The Bhopal Literature and Art Festival embarked on its journey of thought-provoking sessions on Friday at Bharat Bhavan. Following the century-long Indian tradition, the eminent guests, BLF Director Raghav Chandra, Abhilash Khandekar, American-Indian architect Christopher Benninger, Harur Habib, and industrialist Govind Dholakia inaugurated the much-anticipated festival by lighting the lamps.
The event then witnessed the art exhibition of Padmashri Bhalu Monde and 12 stimulating sessions. Setting the tone of the 'Knowledge Kumbh,' Pandit Umakant Gundecha and Sri Anant Gundecha gave a resounding performance of Dhrupad in Raag Saraswati. Their recitation of Saraswati Vandana left the hall vibrant. During his welcome address, BLF Director Raghav Chandra said, "With Bhopal Literature and Art Festival, we aim to earn the UNESCO City of Literature tag. It is a labour of love, hard work, and sweat." He also said that literature matures with age.
One can always find a new interpretation of the old text." Later, the honourable dais also unveiled the event's mascot, a picture by Padmashri Bhalu Monde of an endangered bird Lesser Florican. Notion Of Identity Is Fluid - Sanjeev ChopraThe first session of the three-day festival's Antrang saw a presentation by a retired IAS officer and writer Sanjeev Chopra on his new book 'Maps and Milestones - The Making and Remaking of India's Boundaries'.
While discussing how and why the political map of India changed between 1947-2019, he commented, "The notion of identity is fluid. We are the only nation whose national anthem celebrates different ethnicities. Migration changes demography, and demography changes politics. We need to understand as a mature democracy." He also showcased different maps of India from across timelines and talked about the formation of Goa, Nagaland, and more.
Reviving The Devadasi TraditionWriter Lakshmi Viswanathan of Devadasis, Women of Pride, held the second session of Antrang. While discussing the same, the writer talked about the 1000-year-old temple dancers of Tanjore village, and these women preserved the music and dance culture. However, society exploited Devadasis in the name of religion. Dancer Rukmani Devi came from the same tradition and re-established the same.
The credit for reviving Bharatanatyam's technique 'Sadhir' and giving it international fame goes to Rukmini Devi. We Are The Not Others - Kalki SubramaniamIn the third session, 'Making Literature LGBTQ Neutral,' the fest hosted Kalki Subramaniam in conversation with Harikeerthan Raghuram. Kalki talked about her awaited book 'We Are Not The Others,' and said, "Each piece of writing deconstructs the idea of transgenders as others.
It offers an insider's account of their dreams, desires, hopes, pain and suffering. While challenging the stereotyping of signifiers, these pieces vehemently bring to us the fact that boy/ girl/ man/ woman/ first gender/ second gender/ third gender are hierarchical categories that we forcefully impose upon human experience with severe injustice and irreparable damage."