Ahmedabad:
Ahmedabad was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411. Since then it has been given the sobriquet 'The Manchester of the East' because of the many cotton mills it once had, a place of splendid Mughal architecture or simply the land of Bapu. Prosperous Ahmedabad is the epicentre of Gujarat's diverse and vibrant traditions, religions and communities. On the occasion of Ahmedabad city's 600th year, various arts organizations across the city have joined hands to come up with an arts festival under one umbrella - Ahmedabad International Arts Festival (AIAF) 2010.
AIAF was launched last year with a much anticipated Sufi music concert at Sarkhej Roza. It carried the message of how art bridges the gap between various communities and cultures. This year's theme is: Beauty too has its own pursuit, evocation and celebration. AIAF will be launched with a series of 23 specially designed arts and literary events. They are to be held over three days (October 29, 30, 31) across 14 venues in the city. Visual art exhibits, folk music, theatre, literary events, etc. will all be packaged and conceived carefully for the events while a UK contingent, supported by the British Council, will add to the glitter of the festival.
AIAF is a concept by Anupa Mehta. She says: "Some of the participants such as Stephen Dixon and CJ O'Neil from UK have been to Ahmedabad earlier and love the city. Their works are a tribute to the 600th year grand celebration of the city. Dixon's flag project on Ellis Bridge and also the Pol project, that he has collaborated with a city based designer, Lokesh Ghai and Amanda Ravaetz, draws attention to the historic and heritage value of inner city areas."
The festival kicks off on Friday with a series of art events and exhibitions and will close with 'Yatra Gurjar' by Mallika Sarabhai and her troupe at Natrani. Also a night installation called River Flower by artist John Hyatt will project images of flowers on the river.
Mallika Sarabhai says: "Gujarat has always been the centre of trade and commerce in India. Travellers and visitors from foreign countries describe Ahmedabad as a great and populous city. And we here present a panorama of the people of Gujarat, their history and legend through our dance." Day Two will feature music and dance performances by thumri expert Sunanda Sharma and dance maestro Ishira Parikh. Maulik Shah will present an exploration of Shringar Rasa at Natrani. Heritage walks, poetry recitals by Rajesh Vyas and AIAF film festival will make for a fabulous weekend for cultural enthusiasts.
The curtain will be drawn with a concert by Bandish Project and Shane Solanki from UK performing together. Gaurang Raval of Nazariya who has choreographed the film festival says: "Residents of Ahmedabad may get an opportunity to come together on a common platform to witness responses to beauty that holds different meaning for everyone."
Sunday's evening programme: A performance of Girish Karnad's evocative solo play, 'Flowers' by Rajit Kapur and a sufi music concert featuring Shabnam Virmani and Mooralala Marwada. Geeta Hinduja, who will perform at the concert called White Flowers, says: "I think all cities need to come up with festivals that help build a sense of community."
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