HYDERABAD: The bulbous domes of Qutb Shahi Tombs will be resuscitated the coming weekend with an extravaganza of music, dance, and display of timeless ethnic attire infused with storytelling. The evening attraction is ‘Weaver of Dreams – the passion of Muzaffar Ali of Kotwara’ as one of the gala events of Krishnakriti Festival: an initiative of Kalakriti Art Gallery and Lahoti Foundation. The 15th edition of the cultural celebration will host a variety of events encompassing art exhibitions, art talks, workshops, seminars, panel discussions on cartography, history and culture infused with heritage walks.
The four-day cultural festivity is spread across multiple venues such as Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad, Alliance Francaise, Kalakriti Art Gallery, Telangana State Gallery of Fine Art, and Hill Fort Palace. The music aficionados can look forward to a melodious evening as Jazz Hyleen the French singer-songwriter will present music with a fusion of soul, funk, neo-soul, pop mixed with jazz. She is to travel the country along with musicians Julien Boursin and Nicolas Viccaro. There’s also a treat for the connoisseurs of Sufiyana. Mukhtiyar Ali, the folk singer from Rajasthan brings together the melodies of saint-poets Mira Bai, Kabir and Bulleh Shah amalgamating their verses with Rajasthani folk dialect. He will perform at the regal Qutb Shahi Tombs.
Other than soulful music, there are big-time celebrations of art. The art exhibition ‘Mapping the Frontiers’, curated by contemporary artist Nirmala Biluka, focuses on opuses of several noted artists such as Avijit Dutta, Bapi Das, Ravinder Dutt, Muhammad Zeeshan, Aditya Basak, Sujith S N, Saju Kunhan, Alok Bal, Moutushi Chakraborty, Amitabh Sengupta, Bhavani GS, Madhu Venugopalan, Charmi Gada Shah, Manju Mohandas, DLN Reddy, Dhiraj Pednekar, Seema Kohli, Chittrovanu Mazumdar, Atul Dodiya, Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh and Pankaj Sekhsaria. As the title suggests, the artworks are designs of their varied expositions both on personal and cosmic fronts. They in a way create navigation paths deep into experiences not just in the conscious realms but also in domains dark and unexplored.
Those who love cartography can look forward to seeing ‘Space-Time and Place: The Culture of Indian Maps’ showcasing 70 cultural maps of the Indian Subcontinent between the time period of 15th to 16th century directly from the personal collection of Prshant Lahoti, the director of Kalakriti Art Gallery. He shares, “Through this exhibition we are trying to showcase the history behind these maps. These are sort of abstract maps and not concrete ones.” There is one map of 18th century Ganges from Haridwar to Badrinath in miniature style worth looking at. Register on their portal for passes.The festival begins today and is on till January 7