CULTURAL TOURISM IN CHAMBA: RE-DISCOVERY AND INNOVATIVENESS OF LOST TRADITIONS

Abstract

Cultural tourism captures the essence of long stories of human settlements and their experiences, written or oral, in forms of folk songs, stories, dances, art and architectures. The cultural setup of Himachal Pradesh, which is the amalgamation of many religions, customs and tradition, is the subset of Indian multicultural fabric, where history and culture of the district Chamba keeps a distinctive place that gives impetus to the state tourism. The cultural tourism in Chamba illustrates the phenomenal life styles of distinctive communities through folklores, temples, fairs, festivals and museum that attract worldwide attention.
The present paper seeks to analyze the cultural tourism in Chamba particularly in context to its folklores. The need and dissemination of literature on the cultural heritage and other non-literary attempts, by the state or other non government
agencies to preserve and explore it will also we brought to the fore. The focus will be given to highlight that how the growing demand of cultural tourism not only augment the revenue in the state but also would be an effective step towards the rediscovery and the innovativeness of the lost and hidden folklore of the district.