Marvellous Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav in BHU to promote and preserve rich cultural heritage of the country
Varanasi: In a first of its kind initiative to promote different Indian art forms the Union Ministry of Culture organised Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) from December 17 to 24. The inaugural
ceremony of the Mahotsva witnessed eminent art personalities including Smt Girija Devi, Dr Sonal Mansingh, Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, etc.
Joining the Mahotsav on December 22 Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said, “Arts and culture have a paramount place in our society. In the absence of art, people will be just like robots.”
Union Culture Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma at the inaugural function said such kinds of festivities help in promoting and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the country.
Smt. Girija Devi enthralled the audience with her melodious performance. Folk arts of different states added special glitter to the cultural festival, which included folk songs, folk dances; Malkhambh i.e. martial arts; Bin Jogi of Haryana; Kachchi Ghodi folk dance of Rajasthan among others. BHU Vice Chancellor Prof. Girish Chandra Tripathi said on the centenary celebration of the University, there can be no better platform than BHU, to host such an event, which is in itself the cultural capital of knowledge.
The festival witnessed the art and photography exhibition from seven different cultural zones at Ahivasi Art Gallery and Mahamana Art Gallery. Also, a special art exhibition based on Simhasth Kumbh Mela titled as Tat Tvam Asi was exhibited in Swatantrata Bhawan. Students from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi participated in a national workshop ‘The Contribution of Women in Nation Building’ organised at Mahila Mahavidyalaya. The entire campus of BHU was coloured in different flavours of art. Vishwanath Temple of BHU
witnessed the performance of martial arts performed by different artists from Odisha and other states.
On the second day, a workshop was organised by Film & Television Institute of India, Pune on short term acting course and short-term film appreciation. On this occasion, ‘Aparajito’ and ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam’ were screened. Children Film Society of India in association with the Ministry of Culture and BHU organised a workshop on December 19. The workshop was based on the Making of Animation Films. Classical orchestra by Shri Narendra Mishra on ‘Muktakashi Manch’ of Swatantra Bhawan energised all. Puppet play ‘Ma Jagat Janani Kandoi’ of Chaitanya Behara in Arts Auditorium of BHU added new resourcefulness to this cultural fest.
Eminent play of Shekhar Sen ‘Vivekanand’ was staged. While Channu Lal Mishra’s classical performance at Omkarnath Thakur Auditorium took the festival to new heights. Santoor artist Pt. Bhajanand Rustum Sopori bedazzled the audience.
Another star performance of the day was Sonal Mansingh’s Kathak performance. One more attraction of the day was ‘Rashtriya Kavi Sammelan’.
