Love has different shades, meanings and aspects. For some it is them with their partner. For some it is their Adhura Ishq, while for others still, it is companionship, and for yet others, it is freedom and confusion.
The theme and its multi-layered facets are the focal point of the 15th edition of Mahindra Sanatkada Cultural Festival that began on Friday at the two heritage properties of Safed Baradari and Salempur House in Qaiserbagh. The five-day festival aims to explore the meaning of love and how it has changed over the years.
Showcasing meticulously picked stories of different facets of love, the festival aims at putting the spotlight on how people from all walks of life and across generations—from teenagers to octogenarians—romance.
“We have covered every possible aspect around and in love. Self-love, love and peace, platonic love, queer love and most importantly social issues around love. We have explored not only the joyous aspect of it but also the problematic and sad aspects,” said Madhavi Kuckreja, founder of the festival.
From waiting to dating Apps
{{/usCountry}}From waiting to dating Apps
{{/usCountry}}From sneaking gazes at a family function to slipping letters into the notebooks after lectures in college, and from going for ‘paani batasha’ to binge-watching OTT, love and its expressions have changed.
For instance, 70-year-old Jawwaar Saab and Farzana met as teenagers, right across the street. Both born and brought up in Lucknow, their love had the flavour of shyness and subtlety that was aptly epitomised by Dilip Kumar and Madhubala in many movies. For them, meeting was an activity planned meticulously and with caution.
Cut to recent times. Haider (name changed) met his partner on a dating app. What started as a casual fling without any baggage of past or promise of future, soon turned into a companionship for lifetime.
“Jab kuch bhi nahi tha, pyaar tha. (When there was nothing, there was love). So, love is that force that binds us all. And interestingly, love cannot be reduced to a doctrine or describable theory. It is felt. There’s pain in it, and it also possesses the power of healing. In our 90 odd stories of love that cover the emotion through the generations, we attempt to understand what love is. And above all, what it is not,” said Alisha Asif, the coordinator of the festival, who undertook the tedious task of compiling 90-odd stories of love which were showcased through a video.
On Friday, the show was inaugurated with the first session titled ‘Ashiqana Qisse by Saman Habib and Valentina Trivedi’ followed by Meeriyat by Askari Naqvi, and a poetic Kathak titled ‘Ashiqui Ka wo Zamana’ by Neelakshi Rai. The session concluded with Qissagoi by Mehmood Abdi.
Drama staged on chikankaari
The first day of the Sanatkada Festival also saw a dramatic presentation staged at the Safed Baradari, titled ‘Talking Threads’ - a play by a group from Swatantra Talim, a Lucknow-based non-profit organisation focused on children’s learning.
The play was inspired by real-life stories of women chikankaari workers. It examined the dilemmas in the lives of the community through the metaphor of thread, fabric, frame and needle. Swatantra Talim will also be putting up a Kids’ Corner at the festival.
The next few days of the Sanatkada Festival will see a host of culture walks and food walks across the city, a crafts bazaar at the Safed Baradari, displaying the works of over 100 artists and a flamboyant Bawarchi Tola at the Salempur House lawns in Qaiserbagh.
The famous ‘Concert at Dawn’ tradition this time will feature vocalist Manjusha Patil on Sunday at 5:30 in the morning at the main stage followed by poetry recitations, short film screenings and book launches and discussions.