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Sanatkada Lucknow Festival: Craft fashion walk Husn-e-Karigari to open the five-day fest
The stage is set for the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival, which will open for the public at Safed Baradari, Qaiserbagh, on January 31.
The stage is set for the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival, which will open for the public at Safed Baradari, Qaiserbagh, on January 31. The five-day fest will be themed as Lucknow ke Gali Kooche this year.
Talking about the theme, festival founder Madhavi Kuckreja says, “Our team has explored the gali kooche theme on five parameters — architecture, synthetic culture, famous people, monuments and pets-street animals living together. We explored so many facets of it that have been weaved in this festival. These gali kooche are the soul of the city which makes our culture so unique.”
Craft fashion walk
The craft bazaar will open in the morning, but the inaugural ceremony will be held in the evening, with a theme film and souvenir release. The highlight will be a Craft Fashion Walk in which 25 crafters from all over the country will share their special pieces, and people from different walks of life will walk the ramp to showcase the collection.
“Besides, Meera & Satti Kuckreja Husn e Karigari Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Bano (70) from Kakori a different lakh bangle (Sahane) manufacturer and probably she is the only karigar left. She will be given ₹50,000. Last year it went to Shahid Bhai, a rafugar at Hazraganj. Sabika Abbas will do a kissagoi on Mashakganj ki galiyon mein kya hua?” adds Kuckreja.
On stage
The opening day will have O Gaanewali session with Avanti Patel and Rutuja Lad followed by Sameer Raha’s performance. The second day will have baitbaazi, Qawwali by Shahid Sami Niyazi Brothers from Rampur Gharana followed by Mehfil-e-Tarannum performance by Askari Naqvi.
On Sunday the proceeding will open with Seher Concert at Dawn by classical singer Omkar Dadarkar while in the evening will have Jadoo Bastar show by art-rock band Daira followed by Sounds of Prithvi performance by Prithvi and Shivargh.
The highlight for the fourth day will be Yellamma and other stories by Shilpa Mudbi and Adithya Kothakota followed by sarod and slide guitar duet by Choudhury Brothers. The concluding day will have Qissebaazi Tilism-e-Hoshruba by Danish Hussain, and the event will end by Mumbai-based all-female hip-hop collective band Wild Wild Women.
Culture potpourri
Besides, the craft bazaar and the cultural event a host of other events will be held during the festival which includes heritage experiences, walks, heritage home visits, discussions, film screenings, craft demonstrations, puppet-making workshops, puppet shows and more.
National award winning filmmaker Sudhir Mishra will be in convesation with Askari Naqvi during the Nayab Nageene session.
Rizwan Siddiqui’s feature film Imamdasta, featuring actor Sahaarsh Shuklaa, will be screened on the concluding day.
Foodies delight
All five days the Bawarchi Tola will have food counters at the nearby Salempur Estate. It will have the choice of street food stalls, thelas and Awadhi food. In home cooked food there will be Gola kebab by Saba Hasan, Gosht ka Qorma by Sheeba Iqbal, Bundelkhandi Thali from Apni Rasoi, Lucknawi Thali by Rupali Gupta.
The highlight of the entire festival remains the home-cooked food festival which will be held on Sunday at the same venue. “Most sought after dishes Lal mirch ka keema, Raan musallam, Gosht ke nihari, Pasanda, Adraki ghost, Achari ghost, Sarson ka saag, Marwari thaal and Punjabi thaal will be once again the highlights,” tells Pranjali Sharma, a team member.
