There are some art festivals in India that are iconic and every artist looks
forward to being a part of it either as a participant or as an audience.
Delhi International Art Festival (DIAF) is one for sure that everyone
awaits eagerly. For the last few years due to Covid the festival did not
take place and finally it did come back for the art lovers and what a
splash it made, that it mesmerised one and all. I spoke with the very
elated festival curator and director Padmashree Prathibha Prahlad and
this is what she said, excerpts from the interview:
Back with a bang, after covid, how do you feel?
This year's Delhi International Arts Festival was nothing short of magic. It
had divine blessings. Though talks were on about getting the Festival
back since April 2022, things were not definite and funding was in huge
doubt. It was only in November that we got a go-ahead for the Festival. I
was overjoyed and I am glad it all fell into place and we could get DIAF
to the audience. I am glad honourable Minister of State for External
Affairs Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi and Honourable Ms. Maneka Gandhi came
to support us along with many others.
I believe DIAF had interesting themes this year, please explain?
Yes, the festival this year was thematic with the three broad themes a)
our epics and cultural treasures b) unsung heroes and heroines of the
freedom struggle c) policies of the current Govt. that effect change in
environment and ecology, not polluting the rivers, nurturing the girl child,
and such like.
The venue was magical isn’t it?
When Kartavya Path was decided as the main venue, the excitement
was palpable. We never knew how challenging it was going to be or how
expensive it would be to mount a huge festival for full 15 days in the two
open air amphi-theatres of Katavyapath. There was only one thought on
my mind. DIAF had reached India Gate and we had to do the best
possible with the very meagre funds we had to ensure that our arts and
our cultural legacy got a pride of place in our polity and engaged,
educated and entertained the masses and those not exposed to our arts
in a meaningful manner. I think we accomplished this because we had
overflowing audiences every single evening and people seemed to
thrilled that DIAF exposed to them to our invaluable artistic wealth.
During Covid, many festivals went online but you choose not to,
why?
I believe that performing arts have to have to be live and have a live
audience for lasting impact. Editing videos, putting out 2-10 minute
pieces online, trying to get maximum viewership and likes, fabricating
numbers, pretending that online presence and number of likes was
actual and real is all a mis-representation and a lie. To me, DIAF is a
passion to engage and educate people about the depth, diversity and
the invaluable wealth of India's intangible heritage- not just a festival to
earn money. I detest online dance videos and did not involve myself in
anything to do with it - be they my own performances or festivals.
As always DIAF rocked, which was the most favourite part of the
show for you?
The Festival really did Rock and How!!! Like I mentioned, the
engagement was phenomenal, the whole place looked like paradise and
I kept looking at our stage and backdrop and thinking the stars were
dropping down from Heaven. There were many extraordinary
performances, but my productions Walking with the Mahatma and
Warrior Women of Bharat were truly special and got huge standing
ovations.
What was the highlight of this year’s show?
There were exceptional productions based on epics-like Jaya Ram by
Sutra Dance Company and Sri Ramayan by Pavitra Bhatt, Rasa United's
Trayambakam, Prasiddha Repertory's Ekam Sat, Kathastra by Prabhat
Group, theatrical productions like Veer Abhimanyu, Chavundaraya,
Bacchi, productions on India's Freedom Struggle like Warrior Women of
Bharat, Samarpan by Pulakeshi Kasturi's group, Rudramma by
Alekhya Punjala's group etc., productions on environment & water
preservation like A drop to the Ocean by Meera Das, Earth Diaries by
Gauri Diwakar, Rivers to Reverse by Sruti Gopal, Guhya by Poornima
Gururaj, productions on the girl child such as Ma Mujhe To Jeene Do by
Shovana Narayan's group, Su-Shakti & others.
How difficult was it to get the show back on ground?
The number one difficulty is adequate funding. While the Government
and Corporates spend crores on meaningless festivals with hundreds
dancing or other such events, they do not grant adequate funds to a
Festival that projects India in a strategic manner and brands it as a
cultural super power on the world stage such as DIAF. I cannot
understand why, even after 15 years of consistent and top quality work,
we should struggle for grants and sponsorships every year. So, every
year, it is a huge challenge to match the money we have with the
visibility and expectations that people all over the world in culture have
of DIAF. The second is a committed and talented office that knows
administration of culture. Culture administration is a specialist's job, not
everyone can easily manage that. It has been a real challenge to train
people every year. I am praying that our Prime Minister intervenes and
sets this right so that there is a course correct in arts administration by
the Government machinery.
