PrashantNews
Virasat, the fortnight long cultural extravaganza, will begin in Dehradun from October 15, top officials of the Rural Entrepreneurship for Art and Cultural Heritage (REACH) said on Monday.
RK Singh, Founder and General Secretary of REACH said, ‘Virasat – is an annual cultural festival celebrating Indian and international folk and classical dance, music, art, crafts and the extensive heritage of India. The festival will start from October 15, 2024 at Dr. BR Ambedkar Stadium, Kaulagarh Road, Dehradun.”
The fortnight-long festival will conclude on October 29. Virasat Art and Heritage Festival 2024 will be inaugurated by Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj.
During the festival, the Virsat will showcase the Indian traditions, culture and heritage with the artisans and craftsmen showing their sleight of hands. The people will also have the choice to see the folk and classical art through this platform.
Addressing a press conference, RK Singh said, “The 15-day events will include Virasat Sadhna in the morning and afternoon – a platform for young and emerging artists from schools and colleges of Dehradun to showcase their talent. A craft workshop by master craftsmen, vintage car and bike rally, heritage quiz, photography competition and talks on music and literature by experts like K.L. Pandey, Sohail Hashmi, Arshiya Sethi will also be the centre of attraction.
The popular Chholia dance of Uttarakhand, Chakravyuh, cultural folk dances of Goa, folk music of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Odissi dance along with programs like Qawwali, Yoga, Navy Band will be performed by various groups and artists.
Folk and Sufi music, Ghazal, Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, as well as dance forms like Bharatnatyam and Kathak and a grand programme of instrumental music with performances on Sarod, Tabla, Flute, Mandolin, Violin and Piano will be presented.
The same Ragini Shankar, Songavarti Das, Rajendra Gangani, Avnindra Sheolikar, Malini Awasthi, Ruchira Kedar, Samanvay Sarkar, Pandit Sajan Mishra and Swaransh Mishra, Mohd. Anwar Khan Qawwal, Shinjini Kulkarni, Omkar Dadarkar, Culture and Nature Vahane, Pratibha Singh Baghel, Anol Chatterjee, Ronu Majumdar and Shashank Subramaniam, Jawad Ali Khan, Sufi singing by Vadalis, Praveen Godkhindi, Usman Mir, Abhishek Lahiri, Brian Silas, Mahesh Kale, Manjari Chaturvedi, Usha Uthup and other popular artists will give their performances.
Besides Singh, Lokesh Ohri Program Director, Harish Awal Trustee, Vijayshree Joshi Joint Secretary, Sunil Verma Craft Director, Priyamvada Iyer Media Incharge, Pradeep Maithal Office Administrator etc. were present in the press conference.
And last but not least, the delectable lip smacking dishes from various states and regions also await the spectators.