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The Times of India
The Times of India
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TIMESOFINDIA.COM

Tawi Festival of Art and Ideas was a treat to culture, heritage, and literature enthusiasts

While the valley is much in the news, not many people know about the rich culture and traditions of Jammu. And so, celebrating the unique art, culture, heritage, history, and literature of Jammu, the first-ever Tawi Festival of Art and Ideas was held from 25th-27th February 2023. The three-day festival was ideated and curated by Dr Jyotsana Singh (Rajkumari Jyoti), and it was held at the iconic Amar Mahal Museum Complex.

The festival was inaugurated by Dr. Karan Singh on the morning of February 25, 2023. "The Tawi Festival is a three-day cultural event in Jammu, organized by my daughter Jyotsana. It involves music, food, dresses, costumes, technical sessions on painting, and actual hands-on opportunities. And the Dogra language and Dogri food. It's an attempt to present the varied cultural units in India. The Dogra unit has its own place, its own beauty, and its own contribution. So this is what it is all about," he said about the festival.

Sharing the history associated with the venue-- the Amar Mahal-- Dr Karan Singh further said, "It is based in this beautiful old building that we have, Amar Mahal, which my grandfather (Raja Amar Singh Jamwal) had built. Inside there are some of the greatest Kangra paintings and a unique collection of 47 Nala Damayanti paintings. So this is a very nice ambiance to have the music and the dance."

The festival was named after the Tawi river and emphasizing this, Dr. Karan Singh explained, "We named it after Tawi, not after Jammu, because Tawi goes through the whole region, not only Jammu town."

Speaking about what inspired her to conceptualize and curate the festival, Dr Jyotsna Singh, Director of the Amar Singh Museum and Library, said, “The Tawi Festival has been conceived as a composite celebration of creativity, inclusiveness, tradition and modernity. We hope it will evolve as an annual feature, bringing out the wonderful potential of the region and inviting the best in the fields of visual and performing arts heritage, literature, and even environment to share their experiences.”

<p>Dr Jyotsna Singh and Dr Karan Singh at the Tawi festival 2023<br>Photo: Tawi festival/ Instagram</p>

Dr Jyotsna Singh and Dr Karan Singh at the Tawi festival 2023

The Tawi Festival was an intimate gathering that hosted speakers, who gave a glimpse of their lesser-known yet impressive works of preserving arts and culture-- each in their own unique way. Each day of the festival had a theme for the topics of discussion.

Day One of the festival hosted artists from different fields of works, including painters to sculptures to performers. The inauguration was followed by a Keynote Address by Professor BN Goswamy, who gave an interesting presentation titled 'The Things We Do Not See' about the 47 rare Pahadi paintings, the Nala Damayanti Paintings, which are at display in the Amar Mahal Museum Collection. This was followed by the inauguration of the ceremonial Dogri costume display by Kanwarani Ritu Singh, who discussed the beautiful traditional attires with Anshu Khanna in a round table. Some other presentations of the day included: a talk by Rakesh Kumar, HOD- Ceramics and Glass at NID Ahmedabad; a panel discussion on contemporary art practice by sculptor Rajinder Tikoo, art critic and curator Lalit Gupta, and artist Suman Gupta; and an enthralling traditional vocal performance by artist Asha Rani and her troupe.

Day Two was dedicated to talks and presentations on culture and heritage. The day began with a walk through the heritage site of Mubarak Mandi which was curated by conservation expert Kirpal Singh, followed by a talk on 'Heritage: Past and Future' by Rajinder Pawar, Founder and Chairman of NIIT Group.

Vinita Dawra Nangia, Director of Times Literature Festivals, also gave an interesting talk about how literature helps preserve our culture, heritage and history. She said, "Literature and story-telling are an important part of our cultural heritage; these play a key role in preservation of human heritage, culture and diversity. Just like our heritage, literature too helps build common identity and strengthens our sense of belonging and social cohesion around shared values and undertakings."

This was followed by Vaishnavi Kumari, the Princess of Kishangarh, giving a talk about her current work of preserving and contemporizing painting with artists at the Kishangarh Atelier. Whereas, Maalvika Pathania-- of INTACH Himachal Pradesh-- gave an insightful presentation about her extensive research in temple architecture and how she is involved in preserving the temples of the hills, which are a crucial part of our history and culture.

A unique part of the Tawi festival was a round table announced by Dr Jyotsna Singh to discuss the future perspectives of developing and sustaining heritage. Speakers included Niti Pawar, Rani Shailaja Katoch, Maharawal Chaitanya Singh of Jaisalmer, RK Adishree Singh and Anshu Khanna who discussed the next steps forward for preserving and taking ahead art, heritage, and culture. “We will have workshops and involve the student community as well. Theatre, film, and puppetry will be included in the coming years," Dr Jyotsna Singh said. Day Two concluded on a high note with a musical performance in Dogri by singer Mukteshi Sharma.

The last day of the Tawi Festival was dedicated to literature and book lovers. Day Three began with the inauguration of the Literature Festival and Book Fair by Dr Rashmi Singh, Commissioner of State Taxes of J&K. This was followed by an interesting presentation on 'Cultural Highlights of the Dogra Period' by Prof. Shyam Lal.

Also seen at the event was IPS officer and Sahitya Akademi-winning Dogri writer Shailendra Singh who spoke about his extraordinary journey of becoming a writer, his works-- both as a police officer and a writer, and his experience of contemporary vernacular writing.

Well-known Punjabi short story writer Khalid Hussain was also a part of the festival. What's fascinating about him is that being a Muslim, Hussain writes in Punjabi-- which is a beautiful reflection of our diverse culture. When someone from the audience pointed this to Hussain, who was on the stage, the writer said, "Allah has brought me to this world, Ganesh gave me the strength to start writing, and Guru Nanak has helped me achieve success."

Also seen at the event were: Swami Antar Nirav, who recited his poems in Pahadi and Urdu; and writer-translator Suman Sharma and author Bhavneet Kaur in conversation with critic-curator Lalit Gupta.

The audience was also treated to a beautiful display of traditional costumes of Dogra Maharanis-- Tara Devi Ji and Yasho Rajya Lakshmi Ji, and a glimpse of rare books from Raja Amar Singh's collection at the three-day festival.

And how can food be left out when one talks about culture and heritage? The speakers and participants were treated to the delicacies of Jammu and Kashmir from the Palace Kitchen and the delicious Himachali Dham during the festival.

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