'Lokrang', a five-day festival of tribal and folk arts that begins every year on 26 January, is organised in which state?

Lokrang is a five-day cultural festival organised every year by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in its capital, Bhopal. It begins on 26 January, Republic Day, and celebrates the folk and tribal arts, music, dance and crafts of Madhya Pradesh and other parts of India.

Lokrang is organised by the Adivasi Lok Kala Evam Boli Vikas Academy (the Academy of Tribal and Folk Arts) of the Madhya Pradesh Culture Department. It is held at the Ravindra Bhavan in Bhopal. The festival brings together folk and tribal artists from across the country, as well as artists from other countries. Visitors can enjoy performances of folk and tribal dances, such as the Karma, Saila and Bhagoria dances of Madhya Pradesh, as well as folk theatre, music and puppetry. The festival also includes exhibitions and sales of handicrafts, tribal paintings (such as Gond and Bhil art), and traditional food. Each year, the festival focuses on a particular theme. It aims to preserve and promote the folk and tribal cultures of India and to give a platform to traditional artists.

Madhya Pradesh has a large tribal population, including the Gonds, Bhils, Baigas, Korkus, Sahariyas and Bharias. Bhopal is home to several important cultural institutions, such as the Bharat Bhavan, a multi-arts centre founded in 1982, and the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (National Museum of Mankind), an open-air museum that displays the life and culture of the tribal communities of India.

Other festivals of Madhya Pradesh include the Khajuraho Dance Festival, the Tansen Samaroh (Gwalior), the Kalidas Samaroh (Ujjain), the Mandu Festival, the Malwa Utsav and the Bhagoria festival of the Bhils.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Rajasthan holds folk festivals such as the Desert Festival and the Rajasthan International Folk Festival.
• ✗Gujarat holds the Rann Utsav.
• ✗Chhattisgarh holds the Bastar Dussehra and the Rajim Kumbh.