Kashi, also known as Varanasi, is among the holiest seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) of India, rich in culture and a symbolic heritage of the country.
To celebrate the vivacious cultural essence of Varanasi, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture is organising Kashi Utsav from 16-18 November 2021.
The three-day festival will host a variety of cultural programmes and exhibitions ranging while also paying tribute to the centuries-old luminaries of the city such as Goswami Tulsidas, Sant Kabir, Sant Raidas, Bhartendu Harishchandra, Munshi Premchand and Shri Jaishankar Prasad.
The programme will be organised at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre, Varanasi.
Exploring the magnificent aura of Kashi – Shows & Plays
The festival will be celebrated with different themes dedicated to each day including: ‘Kashi ke Hastakshar’; ‘Kabir, Raidas ki Bani aur Nirgun Kashi’ and ‘Kavita aur Kahani – Kashi ki Zubani’.
The first day will celebrate the legacy of eminent literary figures such as Bhartendu Harishchandra and Shri Jaishankar Prasad. On the second day, it will highlight prominent poets, namely, Sant Raidas and Sant Kabirdas while on the final day events will be focussed upon Goswami Tulsidas and Munshi Premchand.
The event will emphasize these personalities from Kashi through panel discussions, exhibitions, film screenings, music, drama and dance performances. Some eminent artists will also be performing throughout the festival such as; Dr. Kumar Vishwas who will present a performance on ‘Main Kashi Hun’ on November 16, 2021, and Manoj Tiwari, Member Parliament who will deliver a musical presentation on ‘Tulsi ki Kashi’ on the final day.
Embracing the divinity of Kashi, the festival will hold several devotional performances by artists like Kalapini Komkali, Bhuvanesh Komkali, Padma Shri Bharti Bandhu, and Maithili Thakur.
On November 18, 2021, some artists from the National School of Drama (NSD) will present a play based on Rani Laxmi Bai called ‘Khoob Ladi Mardani’ directed by Bharti Sharma from NSD.
A ‘Kamayani: Dance Drama’ based on the classic poetry of Jaishankar Prasad, directed by Vyomesh Shukla, will be presented on November 16, 2021.
In addition to all these performances, an exhibition of books and six literary personalities will be showcased in the festival; the themes of which have been planned and prepared by IGNCA and Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
Focussing on the vision of “Janbhagidari” – the organizers of the event have also invited some 150 local artists, personalities and cultural scholars to participate and present their views and thoughts either through videos or personally in the festival.
With such varieties of cultural programmes, shows and performances the Kashi Utsav 2021 is set to explore the magnificent aura of Varanasi.
WhatsApp us