Press Release
‘VIRSA 2019’ WILL CELEBRATE HERITAGE VALUES
— Additional Director General, JKK
A 12 day festival celebrating Rajasthan’s heritage values — ‘Virsa 2019’ is being organized. ‘Virsa 2019’ is an endeavor of JKK to cross reference the various genres of art, culture and heritage as well as connect the future to our heritage values. This was informed by the Additional Director General (ADG), Jawahar Kala Kendra, Mr. Furkan Khan at a press briefing in Jaipur.
ADG, JKK further informed that during this event various exhibitions as well as cultural programmes will be organized. The exhibitions will be on display at the Contemporary Art Galleries 1 and 2 from 10 to 21 July. The cultural programmes will be organized from 10 July to 14 July and 19 July to 21 July at JKK’s Rangayan Auditorium from 7 pm. The entry to this programme will be free for visitors.
Mr. Khan said apart from exhibitions and cultural programmes, JKK also works towards literature. In this context, a symposium entitled ‘Literature and the Contemporary Society’ is being organized on 23 July. In this symposium world renowned poet and writer, Dr. Amit Ranjan and Prof. Stephanos Stephanides will be participating. ADG also threw light on the 3-day photography workshop being started from tomorrow at JKK.
ADG also informed that the event will be inaugurated in JKK premises on 10 July (Wednesday) at 6.30 pm. The Chief Guest on the occasion will be Minister of Art, Culture and Archaeology Department, Dr. BD Kalla. Principal Secretary, Art, Culture, Archaeology and Tourism Department, Ms. Shreya Guha will preside at the event.
During the Press Briefing the Senior Research Officer, Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Jodhpur, Mr. Braj Mohan Meena ; Archives Officer, Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner, Mr. Dilip Joshi as well as the celebratory photographer and the instructor of the photography workshop, Mr. Shiresh R Karrale were also present.
Further details of the event:
Associated Organizations
The exhibition is a collaborative endeavour of Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner, Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Arabic and Persian Research Institute, Tonk and Jawahar Kala Kendra. The cultural programmes from 10 to 14 July are being held in association with West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur. Similarly, the programmes from 19 to 21 July are being held in association with Rajasthan Urdu Academy, Jaipur.
‘Arsh Ramayana’ displayed by Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Jodhpur
A replica of the ‘ Arsh Ramayan’ made by a seventeenth century artist, Manohar from Mewar school will be exhibited from the collection of Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute. More than 30 pictures of incidents from the ‘Aranaya Kand’ of Lord Rama will be available to the visitors. It is noteworthy that these illustrations were made during the reign of Maharana Jagat Singh I of Udaipur and represent various incidents during the exile period of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman.
Dandi March, Revolt of 1857 and Contribution of Rajasthan to Independence by Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner
The visitors will have access to the audio clips of the interviews and reminiscences of the freedom fighters of Rajasthan in the collections exhibited by the Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner. Freedom fighters like Gokulbhai Bhatt, Ratan Devi Shastri, Ranchod Das Gattani, Tika Ram Paliwal, Ram Pyari Bishnoi will be in focus. He further informed that this exhibition will have rare photographs of the ‘Dandi Yatra’, also known as the Salt March , initiated by Mahatma Gandhi and important documents related to the contribution of Rajasthan in Revolution of 1857. Additionally, photographs and brief descriptions of the freedom fighters of Rajasthan will also be displayed at the exhibition.
Calligraphy Panel and Pandulipi Khand to be displayed by Maulana
Calligraphy Panel and ‘Pandulipi Khand’ by ‘Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Arabic and Persian Research Institute, Tonk will also be exhibited. A 7 to 8 minute audio-video presentation based on Quran Sharif will also be presented.
Cultural Programme organized by West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur
The 12 day festival ‘Virsa 2019’ at Jawahar Kala Kendra from 10 to 21 July will bring together diverse aspects of art, music, dance, storytelling as well as theatre during its cultural programmes. Being held in association with West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur there will be performances of Kathak, Tigulbandi, Kathak, Dhrupad, Dance Drama as well as Odissi dance.
Trigulbandi on 10 July at 7 pm
The opening day (10 July) will witness a first of its kind Trigulbandi Performance in Rangayan at 7 pm . Sitar Maestro Pandit Prateek Chaudhuri with Violinist Ustad Aleem Khan and Flautist Shri Mayank Raina will come together to celebrate the beautiful season of monsoon. Tabla Maestro Ustad Rafiuddin Sabri and Pakhawaj Maestro Pandit Fateh Singh Gangani will accompany the trio.
Jaipur Gharana Kathak on 11 July at 7 pm
An accomplished Kathak performer of the Jaipur Gharana, Monisa Nayak will present a Kathak performance. A winner of many awards, Monisa’s performance is marked by her excellent command of rhythm as well as a natural flair for profound expressions.
Dhrupad Gayan by Nafishuudin Dagar and Anishuddin Dagar on 12 July at 7 pm
The world renowned Dagar brothers, Nafishuddin and Anishuddin Dagar will present a Dhrupad performance. They will be accompanied by Pandit Praveen Kumar Arya on Pakhawaj.
Dance Drama ‘Mystical Forest’ on 13 July at 7 pm
Renowned dancer Santosh Nair will present a Dance Drama ‘Mystical Forest’ on 13 July. The production draws from the dance vocabulary of Mayurbhanj Chhau ( a traditional dance form from Orissa ) with strong grounded movements & contemporary interpretation. Varied experiences, activities, emotions, rituals and relationships of the inhabitants find expression in the production.
The choreography is by Santosh Nair, Production Executive & Scripting by- Nalini Sharma, and Music by Upmayu Bhanot, Lights by Gyandev Singh & costumes by Alpana & Neeraj.
Odissi Dance by Sujata Mohapatra and Group on 14 July at 7 pm
Distinguished Odissi danseuse, Sujata Mohapatra will present the Indian Classical Odissi dance. Odissi dance primarily expresses religious stories and spiritual ideas. Sujata Mohapatra has received prestigious awards of international repute including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award from New Delhi and Pandit Jasraj Award from Mumbai.
Cultural Programme organized by Rajasthan Urdu Academy, Jaipur
As a part of the cultural programmes organized by Rajasthan Urdu Academy, Jaipur there will be Chahar Bait, Paper Presentation,Dastangoi as well as staging of the play ‘Ghalib in New Delhi’.
Chahar Bait on 19 July at 7 pm
Chahar (four) Bait (verse), as its name suggests, is a musical composition in which verses of four lines each are sung. Iqbal Miyan and Group from Tonk and Muhammad Mukhtyar and Group from Bhopal will be mesmerizing the audience with the performances. Chahar Bait performances are focused on patriotism, religion, environment and other contemporary issues.
The popular folk music form originated in Afghanistan and came to India in 18th century with the Afghan military cohorts. Many of these Afghan soldiers settled in Tonk, Rampur, Bhopal and cultivated the tradition of Chahar – Bait in these regions . In Chahar Bait performance, a few singers go around the other singers, to the beat of the daf — also called tambul — in very precise moves.
Paper presentation and Dastangoi on 20 July at 7 pm
Assistant professor at Dayanand Girls P. G. College, Kanpur, Dr. Hina Afshan will present a paper on the topic ‘Qadeem Daur Main Dastangoi’. It will narrate the tradition of Dastangoi in a broad perspective. Dr. Afshan has authored the book titled ‘Tanqeeb aur Adab’.
Performers Fouzia Dastango and Firoz Khan will give a 50-minute performance Dastan-e-Mahabharat, which is a rendition of the Mahabharat in Dastangoi format. Using poetry from various Urdu versions of the epic, and alternating this poetry with narration of the great battle, this ‘Dastan’ is a delightful way to experience the intensity of this timeless tale.
‘Ghalib In New Delhi’ on 21 July at 7 pm
A Hindi – Urdu comedy play ‘Ghalib in New Delhi’ by Pierrot’s Troupe will be staged on the concluding day of ‘Virsa 2019’. This play is India’s longest running comedy and has 490 shows to its credit. This rip-roaring comedy has the great erstwhile Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib, revisiting his beloved ‘Dehli’, now ironically ‘Delhi’, in 2017 to witness and relish his posthumous fame.
A symposium on ‘Literature and the Contemporary Society’ will be organized on 23 July
As a part of the literary activities, a symposium entitled ‘Literature and the Contemporary Society’ will be organized on 23 July. Two sessions will be organized in this symposium. The first session will be by Dr. Amit Ranjan at 10 a.m. on the topic ‘Are we too whirred for words’. After this, Prof. Stephanos Stephanides will present his views.
The second session will be organized at 2 pm. In this session Dr. Ranjan and Prof. Stephanides will read out and discuss their poems.
Concept of symposium
Great literature is that which pushes against the limits of language. Is modern literature able to fulfill that function or does it feed into a popular popcorn culture? Is counterculture merely a fad of consumerism? This talk, through these questions, will attempt to analyze the role of literature in mediating the socio-cultural corpus of the modern day.
About the Speakers
Dr. Ranjan teaches literature in the Regional Institution of Education in NCERT. He has completed his MPhil and PhD from JNU.
Prof. Stephanides is a former Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cyprus.