Shimla, Sep. 14 : A five-day folk dance competition began here on Monday, with dancers from the country and abroad participating.

The objective of the festival, which has girls participating from 2400 schools and colleges, is to revive Indian culture and promote women empowerment.

"The selling feature of this programme is that in this international dance festival, only girls are participating and there is no male member. This is the year of women empowerment . Women have been given first preference," said Prem Sharma, Director, Language and Culture Department, Himachal Pradesh.

A lot of tourists from within the country and abroad have gathered in Shimla to glimpse this cultural extravaganza. (ANI)