Kalimpong to revive legacy of silk route in five-day festival

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, OCTOBER 17, 2022: The Kalimpong Silk Route Festival will be organized for the first time in Kalimpong under the auspices of Mani Trust's tourism vertical named Pahuna in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Tourism to revive the legacy of the silk route.

Giving this information in a news conference in Kalimpong on Monday, Chairman of Mani Trust Subash Mani Singh said the five-day festival would be held at the Regulated Market in Kalimong, involving all the stakeholders in the area; including artists. 

He said the main attraction of the festival would be the two-day marathon, to be completed between November 5 and November 6.Convenor of tourism vertical Pahuna said there would be a carnival walk on the first day. 

After the inauguration of the festival, different programmes would be held in different places of Kalimong throughout the day.The main festival events would begin from 1 p.m. 

At the venue of the festival there would be cultural shows, music, food stalls, handicrafts, art exhibitions, flower shows and exhibitions of local products.

Kalimpong used to be the main trading centre with Tibet till 1961, when Sino-Indian relations soured. Christened as the silk route, the main item of trade through the route used to be wool from Tibet.