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World Heritage Week marked by Sanskruti at the House of Lords

The event Hasta Shipam marked the World Heritage Week and also coincided with the UK Parliament Week.

A captivating event aiming to spread awareness of culture and weaving traditions of India and South Asia has been organised by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence at the House of Lords recently.

Hosted by Baroness Verma and consisting of engaging presentations & fascinating cultural representations, the event Hasta Shipam marked the World Heritage Week and also coincided with the UK Parliament Week.

Baroness Verma giving opening words at Hasta Shilpam event

In her opening words, Baroness Verma emphasised on the importance of upkeeping artistry and heritage, and lauded consistent efforts of Sanskruti Centre in that direction.

Dr Anjali Sharma has presented handlooms and folk music of Rajasthan, Dr Rosalin Patasani Mishra of Parichay Foundation spoke on weavers of Odisha in India, Dr Lakhumal Luhana presented on 5000-year-old Ajrak tradition of Sindh, Taba Menia presented weaving tradition of Adi community of Arunachal Pradesh and Dr Pritha Dasmahapatra spoke on Jamdani tradition of West Bengal, Bangladesh and other parts of India.

Presenting Adi weaving tradition

Handlooms of Santhali and Apatani tribal communities of Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh were highlighted through dances by Harsha Rani and Ananya Vilina, Ilkal of Karnataka was highlighted through Suggi dance by Madhushree Murthy, Pochampalli fabric and Bonalu of Telangana were highlighted by Vanamala Acha through folk dance and Kuthampulli fabric of Kerala was highlighted by Manju Sunil through traditional dance.

Presenters at Hasta Shilpam event

Singer-Song writer Renu Gidoomal has introduced the speakers, while Ashok Verma has felicitated the presenters. Vote of thanks was rendered by Ragasudha Vinjamuri, Founder-Trustee of Sanskruti Centre. Host and the organisers were presented with Ajrak by Jaivanti Luhana. The event celebrated the richness of diversity and received exceptional feedback from the attendees.

Presenters at Hasta Shilpam Event 2

Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Textiles Piyush Goyal, Culture Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Er. Taba Tedir and Culture Minister of Odisha Aswini Kumar Patra have sent their congratulatory notes to Sanskruti Centre on the occasion.

Cultural Representations at Hasta Shilpam event

Presentation at Hasta Shilpam event

Kaustubham Karnatakam by Sanskruti showcases vibrant art forms

Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence in association with The Bhavan- London organised a virtual event highlighting the vibrant art forms of Karnataka region – a special report by Asian Lite

An interesting virtual event highlighting the vibrant art forms of Karnataka region was hosted on 8^th May. Conceived and organised by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence in association with The Bhavan- London, the program titled Kaustubham Karnatakam lasted for two hours and engaged audiences far and wide.

Dr Mattur Nandakumara, Executive Director of The Bhavan, London gave the opening words on the occasion. Beginning with an excerpt from Bhagavata, Dr. Nanda particularly spoke on Purandara Dasa and the importance of his compositions at a time when the land was under attack and culture was under the danger of losing its foothold.

Sneha Tayur

He also presented the song Hari Kunida Namma for which he composed tune as part of his thesis at the University of London. As a concluding remark, he has appreciated the organisers for bringing such a variety of arts to the UK audiences.

The event showcased the 500-year-old traditional Indian Theatre art form Yakshagana by Yogindra Maravante, Dollu Kunitha by Anjaneya Kala Dollina Sangha from Shimoga, Karnataka, Kamsale by Harsha Rani, demonstrated by Prateek Deshpande and Sharad Shrinivas, and Veeragase by Veerabhadra Purvantike Janapada Kala Mela from Gadag, Karnataka.

Yakshagana by Yogindra Maravante

Amitha Ravikirana presented an amazing Yellamma Pada, the folklore of Karnataka. The contributions of great lyricists and composers were excellently sung by Sneha Tayur who presented Purandara Dasa composition as an invocation, Pooja Tayur who presented Helavanakatte Giriyamma’s composition, and Sumana Dhruva who presented Gopala Dasa’s composition.

Raghavendra Gama and Basavaraj Harlapur both joined from India and have spoken on Dollu Kunitha and Veeragase respectively. Ganapati Bhat briefly spoke on how important it is to showcase unseen art forms to raise awareness about them and commended all artists and organisers for their efforts.

Yogindra Maravante

Vote of Thanks was rendered by Dr. Ragasudha Vinjamuri, and the program was co-hosted by Radhika Joshi. Shobha Sagar has coordinated with the Veeragase artists in India. The event was shown live on Facebook, while VIVIDLIPI streamed it on YouTube.

https://www.facebook.com/Sanskruti100/videos/868186654045014

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