As Uttar Pradesh prepares to celebrate Uttar Pradesh Diwas, the state’s cultural landscape is set to take centre stage in Lucknow with a unique initiative that brings together talent from the grassroots to the capital.
At the Rashtra Prerna Sthal, artistes selected from villages, panchayats, blocks, districts, and divisions across the state will present their skills, offering audiences a rare glimpse of Uttar Pradesh’s rich and living cultural traditions.
The journey of these artistes has unfolded through a carefully structured, multi-tiered cultural competition organised by the Department of Culture.
Preliminary rounds were held between January 10 and 15, at the gram sabha, panchayat, block, and tehsil levels, followed by district-level competitions from January 17 to 19. The process culminated on January 22 with divisional-level competitions, where participants from all 18 divisions of the state competed for a place at the state-level celebrations.
UP Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh said here on Thursday that the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to taking culture beyond elite stages and giving genuine grassroots talent a voice.
Congratulating the winners of the state-level cultural competition ‘Hamari Sanskriti – Hamari Pehchaan’ (Sanskriti Utsav 2025–26), he said the platform has enabled young artistes from Uttar Pradesh—adolescents aged 14 to 20 years and youth aged 21 to 25 years—to showcase their abilities in disciplines such as vocal and instrumental music, classical and semi-classical dance, folk dance, folk theatre, light music, tribal and folk instruments, and poetry recitation.
Selected participants will be honoured and awarded during Uttar Pradesh Diwas celebrations from January 24 to 26, 2026, at Rashtra Prerna Sthal.
Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Culture and Religious Affairs, Amrit Abhijat, said the multi-level structure of Sanskriti Utsav has demonstrated the depth and diversity of cultural talent across Uttar Pradesh.