Hamirpur (HP), Mar 5 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the four-day national-level Holi festival of Sujanpur Tira here on Sunday, officials said.

The chief minister also performed puja at the ancient Radhe Krishna temple and sought blessings for his family and the people of the state.

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Sukhu also opened an exhibition set up by various government and private entrepreneurs, the officials said.

Cultural nights and urban pottery items by artists of Hamirpur, Kangra and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh will be the highlight of the festival.

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Showing keen interest in the exhibition, Sukhu urged the entrepreneurs and artists to work with more zeal to create and sell their products, officials said.

On this occasion, thousands of men, women and children had come from different parts of the three districts and took part in the celebrations. They enjoyed various delicacies and saw the exhibitions.

The Holi of Sujanpur Tira has been celebrated since ancient times. However, it became famous when Katoch rulers of the Kangra hills made this town their sub-capital and Raja Sansar Chand took over the reins of the kingdom.

In the early days, Raja Sansar Chand used to play Holi with his courtiers and their families and used to invite all of them to his forts, where a small tank was constructed.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)