As a mark to honor and revive the rich traditions and multifaceted culture of the Jammu region, an impressive three-day festival titled ‘The Tawi festival of Art and Ideas’ is being organised.
The event shall be celebrated with its creative grandeur at the prestigious Amar Mahal Museum Complex, Jammu, commencing on 25th Feb 2023 till 27th Feb 2023.
Conceptualized by Dr Jyotsna Singh, Director Amar Mahal Museum, and put together by an entire team of artists, art historians, and Heritage experts from the region, this innovative festival shall be a progressive effort to celebrate creativity, inclusiveness, tradition and modernity by bringing an eclectic amalgamation of art, music, culture, literature and stimulating ideas.
These inter-disciplinary expressions will also be a first step of its kind to invite people from outside the region and introduce them to the thriving heritage and progressive minds that this place has to offer to imbibe the uniquely innovative concept of promoting peace through inclusive modernity.
This upcoming festival shall be inaugurated with the welcome address given by Dr Karan Singh, a renowned elder statesman and philosopher.
The inaugural event will feature a beautiful descriptive presentation themed ‘The things which we do not see’ given by Prof. B.N. Goswamy on the Nala Damayanti paintings featured in the Amar Mahal Museum collection. Following this eloquent presentation, a walk through the Nala Damayanti paintings gallery, Darbar Hall is bound to remain a delightful experience for all those who attend it.
Reputed for its evocative colors, bold lines, and deep-set facial patterns, the demonstration and display of Basohli and Kangra miniature paintings from Basohli Atelier by Sohan Bilawria and his students is going to be another experience on the first day of the festival.
There will be a display of the rich ceremonial Dogri costumes at the Maharani Suite, Amar Mahal. The key highlight of the ongoing exhibition during this festival shall be the traditional costumes of the Dogra Maharanis, Tara Devi Ji and Yasho Rajya Lakshmi Ji. The costumes will be displayed along with the fashion created in the studios of contemporary designers using traditional techniques of embroidery.
The interestingly contoured praiseworthy journey of the first day of the festival shall carry the audience through another impressive area of the artistic world of painting and sculpting showcasing the creative works of prominent artists namely Rakesh Kumar from the Department of Glass and Ceramics NID Ahmedabad and other artists from the region
Rakesh Kumar, Rajinder Tikoo, and Suman Gupta in conversation with Lalit Gupta, a critic, and a curator. The performances by Asha Rani and her troupe, with their varied genres of the traditional vocal music of the Dogra region and Mukteshi Sharma, a classical vocalist hoped to further add to the magical touch of the evening as the sun sets along the picturesque landscape of the beautiful Amar Mahal overlooking the Tawi river.
Invigorating a renewed zest amongst its participants each day, the second day of the Tawi festival will commence by an enriching walk through the Heritage complex of Mubarak Mandi, curated by Mr. Kirpal Singh, a conservation expert and former curator of Dogra Art Museum.
Vinita Dawra Nangia, Festival Director of the renowned Times of India Fest shall inaugurate the artistic session for the second day paving a further new direction for the festival. The Tawi festival will then host discussions on Indian culture and art wherein eminent personalities of the field Vaishnavi Kumari, Maalvika Pathania, and other speakers will share their research and creative inputs.
To add to the ongoing vibrancy, the festival shall also host a Grand Mela with dances, music, and traditional mouthwatering culinary delights from the Jammu region. Kathak dance by Priya Dutta, the street theatre by Natrang, collaboration with the University of Jammu, and various entrepreneurs and members of women’s groups supported by FICCI FLO shall also add to the pleasant experience by participating and performing.
To widen the creative horizons, the third day of this festival will start with a keynote address by Ravi Singh, Publisher of Speaking Tigers. Aimed to be a mind-stirring literary session, eminent authors of the region will speak about their work covering different dimensions of literature thereby playing a pivotal role in shedding light upon the role of literature in the fusion of inclusivity with modernity.
This brainstorming session will have eminent authors from various fields of languages from the region namely Lalit Gupta, a critic and curator, Shailendra Singh, a Dogri writer, Khalid Hussain, Urdu and Punjabi short story writer, Swami AntarNirav who shall recite his poems, Suman Sharma, Writer and translator and Bhavneet Kaur, a doctor, and an English novelist..
Another exclusive feature of this upcoming festival will be showcasing the rare books from the collection of Raja Amar Singh dating back to the early 19th century and a guided walk through the library with a display of rare books in the Amar Mahal Museum collection facilitated by Raghu Pathania, Additional Secretary Amar Mahal Museum and Library and Tapasvi, Chief librarian.
Apart from featuring prominent works of artists and popular faces in art, culture, music, and literature, this upcoming 3-day festival shall have certain other attractions as well. The essay writing competition on the subject of ‘Harmony’ session is going to be hosted by DPS school Jammu and the winners will be awarded in this festival to encourage young progressive minds.
A collaborative project entitled ‘Harmony’ created by found objects and waste materials by the students of the Institute of Music and Fine arts, Jammu will begin a week before the festival on the side lawns of the Museum and remain on display till one month thereafter.
The exhibition at the lawns of Amar Singh Museum shall also display the sale of books in all languages from Culture academy, J&K, the sale and display of Nala Dayamanti books, books published by Ghulab Singh Trust, Books by Dr Karan Singh, and publications by INTACH.
Each day of the festival shall have gala dinners for visitors and participants hosted by the erstwhile Royal family Ajatashatru Singh, Kanwarani Ji, Yuvraj Vikramaditya Singh , Yuvrani ji and family with rich cuisine and culinary delight of the region.
With the hope to promote peace, honour the heritage of the region, promote art, culture, and languages, expand the vision and welcome people across the nation to appreciate the love and plethora of creative inputs that Jammu can offer, this three-day festival shall be the first ‘Tawi festival of Art and Ideas’ anticipated to be held annually to celebrate creativity, inclusiveness, tradition, and modernity.
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