Artists and speakers descend upon Krishnakriti Fest

The 11th edition of Krishnakriti Festival, organised by the Krishnakriti Foundation, was inaugurated on Wednesday. Fifteen artists and distinguished speakers painted their signatures on a canvas at the opening session. The Krishnakriti Award for Achievement and Excellence this year was given to the Decentralised Cotton Yarn Trust (DCYT), in recognition of its efforts to resolve issues faced by the handloom industry.

“We see the indigenous cotton textile as a low-carbon and clean industry through which India can earn international credit for emission reduction,” said Uzramma of DCYT after receiving the award from actor Shankar Melkote. Also, a short film on the four winners of the Kalakriti Award for Achievement and Excellence was screened.

The inauguration ceremony was followed by talks on ‘Negotiating the World with Rabindranath Tagore’ by art historian Prof. R Siva Kumar and ‘Understanding Origin of Art’ by ontologist Prof. Navjyoti Singh of the Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad (IIT-H).

Prof. R Siva Kumar said that Tagore was not a dreamy poet. “He had a practical sense and a socially-rooted engagement with the locals. At the same time, he argued that literature and art should be the means for liberating us from parochialism,” he said.

“Tagore preferred becoming creative through cultural assimilation than remain fossilised in the name of cultural purity. This was his main quarrel with the artists of the Bengal School. Overall, Tagore’s identity was not unitary, but a constellation of memories, allegiances, debts and belongings even as his own life and creative work demonstrates that a thinking artist has a consciousness of man in his global condition,” the professor added.

The evening also saw the screening of a film on the hand-painted shawls of a north-eastern tribal community at Annapurna International School of Film & Media. This was followed by an interaction between the audience and Delhi-based Ruchika Negi, director of the 52-minute movie ‘Every Time You Tell a Story’, which narrates an over-the-centuries change in profile of Tsungkotepsu, the traditional head-hunter’s shawl, which used to be a mark of honour for the Ao Naga tribesmen and is now a standardised product available in the market.

The festival, which will conclude on January 11, will features dance, music, cinema and paintings alongside talks, seminars and workshops. Spread across six venues, the event will conduct a major art camp, the proceeds of which will go for charity. “The proceeds from an auction at the art camp would go towards scholarships for young art students and budding artists from across India,” Rekha Lahoti said.

By:Askari Jaffer