For Art’s Sake

Pulotsav,an annual cultural art festival that encompasses film,art and music organised by Aashay Sanskrutik in honour of writer-humorist PL Deshpande,will be held from November 23 to 26. As per tradition,dates for the festival were announced on Thursday,which is Deshpande’s birth anniversary.

Satish Jakatdar,a member of Aashay Sanskrutik,said,“This year,we seek to felicitate four luminaries from the field of arts and culture. The award is called the PuLa Memorial Award and has earlier been handed out to the likes of Girish Karnad,Lata Mangeshkar,Gulzar,Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal.” While hailing Deshpande as a true Renaissance man and polymath,Jakatdar said,“He was an ashta-pailu. Although Deshpande was famous as a writer,he contributed significantly to other fields of art. So we look at giving the award to people who exhibit similar qualities.”

Jakatdar also mentions that those who have contributed to society will be appreciated through the PuLa Krutadnyata Award for social activism. Among the other awards that will be handed out during the festival will be a lifetime achievement award and three others for new and promising talent.

Apart from the award ceremony,the festival will observe cultural performances such as drama and music-mehfil. This year,the organisers have also decided to stress on a particular art form. “We are trying to promote short-films as they are very popular among the youth. There shall be screenings and interactions with directors. We hope the youth come and support us and appreciate the art and contributions of PL Deshpande,” says Jakatdar.

The events will be hosted at Tilak Smarak Mandir,

Garware Sabha Gruha and National Film Archives of India