Adv. Ashish Shelar Invites Konkan to the Pinguli Kala Mahotsav, a Two-Evening Celebration of Thakar Folk Art
Chitrakathi is a word that explains itself. Chitra, a picture; katha, a story. Put them together and you have one of the Konkan's oldest ways of telling a tale: a sequence of painted leaves, held up one after another, while a narrator sings the story they depict.
The village most closely tied to that tradition is Pinguli, in Kudal taluka of Sindhudurg district. On 6 and 7 November 2026, it will host the Pinguli Kala Mahotsav, a two-evening festival of the region's folk arts organised by the Government of Maharashtra.
An invitation from the minister
The festival was shared by Hon. Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar, who holds the Cultural Affairs, Electronics, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence portfolios. His caption, in Marathi, calls it "कोकणच्या मातीतील लोककलेचा रंगोत्सव": a festival of colour drawn from the folk arts of the Konkan's own soil. He invites people to experience that heritage and celebrate their traditions together.
The official poster carries the photographs of Hon. Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis and the two Hon. Deputy Chief Ministers, Shri Eknath Shinde and Smt. Sunetra Pawar. The event is organised by the Cultural Affairs Department and the Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra, with the invitation extended by the Directorate's Director, Shri Prashant Sangeeta Kailas Khedekar.
The essentials
Dates: Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November 2026
Time: 6:30pm
Venue: Padma Shri Parshuram Vishram Gangavane Thakar Adivasi Kala Aangan, Museum and Art Gallery, Gudhipur, Pinguli, Kudal, Sindhudurg
Performers: local folk art groups, according to the poster
Entry: open to all, with no ticket charge
Why the venue matters
The choice of venue is not incidental. Parshuram Gangavane, a member of the Thakar tribal community, received the Padma Shri in 2021 for his work in keeping the community's art forms alive. Beyond Chitrakathi, the Thakars of Pinguli are known for kalsutri bahulya, string puppetry, and charmachitra, leather shadow puppetry, both learnt by Gangavane from his father and grandfather.
In the 1970s he turned part of his family's ancestral cowshed into the Thakar Adivasi Kala Aangan, a museum and gallery that now holds old painted leaves, puppets and musical instruments. His sons, Chetan and Eknath, perform alongside him and help run the centre.
A government festival staged inside that museum is, in effect, a state acknowledgement of a family archive. It brings an audience to the place where the objects were made and are still used, rather than lifting them into a city auditorium.
A note for visitors
Pinguli sits beside Kudal, which is served by the Konkan Railway. The poster does not mention seating or registration, so arriving a little before 6:30pm would be sensible. For a wider sense of the month's cultural calendar, our guide to Avid Learning's November programme in Mumbai covers the city end of things.
The Konkan's folk arts have survived for generations with little attention from outside the region. Two evenings in Pinguli are a modest but meaningful chance to see them where they live.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Pinguli Kala Mahotsav 2026?
On 6 and 7 November 2026, from 6:30pm each evening.
Where is it held?
At Padma Shri Parshuram Vishram Gangavane's Thakar Adivasi Kala Aangan, Museum and Art Gallery in Gudhipur, Pinguli, Kudal taluka, Sindhudurg district.
Who is organising it?
The Directorate of Cultural Affairs under the Government of Maharashtra's Cultural Affairs Department. Hon. Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar shared the invitation.
Is there an entry fee?
No. The official poster says entry is open to all without charge.
Kenneth Hopkins is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AltBollywood. Indofuturist, posthumanist and unapologetically Indocentric, he describes himself as an epimemeticist, a swaraji, a freakonomist, a lexicographer and a cartochronicler, mapping the ideas, words and quiet shifts that shape Indian entertainment. Follow him on Instagram at @kennethhopkins.
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