabad-Haat on the campus of NCZCC.  The cultural programmes were organized regularly in the evening session during the fair.  Approximately, 410-folk artists from the component states of NCZCC were invited to present various styles of folk and tribal dances of their regions.  87- Artisans from all over country were invited to showcase handicrafts and cuisines from various regions. On 19th Dec. 2009, an evening was devoted to poetic symposium  in which 13-renowned poets from UP, Rajasthan and Delhi were invited to recite  their  poems.

28. An Exhibition of Ceramic Pottery-
An Exhibition of Ceramic Pottery by Sri Ratan Kumar of Lucknow , Proctor Lucknow University was organized 25th -27th Dec 2009 at  Mahatma Gandhi Art Gallery, NCZCC, Allahabad U.P. There were about 45 items including Flower Pots, Cups and Saucers, Compositions and Ancient style Utencils etc. on display. Prof. Ram Chandra Shukla, Ex-HoD, Department of Visual Arts, BHU, Varanasi, U.P., was invited to inaugurate the event. It was largely attended by the senior and upcoming artistes of Allahabad , Varanasi and Lucknow.   

29. Gandhi Shilp Bazar – Handicraft Fair- 2009  
Gandhi Shilp Bazar – a thirteen days National Craft-Fair is a major yearly event organized in collaboration with DC (HC) , Ministry  of Textile, Govt. of India, New Delhi. This year Gandhi Shilp Bazar is being organized from 25th Dec.2009 to  6th Jan.2010 in Allahabad-Haat, NCZCC. This event also blends the three Cs, namely, craft, culture and cuisine from all over India. The craft-fair begins everyday from 11:00 am and the evening session witnesses the cultural performances in which 190 - folk artists are invited by NCZCC and 187-artisans from other Zonal Cultural Centres are invited to participate.