Vishwarang Art and Literature festival is the celebration and commemoration of the art, the literature and the music of India. Bhopal-based Rabindranath Tagore University is organising the second edition of Vishwarang in collaboration with the Tagore International Centre for Arts & Culture, Bhopal. This mega event is an intersection of cultural activities to make art attainable in different forms.
Just like Rabindranath Tagore who travelled around the world for the love of literature and cultural hope, Vishwarang in its three phases will be doing the same. The first phase was the Poorv Rang phase which started from 1st of October till 8th of November. Under Poorv Rang, live discussions on Katha Desh, which is an 18-volume compilation of significant pieces of work in Hindi story-writing spanning nearly 200 years, was held. Moreover, a national painting exhibition, a short film competition, a Nukkad Natak festival and various competitions for university students were held as part of Poorv Rang.
The second phase, namely the Vishwarang International Festival was held from 6th November to 8th November. It aimed at honoring the culture, art and literature heritage of 15 countries! The festival was held online with participation of more than 100 artists from countries like the USA, Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Singapore, Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Ukraine, Sweden, Kazakhstan, UAE and the UK. The gigantic participation, the cultural exchanges and the esteemed reception from different continents were some of the things to bring home.
The third and final phase of the event called Vishwarang 2020 will witness a plethora of sessions along with the participation of over 1,000 artists, poets and authors from nearly 50 countries. The final phase will carry out remembrances, a feature film, band performances, book inaugurations, poetry recitals, literary exchanges with writers, and storytelling sessions.
Additionally, to increase youth and children participation, two new categories namely, an International Film Festival and a Children’s Literature, Art and Music Festival have been added to Vishwarang this year. The first edition of the Vishwarang Children’s Literature, Art & Music Festival is being organized in collaboration with Get Set Parent with Pallavi, which is one of the fastest growing parenting YouTube channels in India. The event will be held for 2 hours everyday starting from 22nd to 29th November on her Youtube channel.
Children of the age group 4-12 years can come forward and register for the fun and frolic sessions free of cost! An itinerary of events that will take place is as follows:
-An Inaugural Session in conversation with the Celebrated Author Ruskin Bond who is one of India’s most loved children’s writers
-An interactive session with Bestselling Indian mythological fiction writer Anand Neelakantan during the closing session on the last day of the event
-Performances by the Puppet Art Theatre Company as well as Tholpavakoothu & Puppet Centre
-Interactive session with Priya Narayanan, whose book ‘Friend of Numbers’ is the winner of the Neev Book Award 2020 in the ‘Emerging Reader’ category
-Claude Monet Painting Workshop and Gond Art Workshop by Akanksha Goenka of art advisory and appreciation company ‘Artlinks’
-Several Indian Art appreciation workshops on Warli Art and Madhubani Art Workshops by Arty Bits’ Founder and art tutor Salomi Parekh from Arty Bits
-Several storytelling sessions hosted Veteran writer-illustrator Ashok Rajagopalan, who is the creator of hilarious children’s book series ‘Gajapati Kulapati’; Nandini Nayar, who is the award-winning author of over fifty books for children of all ages; actor and storyteller Janaki Sabesh; and Bangalore-based international academy of storytelling ‘Kathalaya’
-Special Children’s Medley performance by the Shillong Chamber Choir
-Doodle Workshop on making your own storybook by Singapore-based Kirkus Best Prize nominated illustrator and graphic novelist Debasmita Dasgupta
-Theatre Workshop by Helen O’Grady International, which is the world’s largest after-school developmental drama programme
-Comic Workshop on learning how to draw your favourite Tinkle Toon ‘Suppandi’ and make comic strips with Suppandi by Savio Mascarenhas, Group Art Director, Amar Chitra Katha
For registering and further queries, please visit their website vishwarang.com
