Tagore theatre, the epicentre of Chandigarh’s cultural festivity, was again brim with lights, camera, people and shades of action as 12th Chandigarh Art & Heritage Festival unfolded.
The 3 day festival, which kicked off on 22nd September 2021, was organised by Department of Cultural Affairs, Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Akademi and Tagore Theatre.
A housefull Tagore theater went on its feet, sang in chorus as the opening day catered cultural opulence of folk dance and music from various states. The spectrum of performances, on one hand, included absorbing group folk dances like Jhoomar, Beejna, Giddha and on other featured mesmerising individual performances such as Raza Heer’s Jutti Kasuri, Rajat Raj’s Challa.
The opening day also witnessed the participation of a range of people in an art workshop exclusively designed around the theme India@75, which continued till second day of the event.
On the following day, literary enthusiasts participated in a trilingual Kavi sammelan, orchestrated by Sahitya Akademi, Chandigarh, which featured 18 prominent poets of Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Deepak Sharma, a Punjabi poet who participated in the event was excited to be there after a pandemic driven halt to academic engagements. He told The Voices, “Earlier in pre pandemic times such events were a monthly affair. Then, opportunities of interaction almost vanished. But now, as vaccination has kicked off, we believe and have been assured by Sahitya Akademi that this will be a more frequent affair now.”
A historical play Shaheed Udham Singh was staged on the final day which also featured the organisation of interactive sessions on art at Government Museum & Art Gallery, Sec-10, Chandigarh.
The thematic unity of the scheduled events in the festival, which concluded on 24th September, was in harmony with the spirit of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a central government’s initiative to celebrate the 75 Years of Indian Independence
The return of the festival was rejuvenating for artists and residents of the city. A participating person told The Voices “Performances were soulful and engaging. We are happy that such activities have restarted and we will be willing to participate in the same in future too.”
The administration too is poised to continue the efforts for further intensification of cultural activities in the city. Balkar Sidhu, Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Chandigarh told The Voices “Almost every sector had to bear the brunt of pandemic. But such cultural efforts will become a routine feature in times to come. We can expect this to be a monthly feature from now on. We are expecting that participation too will witness diversification with artist and audience joining in from all around the country.”
Images: Sunil Kumar Gund
Edited by NK Jha
1 Comment
Beautifully depicted. Keep on writing.👍