New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) 'Arth' --a cultural quest, with an aim to understand and find meanings of the Indic civilization and discover its soul, is coming back with its second edition in Delhi from February 8-10.
This will be held at the lawns of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi.
The first regional edition of this culture quest took place in Kolkata and the next regional edition of the festival in scheduled to take place in Pune.
The national edition of 'Arth' will witness the participation of more than 250 plus scholars, writers, artists and artisans from across India and abroad.
The cultural festival not only aims to celebrate the essence of Indic thought and philosophy, but also seeks to make it a journey of discovery for the audiences by bringing together a wide array of thinkers, scholars, philosophers, Indologists, artists, artisans, poets and authors.
It will bring to the audience myriad activities including panel discussions, cultural performances, workshops, visual art installations, live art among others.
Exclusive sessions have been curated for children, which will comprise creative workshops, theatre, history, philosophy, puppet performances and masterclasses.
Among the prominent names from India who will be speaking at the festival are Union Minister Smriti Irani, Dr Subramaniam Swamy, Arnab Goswami, Raveena Tandon, Bibek Debroy, Ashwin Sanghi, Amish Tripathi, Sonal Mansingh, Makarand Paranjpe, T V Mohandas Pai, Pavan K Varma, Gaur Gopal Das, Subhash Chandra, Ricky Kej, Sanjeev Sanyal, Syed Salman Chisty, Governor Tathagata Roy, Vivek Agnihotri, Swapan Dasgupta and others.
The international contingent includes Karen Attiah (Global Opinions Editor of Washington Post); Domenic DiGiovanni (Homeland Security Department of USA); Tess Davis (Antiquities Coalition); Imam Tawhidi from Australia, Shimon Lev from Israel, Hasan Kerim Guc from Turkey, Indologists and scholars Vishwa Adluri, Vamsee Juluri, Subhash Kak, Prasenjit Basu, Lord Meghnad Desai, Carl W. Ernst, Lavanya Vemsani, Koenraad Elst, Rajiv Malhotra and David Frawley among others.
There would also be a showcase of the rich arts and crafts of the country -- Patua, Phad, Cherial, Madhubani, Patthachitra, Chittara, Warli, Kalamkari, Masks and Bamboo Crafts of North East India through workshops conducted in live counters and master classes every day.
Sessions would be interspersed with some spell bounding performances by renowned artists such as Bombay Jayashree, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Teejan Bai, Bombay Bairag, Gautam Das Baul, Shahi Qawwals of Ajmer Sharif, a North East Percussion Ensemble, Manipuri Raas Leela, Gotipua Dance of Odisha, Puppetry from Kerala and Bengal and the Manganiyars of Rajasthan.
The Delhi edition has been carefully designed keeping in mind the current scenario in the country and will see some really hard-hitting panel-discussions and talks on subjects that the nation has been discussing.
Speaking on the announcement of the national edition of the culture quest, Shreyasi Goenka, Founder & Director, 'Arth' said,'I am extremely glad to announce the national edition of India’s first ever culture quest, Arth. After the resounding success of the first regional edition of Arth which took place in Kolkata, we are eager and excited to bring on stage the best of what India has to offer, collectively, across various fields which is interesting, informative and also enriching.'
Dr Vikram Sampath, Festival Director, 'Arth' said,'For the national edition, we have tried to bring a microcosm of India on to stage those three days, through several accomplished artists, writers and individuals and also various arts and crafts workshops to enthrall the audience. We will be discussing some really pressing issues that have rocked the nation in recent times. It is extremely important that these relevant topics are discussed on such large cultural platforms and engage with not only experts but also the citizens of the country.'
UNI PY SY 1338