Artists congregate in city to hit out at ‘hate’ in country

Writers, artists and poets gathered at Red Fort to speak on democracy, togetherness and “the culture of harmony that binds India”.

An ongoing play at the Chalo Lal Quila convention at the Red Fort in New Delhi on Saturday. The convention is the idea of a collection of artists and perfromers to raise their voices against the communal tensions in the country | Shekhar Yadav

NEW DELHI: Artists from across the country congregated in the city on Saturday to “respond to communal hatred and violence” in a two-day convention called Chalo Lal Quila.

The convention is the brainchild of ‘Artists Unite!’ which is a platform of writers and artists. Writers, artists and poets gathered at Red Fort to speak on democracy, togetherness and “the culture of harmony that binds India”.

The primary aim of the programme is to use cultural tools such as music, theatre, films and performances to reject the “culture of hatred” that the artists feel has been ‘systemically’ injected into Indian society.
Artists aim to create space for public engagement on hate and violence and its consequences on society during the programme.

Simultaneous programmes will run at different platforms.  A large number of artists including Shubha Mudgal, Rabbi Shergill, Astad Deboo, Aditi Mangaldas, Jasbir Jassi, Maya Rao, Madan Gopal Singh, Dhruv Sangari would be present, among others.