Credit – The Tribune https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/weekly-pullouts/himachal-tribune/trigart-festival-patronising-art-reminding-golden-past/677968.html
Trigart festival: Patronising art, reminding golden past
The Department of Language Art and Culture along with the district administration of Kangra is holding a month-long Trigart Kangra Valley festival.
Trigart was the name of an ancient kingdom (‘Tri’ referring to the three rivers of the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej). The capital city of this state was Jalandhar and it included Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Multan. This kingdom was said to have patronised the arts, and Trigart festival serves as a reminder of this golden past.
It has several venues — Gaggal airport has an exhibition of Kangra miniature paintings, which was inaugurated by minister Kishan Kapur. Other venues include a classical music and dance festival at Government College auditorium in Dharamsala; film festival at TCV Upper Dharamsala and painting “In the woods” at a forest near Bir.
District Language Officer Suresh Rana, who is coordinating the activities, said he was delighted to welcome so many visitors to the valley.
The Kangra valley has been known for its paintings; the tradition of miniature painting is world famous. The Trigart festival celebrates this tradition with the inclusion of a contemporary painting project — “In the Woods”. Held in the forests half-way between Bir and Billing, inaugurated on November 2, the project will run till November 10 from 12 noon to 8 pm. This specially curated painting exhibition, now in its second year, is the brainchild of Frank Schlichtmann, of the 4tables Project. Frank, originally from Hamburg, now resides in Gunehar “taking art out of the gallery to the people.” During the festival, films of illustrations and visuals will be screened in the forest, in constructed black boxes, with speakers artfully hidden in the trees, with poetry recitation whispering through the leaves. Frank has lived in the region for the last 10 years. He also runs a small hotel with four rooms only and a café in Gunehar, 70 km from Dharamsala and 2 km from Bir.
The famous Kangra Ragamala paintings are the theme of the classical music and dance festival, ending on November 5. The six main ragas of the North Indian classical tradition and their allied “raginis” and offspring have been given visual form through paintings; these are the inspiration for the dance and music festival. All concerts are in the same ragas selected for the festival. Artistes include Padma Shri Malini Awasthi, who despite concert commitments on October 30 and November 3 managed to travel through the night to perform in faraway Dharamsala. A specially curated performance with pieces dedicated to the Hill Gods, was by celebrated young Bharatanatyam dancer from Chennai Jai Quehaeni. She was accompanied vocally by Vijayshri Vittal, also from Chennai. Despite training in the Carnatic idiom, Vijayshri sang the same ragas, in specially created compositions by her Guru Bombay Jayashri. Vijayshri (23), was excited at being in Dharamsala for the first time and sharing her art among “paharis”. She said: “It’s really great, for me from Chennai, the Southern-most tip of India, to be in Dharamsala, so much in the interiors of the North. Truly, classical music binds us all and despite the distances and regional divides, our music is one. I am grateful to the department for this opportunity.”
The music and dance festival will conclude with Grammy nominated flautist Pt Ronu Mazumdar on November 5, at the government school auditorium, at 6:30 pm. The famous Kangra Ragamala paintings are the theme of the classical music and dance festival, ending on November 5. The six main ragas of the North Indian classical tradition and their allied “raginis” and offspring have been given visual form through paintings; these are the inspiration for the dance and music festival. All concerts are in the same ragas selected for the festival. Artistes include Padma Shri Malini Awasthi, who despite concert commitments on October 30 and November 3 managed to travel through the night to perform in faraway Dharamsala. A specially curated performance with pieces dedicated to the Hill Gods, was by celebrated young Bharatanatyam dancer from Chennai Jai Quehaeni. She was accompanied vocally by Vijayshri Vittal, also from Chennai. Despite training in the Carnatic idiom, Vijayshri sang the same ragas, in specially created compositions by her Guru Bombay Jayashri. Vijayshri (23), was excited at being in Dharamsala for the first time and sharing her art among “paharis”. She said: “It’s really great, for me from Chennai, the Southern-most tip of India, to be in Dharamsala, so much in the interiors of the North. Truly, classical music binds us all and despite the distances and regional divides, our music is one. I am grateful to the department for this opportunity.”
The music and dance festival will conclude with Grammy nominated flautist Pt Ronu Mazumdar on November 5, at the government school auditorium, at 6:30 pm.
