ASI to allow music,dance shows at select monuments

The genre of music or dance will be kept in sync with the history and ambience of a particular monument,ASI director-general K N Srivastava said. “For instance,” Srivastava said,“we can have qawwali performances at Safdarjung Tomb,or maybe Sufi music shows at Red Fort — as it used to be in the Mughal era.”

The 10 monuments proposed for such cultural evenings are Purana Qila,Safdarjung Tomb,Qutab Minar complex,Red Fort,Tughlaqabad Fort,Sher Shah Gate (opposite Purana Qila),the children’s heritage museum at Siri Fort,Bara Bateshewala complex,Shalimar Bagh,and Qila Rai Pithora conservation centre complex.

The proposal seeks to keep the monuments open till 9 pm for such shows,Srivastava said. ASI officials said details are yet to be finalised on the criteria for granting permission to organisers of such shows,as also ways to reach out to them with proposals for organising performances.

Srivastava said the Old Fort already hosts cultural programmes and several concert organisers get in touch with the ASI for permission. “The cultural programmes at the 10 selected monuments will be a regular feature,” he said. “This will generate additional revenue for the monument and help in maintenance by keeping certain public spaces in the premises in regular use.”