Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts #IGNCA, marked its 28th Foundation Day with lectures, classical music concerts and an exhibition. several publications -- books and films were released over two days of celebrations. IGNCA Magazine Vihangama was also relaunched.
The annual celebrations were inaugurated here by Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shri Mahendra Nath Pandey on Saturday (Nov 19).
The minister referred to the rich tradition of arts, music, culture, education and yoga which had made India famous in ancient times and which continues to be known worldwide. He also impressed on the need for institutions that promote the arts.
The inaugural day saw the release of five books. and the bi-monthly magazine 'Vihangama.’
Another attraction was an exhibition of artworks by 15 artists, who had participated in a workshop organised by IGNCA in collaboration with the Sansar Chand Memorial Trust at Patnitop, Jammu in September this year.
A couple of films were screened over the two days and their DVDs released. The films were ‘Leela in Kheriya’ a feature-length documentary based on the ‘Ramlila’ tradition of village Kheriya near Firozabad made by Prof Molly Kaushal and ‘Swachchata Devatva Ek Samman’, a documentary in Hindi, directed by Umesh Aggarwal, focusing on the state of cleanliness at four major religious centres namely Varanasi, Ajmer, Amritsar and Tirupati.
The five books released by the IGNCA are: ‘Baudhayana-srauta-sutra’ a five-volume text on Vedic rituals by Prof T N Dharmadhikari; ‘The Indian Temple - Mirror of the World’, by Shri Bruno Dagens, a Sanskrit scholar from Paris University; ‘Natyasastra’ volume one; ‘ABIA South and Southeast Asian Art & Archeology Index, Volume 4; and ‘Research Methodology in Art.’
Shri Ram Bahdur Rai, President, IGNCA, said India is now returning to its roots and its ancient glory and the onus lay on cultural centres like the IGNCA to raise the consciousness of the people towards the important role that art and culture can play.
Dr Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA, in his remarks, said, “IGNCA is on its path to fulfilling its main objective to preserve the country’s art and culture.”
On November 20, the second day of the celebrations, a lecture was delivered by Shri Rajeev Malhotra on ‘Swadeshi Indology’. The internationally known researcher, author and public speaker presented a vision for Indology’s future and discussed the need for certain essential pillars to support, sustain and grow Indology as a formal discipline.
“There are new schools of Indology that are now in existence and we must keep track of them and create a new movement of Swadeshi Indology,” he said.
The lecture was followed by a dance-drama on ‘Ganga’ by students of SGT University, depicting the descent of the river on the earth.
On the first day of the event, Shri B P Singh, former Governor of Sikkim, delivered a lecture on ‘Culture and Peace.’ The scholar-thinker has authored several articles and books, including the Bahudha Approach, which outlines a path towards a harmonious world as against the clash of civilisations.
Sunday morning saw a recital by dhrupad master Prof Ritwik Sanyal.
“IGNCA is launching a classical music series, ‘Bhinna Shadaj', featuring one senior artist every month. In these concerts, the artists will present ragas and compositions which are not usually sung/presented. We had Carnatic vocalist Abhishek Raghuram on Saturday and the following day there was a recital by Prof Sanyal,” said Dr Mangalam Swaminathan. Programme Director, IGNCA.
over the past nearly three decades IGNCA has emerged as a leading repository of academic resources in the form of books, photographs, audio-visual material and digital format for the study of 'The Arts,' the term understood in all its connotations. According to the data released by NIC, IGNCA receives highest number of hits and visit in the area of arts and culture.
The IGNCA's mandate includes the oral, aural, the written, and the narrative traditions of India, the fairs and festivals, the lifestyles of communities, the classic and the contemporary, and the traditional and folk cultures of India.
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