STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Minister for Finance and Culture Dr Haseeb Drabu on Sunday unveiled an imaginative Calendar-2017 compiled by the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums.
The calendar showcases the treasure-trove of J&K’s antique creative marvel and artistic legacy titled as Shahnama Firdousi in which calligrapher, Syed Jallal-ud-Dinn Bukhari has depicted the marvelous work of 1654 AD (Mughal Period) in Persian language.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Drabu said the compiling of the calendar by the Department is a unique effort to bring in public domain the treasured creative art of Jammu and Kashmir. He also called for concerted efforts to attract tourist and young generations to visit Dogra Art Museum housed alongside the prestigious Mubarak Mandi Complex.
“In order to rediscover ourselves and our origin, we have to be a culturally conscious society,” he said, adding that the exercise of launching calendars is to ‘rediscover, reflect and revive.
He further said, “We can’t effort to erase out our past, our history and it is a great exercise of engaging with our past, to reorient our present and redefine our future.”
Dr Drabu called for spreading awareness among the people about culturally rich heritage of the state and to attract youth for their active participation in preserving and promoting J&K’s distinct traditions.
He also appealed people to refrain from destroying and defacing ‘Cultural Heritage’ of the State, saying that concrete steps are underway to protect and redefine the culturally rich sites of here.
