Vadodara: The two-day cultural festival AIKYAM 2026, organised by Sopaan, brought together international delegates and cultural stakeholders to showcase Vadodara’s rich heritage, artistic traditions and contemporary cultural landscape.The festival was supported by Vadodara MP Hemang Joshi, royal family member Radhikaraje Gaekwad, Gujarat Tourism, Incredible India, Vadodara Municipal Corporation, Baroda Heritage Trust and the Federation of Gujarat Industries. The event also saw the participation of 10 European embassies in India to promote international cultural dialogue.The second day of the festival, titled ‘Rasa and Realism’, celebrated Gujarat’s living heritage through a series of immersive cultural experiences. The programme highlighted Vadodara’s potential to emerge as an international destination for heritage arts, bringing together the city’s history, architecture, design, art and contemporary cultural exchange.Siddhaant Mohta, director of Sopaan, said the festival aimed to redefine how Vadodara’s cultural identity is presented to the world.“Heritage is not just about preserving the past. It is about keeping traditions alive, creating new cultural connections and giving people compelling reasons to experience a place first-hand. With AIKYAM, we want to take Vadodara beyond the familiar narratives of royal history and monuments and present the creativity, craftsmanship and living traditions that define its cultural identity,” Mohta said.Mohta said ‘Rasa and Realism’ brought architecture, design, traditional crafts and community celebrations together to create a dialogue between India’s heritage and global perspectives. The aim, he said, was to establish AIKYAM as a distinctive cultural platform that places Vadodara firmly on the international cultural map.Joshi highlighted Gujarat’s growing tourism sector, stating that domestic tourist visits across the state’s top 10 destinations reached 12.4 crore in 2025, registering a 36.9% increase over the previous year. Foreign tourist visits to these destinations also rose to 16 lakh.
