Handicrafts to add flair to Mahakumbh-themed Deshaj 2024
The two-day ‘Deshaj’ folk festival is back this year with the theme of Mahakumbh, with over 350 artistes travelling from different parts of the country, to perform at Lohia Park, starting on Friday.
Organised by Son Chiraiya, a cultural organisation in Lucknow, in collaboration with the culture department, the fourth edition of the festival is bringing artistes young and old, from Assam, Maharashtra, Kerala and other states.
For the first time in Deshaj history, the two-day festival will also be endorsing folk handicrafts and items brought in by regional artisans from Chanderi, and Varanasi, among other areas. This year’s stage performances will include a style of nautanki once popular in Hathras, directed by Padma Shri Ram Dayal Sharma, and his group from Mathura.
Among the special performances is also a group of 51 children from Banda arriving to do ‘Paidanda’ display, a martial arts-based dance form of Uttar Pradesh. A troupe from Kerala will also be travelling over 20 hours to perform ‘Garuda Parava’ on the Deshaj stage – a dance form from Kerala older than Kathakali.
Founder and organiser, Malini Awasthi said at a press conference for the event, “Our endeavour every year is to inculcate a love for the folk arts amongst youngsters. Amidst the daily screen time, they should not lose out on the opportunity to appreciate Indian folk arts that only exist on the stage,” she said.
Chairman of Son Chiraiya, Padma Shri Vidya Vindu Singh, Hindi litterateur, appreciated the efforts behind the organisation of such a large scale event, and invited citizens to be a part of the programme and indulge in the beauty of Indian folk music and dance.
Special celebrity performers this year will be Punjabi folk singer Master Salim and Marathi folk singer Nandesh Umap. Awasthi also said that the customary final joint performance by all the artistes will be focussed on Marathi folk music, and will take place at the closing ceremony on November 23.
