Festival Kicks Off

The 20th edition of the Pune festival kicked off with a traditional ceremony at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch after lighting of the traditional lamp by Patangrao Kadam...

The 20th edition of the Pune festival kicked off with a traditional ceremony at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch after lighting of the traditional lamp by Patangrao Kadam, founder, Bharti Vidyapeeth and state minister for Industries. Followed by the traditional performances on sanai by Tukaram Daithankar and group, a programme called Ganesh Vandana was presented by Yogini Gandhi and Devki Pandit. What followed the scintillating performance by the dancers was a performance on Tabla by pandit Vijay Ghate and Shridhar Parthasarathi on mridangam.

Actor Nilu Phule and rustum-e-Hind, Harishchandra Birajdar were awarded on the occasion. Also present among the dignitiaries were actor Jackie Shroff, actress Raima Sen, Harshawardhan Patil, minister of EGS and marketing, Sabina Sanghvi, vice chairperson, Pune festival and several others.

An eye-capturing performance showcasing the diverse culture of India was presented by Sharvari Jemenis and group. Choreographed by Nikita Moghe, the group presented a number of traditional dances that included Koli nritya, Bhangra, Lavni, Gujrati folk dance and south Indian dances.

What also won the hearts was the traditional Ganesh procession by the members of Samarth mandal. A unique presentation of the the journeyof Ganesh utsav from chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj era to Peshwai and from Lokmanya Tilak till the present day Pune festival by over 100 artist-troupe was coordinated by Sunil Mahajan.

An added attraction of the day8217;s programme was a performance by actress Malaika Arora Khan. Dressed in traditional Maharashtrian nauwari saree, the actress gave an electrifying performance on Lavni.

The concluding feature of the inaugural function was an audio-visual presentation- Jaihind by Durga Jasraj that featured renouned musicians from across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Suresh Kalmadi, chairman, Pune festival said, 8220;On the occasion of twentieth Pune festival, I announce the opening of an academy that will target the local talent and promote them on a national level. Pune is the cultural capital of the country and we are proud to host the commonwealth games this year.8221;