That thing called tradition

IN a city famous for its art, jewellery and textiles, a festival seems like a natural way to showcase those crafts. But the Jaipur Internati...

IN a city famous for its art, jewellery and textiles, a festival seems like a natural way to showcase those crafts. But the Jaipur International Heritage Festival JIHF was different. This festival didn8217;t celebrate items, but history. Not jewellery, but tradition. Not the city, but its heritage.

Now in its second year, the JIHF offered art exhibits, guided tours, parties, concerts and other performances for record crowds. The Jaipur Virasat Foundation JVF, which plans the festival, says it is determined not just to bring the art to the people, but bring the people to the art.

8216;8216;Conservation of heritage can8217;t work unless it makes sense to the people, and this festival is the single best mechanism to reach out to a lot of people,8217;8217; said Faith Singh, executive director of the festival.

JAIPUR8217;S heritage sneaks into the corners of the city, and so did the JIHF. The most notable of events was the Face to Face Heritage Walk, a two-hour tour through one of the oldest neighborhoods in one of the world8217;s oldest extant planned cities.

The tour took people into areas of Jaipur that tourists do not see. It led groups into a community of potters and ironsmiths who often fit more than 100 people into an open-roofed 25-room house. Waste lines the streets, but the people survive with their artforms.

In the midst of this is the Shree Sanjay Sharma Museum and Research Institute. It looks small, but features an encyclopedic history of Jaipur through paintings, textiles, wood, iron and stone crafts, games and manuscripts.

The same buildings that were visited on the walking tour were portrayed in Shan Bhatnagar8217;s 8216;A Coat of Pink8217; exhibit at Ta Blu, a cafe. Bhatnagar8217;s 23 watercolour paintings 8212; all sold within 40 minutes of the opening 8212; depicted the architecture of the old city.

8216;8216;It8217;s homage to the city. The most important thing about these paintings is that the buildings are not palaces. They8217;re the normal facades of the city, and they8217;re rich with history,8217;8217; Bhatnagar said. 8216;8216;When you have a lot of treasure, you take it for granted, and I don8217;t want that to happen in Jaipur.8217;8217;

BHATNAGAR8217;S exhibit was a metaphor for the rest of the festival. While it is important to celebrate the crafts, it is more important perhaps to nurture the ideas and skills necessary for those crafts.

Story continues below this ad

8216;8216;The most important part is the intangible part. It8217;s important for the knowledge and the skills to be preserved and passed on,8217;8217; said Divya Bhatia, consultant director of JIHF.

Even the practice of jewellery design is striving to hold onto its roots. JIHF featured many exhibits, including a Tanishq gallery and a City of Artistry tour, where jewellery designers stressed the need to incorporate traditional designs in new styles.

8216;8216;It8217;s about romancing a theme while giving traditional jewellery a contemporary feel,8217;8217; said Sunil Raj of Tanishq.

8216;8216;Unlike so many other countries, India hasn8217;t lost its cultural heritage, particularly in Rajasthan. We8217;re still very much in touch with our tradition,8217;8217; Singh said. And with the help of the JIHF, that tradition will doubtless continue.