Virasat Kamaladevi – A Cultural Extravaganza at CCRT, Dwarka

Dwarka: A four-day cultural festival ‘‘Virasat  Kamaladevi’ was organised at the Centre for Cultural Resources & Training (CCRT), Dwarka, Delhi last week. The event was organised by CCRT to honour the memory of  Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Founder & first Chairperson of CCRT.
Plays, cultural programmes, lectures and many other activities related to art and culture were staged at the festival.

Plays such as Pahatiya’ was staged which was about an unsung hero from India’s independence movement Gend Singh from the state of Chhattisgarh. A drama called “Ek Inspector Se Mulaqat” was conceptualised and directed by Sharad Sharma of Abhinav Rangmandal, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

Also read: Virasat: Cultural fest at CCRT Dwarka, Delhi!

Other plays like ‘Sardar’ based on the story of Sardar Patel, directed by  Ramji Bali, Theatre Wala Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and   ‘Sandhya Chhaya’ directed by  Sudesh Sharma, Theatre for Theatre, Chandigarh.

Shri Rishi Vashist Director of CCRT said, “VIRASAT is a tribute to our founder Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. She was an inspiration and CCRT carries forward her legacy through this festival. VIRASAT comes at an appropriate time which PM Narendra Modi calls the ‘Amrit Kaal – a period when Vikas and Virasat should go hand in hand’.”

On the concluding 27 March “Siddhi Samaroh" or Valedictory program was organised in which the chief guest was Dr Shripad Bhalchandra Joshi, senior Marathi poet and writer and guest of honour was  Uma Nanduri, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture. The chief guest unveiled the statue of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and inaugurated the exhibition of 30 paintings of woman freedom fighters in the CCRT Art Gallery. Soon after this, a cultural Presentation ‘Amrit Camp’ was made by CCRT’s scholarship holders in the conclusion of the Amrit Camp: Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja. 42 children from tribal regions of Udaipur, Rajasthan, 20 children from Varanasi interpretation centres and 18 CCRT Scholarship holders showcased a synchronised cultural production in classical music, dance and traditional art form along with a visual art exhibition. The theme of the visual art exhibition was ‘Unsung Heroes of India’ in unique Indian folk-art styles such as Pichwai and Madhubani painting, where students used charcoal and mixed media.

The Amrit Camp was followed by a ramp walk event ‘Rangi Ramani’ curated by Deepali Phadnis, a choreographer who has organised several India Contests. There was a ramp walked by those women artists in those Kerala’s Kasava sarees, they had painted with women freedom fighters on it.

On the occasion, a book named  Lesser-Known Cities of India ‘Santon Ka Shahar- Hoshiyarpur’ and a book series on Sanjhi Sanskriti Ke Nirmata ‘Taj Bibi’, followed was released followed by a documentary film such as CCRT’s New Institutional Video and Dharohar (P Vetriboopathy).

The Ninth Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Memorial Lecture was delivered in the evening by Professor Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Vice Chancellor, Central Sanskrit University, Delhi on “Kala, Sanskriti Evam Sanskrit.”