There is no part of the world today that has remained untouched by the essence of Indian Art and Culture, especially in the recent times when the Indian art world has shown tremendous presence online and through social media networks. This has made it imperative to have a global forum with the threefold goal of preservation, promotion and propagation of both indigenous art and culture. The Art of Living Foundation, under the vision of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar, presents the solution to this through the creation of the World Forum for Art and Culture.
The flagship festival of the forum, Kala Arpan, a first of its kind online festival, will showcase more than 40 maestros of Indian Classical Performing Arts. The festival will highlight performances of the maestros of India, whose names are synonymous with their art forms- Pt Birju Maharaj(Kathak), Dr Padma Subrahmanyam (Bharatnrityam), Dr Saroja Vaidyanathan (Bharatanatyam), Dr Kanak Rele (Mohiniattam), Pt Debu Chaudhuri (Sitar), Dr N Rajam (Violin), N Ravikiran (Chitravina), Pt Vidyashar Vyas (Hindustani Vocal), Pt Wasifuddin Dagar(Dhrupad), Pt Bhajan Sapori (Santoor), Darshana Zaveri (Manipuri).
Unique to the Indian ethos is the teaching of art through both the centuries-old guru-shishya parampara as well as the modern university-based arts education. WFAC brings together maestros like Parshwanath Upadhyay (Bharatanatyam), Sikkil Gurucharan (Carnatic Vocal), Piyal Bhattacharya (Nayashastric Music Tradition), Lalgudi GJR Krishna and Vijayalakshmi (Violin), Dr S Karthick(Ghatam), Pt Rattan Mohan Sharma (Haveli Sangeet), Pt Ratikant Mohapatra (Odissi), Kalapini Komkali (Kabir Vani), Pt Kalinath Mishra (Tabla) and Sharma Bandhus (Ramayan Geet)who will shape the future history of indigenous arts. In a unique artistic harmony, maestros who work on ancient arts research like Dr Puru and Dr Vibha Dadheech will feature along with popular media celebrities and actors like Vineet Radhakrishnan and Prachee Shah Pandya.
Kala Arpan will be a 9 day festival in tandem with Navaratri celebrations in India that will reach viewers in more than 150 countries. Navaratri in India is a celebration of the feminine ‘shakti’ energy or the source of creative power. WFAC festival showcases 9 female artists who each are community icons in their own right Sankari Krishnan (Carnatic Vocal), Dr Lata Surendra and Dr Rajashree Warriar (Bharatanatyam), Shubhada Varadkar (Odissi), Jayanti Kumaresh (Veena), Sumitra Guha (Bhajan), Dr Anupama Bhagwat (Sitar), Paullumi Mukherjee (Kathak), Prateesha Suresh (Sattriya Nritya). International Icons of Indian Dance Pt Pratap Pawar from London and Rathna Kumar from the USA will show how even after decades spent living away from their homeland, their art is a testament to undying traditions of Indian culture.
Moving forward, the WFAC will become a global congregation of artists working together as an action group to promote educational and community-building initiatives worldwide. The Art of Living Foundation has always been a pioneer in bringing artists together as seen last at the World Culture Festival 2016 where thousands of artists from around the world became a part of the unparalleled record-breaking event in Delhi. The WFAC will become a one-stop online space for thousands of artists to come together as one, exchange ideas and move together as one artistic community shaping the future global of art and culture.
Rasikas can watch Kala Arpan on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube at 8 pm every day starting from 17th October 2020
