The Delhi International Arts Festival will highlight the Northeast heritage alongwith a melange of global performances. Shrabasti Mallik reports
They might have been victimised for a few days in the city but the Northeasterners will have a sort of solidarity at the forthcoming edition of Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF). The organisers want to promote and sensitise people about the culture and art of Northeast. There’ll be a NE Cultural Carnival which will include folk performances and music by Jeli Keyi, late Too Soon, Aboriginal Project and Brahmaputra Boys. Designers will showcase their handloom and fabric through a fashion show. Celebs like Mary Kom and John Abraham are expected to walk the ramp.
“This is an attempt to bring into light the culture of the Northeast which is so intrinsically linked to our own. Our traditions might be slightly different but we share same history and values. This is high time we learn to appreciate their talent and accept them as part of our own,” says Pratibha Prahlad, founder of the festival.
The eighth edition of the festival, Raining Culture, will encompass every form of art — folk, tribal, classic and contemporary. With over 2,000 participants from India, the festival will also see participation of over 14 countries namely Pakistan, Iran, Austria, Tukey, Spain, Israel, Chili, Malaysia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Canada, Kazakhastan and Russia.
While there will be two performances from Czech Republic this time, Hungary has only been able to bring only one performance to the festival. They will have a dance drama by Mimi Fortunate, a theatre who has been performing on the global platform for the last 30 years. The 17-member group, which has already performed once in India in 2007 will try to depict the culture and history of the country through a contemporary dance drama. The other performance will be of a Kvintessence Quartet, which will include the violin, viola and the cello. Audience will also get to experience the classical music of Hungary. This year Hungary does not have a larger contingent of artist. But DIAF will see a clarinet, saxophone and piano recital by a couple, Peter Horvath and Beata Gincsai. The music genre will be partly classical and jazz.
The DIAF has always looked out for areas which can be turned into prospective sites for showcasing their performances. The newest place that has made way into their list of venues is Depot 29, a place in Safdarjung Enclave. “We always look and hunt for new places and open air areas which can not only be accessible to all but also have a mass appeal. We try to keep expanding our venues,” says Partibha.
When on one hand there will be experimental dance by Israel’s Ofra Hoffhman, Varun Narain from India will be entertaining people with his puppetry skills. There will also be visual arts displaying tribal art. “We have about 40 tribal artists from all over the country who will sell their works,” informs Pratibha. That apart, audience will also get to see the intricacies of calligraphy from Iranian artists and also get to indulge themselves in the soulful songs of the Roohani Sisters, sufi songs of Rahavendra Parsian of Iran and world music practitioners from all over the world. Israeli pop art, which combines metal wall sculptors, car paint on metal paintings, wood cut and mixed media on canvas will also be a part of the festival exhibits. Amidst performances from Indian and foreign artists, audience will also be witness to performances from Pakistan — a Punjabi play, MAAS Theatre’s Guddo from lahore. The festival will kickstart from October 28 with vedic chants accompanied with dance by Aswara Dance Company, Malaysia; Gekku dance troupe from Kazakhastan and Turkish traditional and folk dance.