Multi-regional culture festival 'Arth' to begin tomorrow

The mega cultural festival 'Arth' organised to celebrate the essence of "Indic thought and philosophy", will begin here on Friday with participation of more than 250 writers, scholars, artisans and artists from India and abroad.

The three-day festival, touted to be India's first multi-regional fest, will be held here at the lawns of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).

Participants include prominent names like Union Minister Smriti Irani, senior leader Subramanian Swamy, actor Raveena Tandon, classical dancer and Rajya Sabha MP Sonal Mansingh, economist Bibek Debroy, authors Ashwin Sanghi and Amish Tripathi.

Among the international contingent it has Lord Meghnad Desai, Karen Attiah (Global Opinions Editor of Washington Post); Domenic DiGiovanni (Homeland Security Department of USA); Tess Davis (Antiquities Coalition); Imam Tawhidi from Australia, Shimon Lev from Israel and Hasan Kerim Guc from Turkey, among others.

According to the organisers, the festival will bring to the audience myriad activities including panel discussions, cultural performances, workshops, visual art installations, live art etc.

"For the national edition, we have tried to bring a microcosm of India on to stage those 3 days, through several accomplished artists, writers and individuals and also various arts and crafts workshops to enthral the audience.

"We will be discussing some really pressing issues that have rocked the nation in recent times. It is extremely important that these relevant topics are discussed on such large cultural platforms and engage with not only experts but also the citizens of the country," Vikram Sampath, festival director, said.

Also, exclusive sessions, comprising of creative workshops, theatre, history, philosophy, puppet performances and master classes, have been created for children, he added.

For music lovers, the festival will also witness performances by renowned artists like Bombay Jayashree, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Teejan Bai, Bombay Bairag and Gautam Das Baul, among others.

The festival will come to a close on Feb 10.