A weeklong fiesta of élan vital

Ratnadeep Banerji

Celebrating the coasting of rivers and thereafter fiddling its way in the planes to burp into ocean relegates everyone into sublime rapture. Rivers round the world invoke this rite of passage upon all sentient and non-sentient beings to emulate this cycle. In his poem, Keshav Malik conjures up ‘Time, the Refreshing River’.

Play of light against dark

of dark against the darkest waters,

such is the way of Time’s refreshing river

Every year, India International Centre in New Delhi culminates its world-view during its weeklong annual celebrations. The effulgence of rivers world-over remains mired by the dredge of civilization becoming oblivious of its incurred gratis from its benefactor. To uphold this plight upon rivers, harbingers of world-culture, IIC rolled its brainwave of intuit.

Think-tank of historians with Kapila Vatsyayan at the helm pitted their acumen in showcasing an array of pictures of historic sculpture of River Goddesses in India. Many of these have been painstakingly acquired from foreign sources. The oeuvre of Russian photography of vintage years has swooped down from the National Library of Russia, Saint Petersburg. River Volga became the launch pad for Russian discoverer Nikitin to reach India in the 15th century. Writings of Maxim Gorky fondle the banks of the Volga. Exotic photographs of several rivers of this terra firma and their escapades are on display. Argentinean rivers and Iguazu Falls, Kamo and the floating world; Temples of the Malaprabha River; On the banks of the Tungabhadra – Hampi; Danube the Magyar River; The eternal city on the Tiber; The Yangtze River; Vistula River: life line of Poland; Cairo –city on Nile; Kaveri: Brihadeswara Temple; Along the Irrawaddy River – Pagan, Mandalay and Yangon. Deb Mukharji, the erstwhile ambassador to Nepal and********* has contributed enchanting photographs of Mount Kailash and Manas Sarovar, visiting them for last three decades. The Gandhi Plaza has a placard with hundred eight names Of the Ganga rambling down. A miniature sculpture of Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, beacon of Hindu pilgrimage is among several several maverick sculptures standing al fresco.

‘The Confluence’ showcases astute calligraphy of Devanagari and Urdu script. Another set of photographs under the moniker ‘Narmada Parikrama’ apprises onlookers its sojourn, from its origin in Amarkantak in the Maikal hill range of Vindhyachal Mountains of Madhya Pradesh and its atomizer, Dhuadhar Falls. The exhibition on the Brahmaputra has ‘People of the Majuli Island, Assam’ considered the largest mid-river delta system in the world and houses several interesting ethnic tribes of diverse origin including Dravidian origin. The section on ‘The people of the Siang, Arunachal Pradesh’ has archival photographs from the collection of Dalip Mehta that evoke Verrier Elwin’s ‘The Tribal World’.

The weekend Sunday morning air wafted with the jingle of Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, Chaiti and Tappa of Benares Gharana. Purnima Chaudhuri, a name to reckon with ‘purab ang’ held her audience at ransom recreating a frolicking and rollicking river. Every evening under the starry skies, in the Fountain Lawns ensconced amidst brooding trees cultural programs enthralled the audience. The Flamenco Gala brought forth the vintage Indian legacy sprouting in Andulasian gypsy culture. Andulasia in southern Spain is a throbbing crucible of cultures of artistic and cultural influences of Greek, Roman, Greek and Christian Phoenicians. Carnatic music concert by Sudha Ranganathan forged the composed element, kalpita and the improvised melody, manodharma. The mélange of expressional flair and the evocative appeal through a judicious blend of raga bhava and sahitya bhava reached its acme. …..Narmada Parikrama, Mississippi Blues and Jazz and Aswan folklore from Egypt………….The final day saw the confluence of cultures: ‘Chalo man Ganga Jamuna tir’. Saeed Naqvi’s panegyric to Ganga Jamuni tahjeeb to foster Hindu-Muslim bonhomie and their symbiotic flourish brought back fervent memories of communal solidarity. And then the embodiment of Kathak, Birju Maharaj dwelled on to consummate the quintessence of Awadhi culture.

‘River Sutra: An evening of poetry’ stood out exemplary on the occasion. The doyens like Keki Daruwalla, Ashok Vajpeyi *****Sachchidanandan among other prominent poets extolled the munificence of rivers. A book on ‘Water: culture, politics and management’ compiled by eminent contributors was also released.

The film festival projected eighteen award-winning Indian and international features by acclaimed directors with the river as its leitmotif. The 1928, Bustor Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr teed off to Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, Ritwik Ghatak’s Titas ekti nadir naam, Gautam Ghose’s depiction of fisher folk of Padma River. ‘The African Queen’ starred Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn with dollops of slapstick drooling and swashbuckling desperado act.

The food festival tweaked cuisines from the Punjab, the banks of the Nile, Cajun food of the Mississippi, cuisines from Mekong, Thailand, Quaint dishes prevalent along the banks of the Caveri River, the cuisine of the Doab, Rampur whet the appétit of bon vivant.