A cultural fest

Fresh from her brilliant success in organising “Ramayana Kalpavrksam”, Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant has now created a veritable feast for the mind, an event which brings together eminent Indians in the field of arts, culture, literature, sciences etc. to impart their knowledge to the younger generation. Titled “Bharata Uvaca - A Civilisation Speaks”, it is the first of a series which will showcase the rich and varied tapestry of our immemorial heritage and culture. Premiered in a day-long presentation at Shilpakala Vedika on 5th August, it has been creatively designed in the format of TED talks sprinkled with performances to engage the audience. It was indeed immersive, exciting and invigorative as promised!

The sessions started with the inimitable Sai Deepak whose legal acumen focused sharp light on recent and ancient themes and threads in our history. “India that is Bharat” taken from the title of his recent book was heard to resounding applause for the deep thought involved. Shantanu Gupta is the founder of the Ramayana School, which explored and contextualised the life lessons present in the Ramayana to the present day. He elaborated on this topic exhaustively in an exciting interactive mode which the audience loved.

Chitra Madhavan, an author of various books on the subject, in aptly titling “Temples as the treasure trove of our civilisation” explained the intricacies of the rare subjects of architecture, iconography and sculpture with the aid of illustrations. “The Rise of India as a Rajasic Nation” - Gautam Chickermane, VP at Observer Research Foundation highlighted the rise of a dynamic forceful India moving away from indolence with energy flowing through all areas of governance, sports etc, a new India in the making.

Financial adviser Monika Halan in “Reclaiming the abundance of Artha” exhorted one and all to move to a mindset of abundance from deeply ingrained poverty and take informed financial decisions to earn back denuded wealth. Anurag Saxena is the founder of an organization devoted to bringing back our lost and stolen antiquities. “Kartavya Bhava - from whining to winning” was enthusiastically brought out by him.

Dr. Anupama Kylash an expert on the subject of devotional bhakti elucidated the concept of “Ista Devta an intimate bond” - Bhakti of course presumes the centrality of a personal Deity to whom the devotee dedicates his existence and prayer in navigating worldly ties to achieve a higher state and yet the Ista Devta can be loved and chastised too equally - a unique civilisational concept. A violin symphony by the Aarabhi group - “Strings in Unison” was a melodious and soothing interlude refreshing to the ear. Renowned Art collector Prashant Lahoti displayed through his vast collection of antique maps various superimposed Indian pilgrimage routes. The fortunate blending of these two topics was truly amazing each complementing and enriching the other. “Dharmic Education for an AI World” by Muneet Dhiman was an engrossing exploration of a fascinating mixture of subjects mingling the ancient and modern harmoniously, and was a timely talk, as young India learns to navigate a more and more complicated World, from the strength of Dharma.

Shefali Vaidya narrated beautifully the mirroring of Indian history through its handloom textiles in “Warp and Weft of India”. “Rebuilding the Water chakra” was a study in the importance of conserving our most precious natural resource by Hyderabad’s own water warrior - Kalpana Ramesh. Well known TV Anchor Anand Narasimhan was eloquent in how “Civilisational Roots are integral to Concept of Nationhood”.

The last performance of the stunning Bharatanatyam dance ballet “Tales from the Bull and the Tiger” was an exhilarating conclusion to the day-long Bharata Uvaca. Featuring episodes of Shiva, Parvati and their family set to exquisite music and choreographed by Ananda herself, it was like a delicious dessert which heralded the end of this sumptuous nourishment of the audience’s senses and intellect.