Wednesday, 20 April | PNS | Dehradun
Panchnaad- a group of Indian classical musicians enthralled the audience with their performance during the ongoing Virasat festival on Tuesday. They played various renditions with Shruti Adhikari on the Santoor, Smita Vajpayee on Sitar, Sangeeta Agnihotri on Tabla and Mahima Upadhyay on Pakhawaj.
Earlier, youngsters from various schools performed nine types of dances including Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Odissi; six vocal presentations and three instrumentals. They performed as part of Virasat Sadhna which saw 18 performances by students of 10 schools. The programme aims to connect the youth to their roots and keep the Indian classical culture alive. The students performed nine dances that included Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Odissi; six vocal renditions – Raga Yaman, Raga Bhopali, Raag Prayag and three instrumentals. Students of Convent of Jesus and Mary, Madhukar Kala Manch, Shri Ram Centennial, Kendriya Vidyalaya upper camp, Kendriya Vidyalaya ONGC, St Thomas College, Kendriya Vidyalaya ITBP, Kendriya Vidyalaya IIP, The Asian School, Jaswant Modern School and The Tons Bridge School participated in the event. The Navodaya Kala Vikas Samiti also presented Uttarakhand folk performances.
Rural Entrepreneurship for Art and Cultural Heritage (REACH) which organises Virasat was established in 1995 in Dehradun and has continued to organise the festival ever since. The aim is simply to preserve the value and essence of Indian art, culture and heritage and to bring these cultural values to the masses. Virasat has been instrumental in reviving many rural arts which were once on the verge of extinction due to a lack of an audience. The festival has played a role in preserving and reviving village traditions, music, dance, crafts, painting, sculpture, theatre, storytelling, traditional cuisine, etc and bringing them into practice in these modern times, because of which the classical and contemporary arts have started being recognised once again.
Apart from the arts and music, stalls selling items including handicrafts and food items from different parts of the country are also attracting visitors at the festival venue.
