Over the last week, Panaji witnessed an art transformation of sorts as the Serendipity Arts Festival 2017 took over the city with an interesting display of photography, art, theatre, music, culinary arts and much more. Here’s a look back
There was so much to see and so little time! Even though the just concluded Serendipity Arts Festival 2017 stretched to a week long, it just didn't seem long enough as the huge melange of events left visitors spellbound enticing them to keep coming back for more.
And indeed, visitors were quite spoilt for choice. From Shubha Mudgal's River Raga, A Night in Harlem by Ranjit Barot to theatrical dance treats of the likes of Shikandi by the talented Faezeh Jalali and Rhythm Divine by the famous Astad Daboo, there was something for everyone at the festival. Other showcases included that by Riyas Komu, a well-known artist who brought the Young Subcontinent and Ranjot Hoskote's Anti Memoirs: Locus, Language, Landscape, all enthralled people who attended the shows will be forever ingrained in every visitors' mind.
The Coconut Story by Odette Mascarenhas, who is a food historian and critic and the young chef who is a culinary expert Manu Chandra, who curated the boulevard of culinary delights and showcased some sumptuous Indian treats, received grand appreciation from audiences.
The visual exhibits brought in tremendous attention and appreciation such as the Josef Wirsching and the Bombay Talkies displays. The world of photography with some of the best-obscured imagery by Dinesh Khanna and Prashant Panjiar truly captured India's essence and diversity and fused it with the contemporary and modern world.
Down at Bento Miguel in Sao Tome, Panaji guests and dignitaries took a walk with Vivek Menezes through a curated exhibition - ‘Now You See It - The Invisible River of the Konkani Surrealism' an exhibit of contemporary and modern art on the landscape of the subcontinent on interconnected dialogues that distinguish Goa's artists. The exposition of Goan artists of the likes of Laxman Pai, and Vamona Navelar who are from the older era and Vineeta Chendvankar and Bhikaji Ghanekar from the younger genre exhibited contrasting and vivid display of images captured over time showcases the overwhelming gamut of mediums and individual practices accomplished by Goa's artists.
There was also the ‘Maya Bazar' curated by Sri Venkateshwara Natya Mandali (Surabhi Theatre) Group which was held at Kala Academy, Panaji. This was written by Melladi Venkatakrishna Sharma, and directed by R. Nageswara Rao (Surabhi Babji) and dramatization by SA Manohar and was enticing and dramatic display of drama from India's compendiums of mythology. It was a representation of magic, puppetry, extraordinary costumes and unique facets Indian traditional theatre.
The splendidly displayed arts festival celebrates it closing ceremony after eight days of extravagant and delightful performances with Coke Studios featuring Faridkot, the popular series with its signature mix of fusion music blending the Sufi influences, blues, bass and psychedelic rock. Along with a heart-thumping performance that sets people's minds free with folk-singer, Mir Mukhtiyar Ali's classical voice soothing the soul, fused with Rajasthani idioms, and a touch of Sufi poetry by Kabir and Bulleh Shah.
And the festivcal organisers promise that they will return again next years. "We planned to see people come and enjoy the show and get a glimpse into the performing arts industry at a personal level. We have had almost 3,00,000 people who have attended our festival. The magnitude of visitors who have appreciated our artists, curators and organizers has truly humbled me. I am sure we will be back with a bigger scale which is grand and opulent next year. The audiences will be happy to see that we've fused so many forms of art on a world stage, and we hope to bring more excitement to the Serendipity Arts Festival catalogue next year. I thank everyone who have extremely supportive of this cause. The time spent with all the people who are responsible for the task of putting great things for the world to witness has been overwhelming for me. The excitement is still pulsating and I hope to see everyone here next year," said Sunil Munjal, Chief Patron & Founder, Serendipity Arts Foundation.
