koraput parab2012 the threeday annual cultural extravaganza began on friday on stadium ground amid the beats of dhemsa performed by tribal dancers from koraput artistes from across the country are participating in the various cultural programmes at the festival more than 500 artistes from across the country will showcase tribal art and culture of their areas however the traditional dance and music from undivided koraput district will be in the spotlight during the threeday celebrations over 2 lakh people are expected to visit the place during the parab celebrations said collector koraput sachin jadav sidhi dhamal performed by artistes from gujarat on day 1 proved to be a crowd puller there were artistes from neighbouring west bengal also the parab stage which is being modelled after indias highest broadgauge railway tunnel that is in koraputs maliguda village is a special attraction this year huge crowd including tourists braved the chill to experience the extravaganza i have never witnessed such a huge tribal festival i was overwhelmed after seeing the festival that reflects the culture of tribal districts it is not less than any nationallevel festival said seetal banerjee a tourist from west bengal a fiveday pallishree mela has also been organized at the festival site a variety of handicrafts will be on display the festival featuring a number of competitive sports tribal dances songs music and art was launched at the famous ganesh temple of nandapur on october 24 and was celebrated in blocks across the district till novemeber 14