Press Release
- In association with Rajasthan Tourism, the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival will feature two Heritage Evenings at iconic heritage locations in the city – Amber Fort and Hawa Mahal
- Details of the Heritage Evenings
- Under the Stars @ Hawa Mahal – The Troth-Usne Kaha Tha, a multimedia dance theatre performance, presented by Akademi. Friday, 26th January, 7:30 pm
- A Majestic Evening @ Amber Fort – Sarangi maestro Ustad Kamal Sabri followed by Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi – A Tribute to Jagjit Singh by Shekhar Ravjiani. Sunday, 28th January, 7:30 pm
Music, theatre and cultural performances will captivate audiences at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2018 during two glorious Heritage Evenings. In association with Rajasthan Tourism, the Festival will host these grand events at Jaipur’s iconic Amber Fort and Hawa Mahal. Being held on the evenings of January 26th and 28th, these events will showcase spellbinding performances against the exquisite backdrop of monuments that celebrate the city’s rich cultural heritage.
Under the Stars at Hawa Mahal features The Troth-Usne Kaha Tha, a multimedia dance and theatre production presented by Akademi, the UK’s leading producer of Indian dance, marking the centenary of World War I. It tells a story of love, loss and sacrifice against the horror and conflict of World War I. Inspired by film noir and the era of black and white films, The Troth will recount the story with use of film and subtitles and unfold the poignant narrative through interplay between image, music and dance. Award-winning choreographer Gary Clarke (winner of a UK Theatre Award 2016 for Achievement in Dance) leads the creative team. Through an intense experience, akin to silent films, audiences travel from the repose of rural Punjab in late 1800s to the strife-torn bloodied Belgian trenches. Part of the Reimagine India programme (Arts Council England/British Council) and the UK-India Year of Culture, The Troth features some of the UK’s most exciting and versatile young dancers.
On January 28th, audiences can look forward to A Majestic Evening at Amber Fort, which will begin with a sarangi recital by Ustad Kamal Sabri. Ustad Sabri Khan is the son of sarangi legend Ustad Sabri Khan and is carrying forward the rich legacy of the Sania gharana of Moradabad with single-minded dedication. Kamal, who is from the seventh generation of a distinguished family of traditional musicians, has demonstrated profound versatility in playing the sarangi.
This will be followed by Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi… a tribute to the late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh by singer, songwriter and composer Shekhar Ravjiani. The show first premiered at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore to a standing ovation and brought back to life some of Singh’s legendary ghazals including, ‘Hothon se Choo Lo Tum’, ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’, ‘Tumko Dekha’, ‘Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar’, ‘Tum Itna Jo’ and ‘Yeh Daulat Bhi Le Lo’. It has since gone to Jakarta, Indonesia and after running its U.S. tour in August 2017, it will now enthrall audiences at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2018.
Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, Producer of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival said, “The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival’s Heritage Evenings celebrate the built heritage of the state of Rajasthan and highlight its rich cultural and architectural legacy through performing arts showcases. With support from Rajasthan Tourism, we will present some of the best music and theatre performances against the backdrop of over 1000 years of Indian architecture and heritage. These events are exclusively curated to bring our audience closer to Rajasthan’s spellbinding spirit and landscape.”
Entry to the Heritage Evenings are by invitation only. Guests can collect invitations from the Information Desk at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival on the days the events are held.
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About the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2018
Described as the ‘greatest literary show on Earth’ and the ‘Kumbh of literature’, the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is a sumptuous feast of ideas.
The past decade has seen it transform into a global literary phenomenon having hosted nearly 2000 speakers and welcoming over a million booklovers from across India and the globe.
The Festival’s core values remain unchanged; to serve as a democratic, non-aligned platform offering free and fair access.
Every year, the Festival brings together a diverse mix of the world’s greatest writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders, sports people and entertainers on one stage to champion the freedom to express and engage in thoughtful debate and dialogue.
Writers and Festival Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple invite speakers to take part in the five-day programme set against the backdrop of Rajasthan’s stunning cultural heritage and the Diggi Palace in the state capital Jaipur.
The Festival showcases a range of voices from India and abroad.
Past speakers have ranged from Nobel Laureates J.M. Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk and Wole Soyinka, Man Booker Prize winners Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood and Paul Beatty, Sahitya Akademi winners Girish Karnad, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, M.T. Vasudevan Nair as well as the late Mahasweta Devi and U.R. Ananthamurthy along with literary superstars including Amish Tripathi, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Vikram Seth. An annual event that goes beyond literature, the Festival has also hosted Amartya Sen, Amitabh Bachchan, the late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Fry and Thomas Piketty.
The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is a flagship event of Teamwork Arts, which produces it along with over 25 highly acclaimed performing arts, visual arts and literary festivals across more than 40 cities globally.
In 2014, the Festival spread its wings beyond the borders of India with an annual summer event in London. In 2015, it headed across the pond to Boulder, Colorado where it hosts a similar event every September.
Website: www.jaipurliteraturefestival.org
About Teamwork Arts
For over 25 years, Teamwork Arts has taken India to the world and brought the world to India.
In countries such as Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Israel, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, UK and USA, Teamwork produces over 25 highly acclaimed performing arts, visual arts and literary festivals across more than 40 cities.
Teamwork Arts produces one of the world’s largest literary gatherings, the annual ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, the Ishara International Puppet Festival and the annual Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) and Festival in New Delhi, international festivals Shared History in South Africa, Eye on India in the United States of America, India by the Bay in Hong Kong, Confluence – Festival of India in Australia, India@70 2017: Year of Culture in the United Kingdom, and many more.
Website: www.teamworkarts.com