Parliament Question: NMCMR in Wayanad

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2337 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.08.2026 NMCMR IN WAYANAD 2337. Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: Will the Minister of CULTUREbe pleased to state:- (a) whether the Government is taking initiative to document, preserve and safeguard both, tangible and intangible cultural heritage and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of cultural assets mapped in Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency, village-wise including demographic profiles, artists and art practices under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping and Roadmap (NMCMR); (c) the details of initiatives taken to support artisans and improve livelihoods, including through skill upgradation and marketing, especially in the said Constituency; (d) whether the Government proposes to promote handicraft based rural tourism initiatives and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the details of craft villages in India and pending proposals for recognition, if any? ANSWER MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) (a) The National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) aims to preserve and safeguard India's diverse tangible and intangible cultural heritage through systematic documentation and cultural mapping. The Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) initiative under NMCM culturally maps tangible and intangible cultural heritage at the village level across States/UTs. It comprehensively documents a wide range of cultural elements prevalent across villages coveringheritage sites, art forms, prominent artists, oral traditions, beliefs and customs, historical significance, local landmarks, fairs and festivals, traditional dress, ornaments and traditional food, wherever available. At present, cultural profiles of approximately 6.34 lakh villages have been documented under the MGMD initiative.(b) The cultural profiles of villages falling within the Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency have been documented under various categories on the MGMD Portal. These entail cultural significance, heritage places, fairs and festivals, traditional art and craft, tradition food, dress and ornaments, beliefs and customs, prominent artists, geographic and demographic profile, as well as developmental profile. This information is recorded on the MGMD web-portal under village-profiles and not as per individual elements. Accordingly, separate category-wise consolidated data are not maintained. However, a representative list of artists and art forms mapped in districts of the said constituency has been given at Annexure – I. (c) The objective of MGMD is the documentation of cultural heritage at the village level. Currently, there is no provision under the Mission for integration of this database with economic or skill development initiatives. (d) The MGMD web-portal functions as a digital repository of village-level cultural data. However, no specific initiative for promoting handicraft-based rural tourism has been undertaken under the Mission so far. (e) The mandate of MGMD is to document cultural assets, including craft activities practised in villages, wherever available, and not to categorise or recognise craft villages.ANNEXURE-I Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2337 asked on 03 August, 2026 regarding ‘NMCMR in Wayanad’ Some Artists and their respective Art Forms documented from the Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency on MGMD Portal Artist(Mr./Mrs./Ms Art Form District .) Karinkali Gopi Gadhika (Adiya Tribal Ritual Art) Wayanad Chathi Tribal Percussion Music (Kattunaikka) Wayanad P.K. Kalan (Late) Gadhika Wayanad C.K. Janu Adiya Tribal Folk Songs and Oral Traditions Wayanad Kurichiya Tribal Folk Music & Dance N.J. Chandu Wayanad Traditions Yasir Kurikkal Kolkali Kozhikode P.K. Narayanan Thirayattam (Thira) Kozhikode Kolleri Sivaraman Drama Kozhikode Muhammad Drama Kozhikode Perambra Partha Sarathi Drama Malappuram Ambalappadi Poothamkali Malappuram Narayanan Subrahmaniyan Carpenter Malappuram C Radhakrishnan Writer Malappuram C K Suresh Kothupani Malappuram Some Art Forms documented from the Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency on MGMD Portal Art Form District Gadhika (Adiya Tribal Ritual Dance-Drama) Wayanad Vattakali (Paniya Tribal Dance) Wayanad Kolkali (Kuruma Tribal Folk Dance) Wayanad Nellukuthu Pattu (Kurichiya Agricultural Song Tradition) Wayanad Kambala Nritham (Adiya Agricultural Dance Tradition) Wayanad Aravana Muttu Malappuram Mappila Pattu Kozhikode Pottery Kozhikode Mural Painting Malappuram Banana Fibre Products Malappuram Kolkali Malappuram *****