Seventh edition of Gurgaon Utsav to start Friday

The programmes will start at 7pm every day at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park amphitheatre; entry is free.

The three-day ‘Gurgaon Utsav’ will start April 13 at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park amphitheatre, the festivals’ organisers said.

Artistes perform Kuchipudi during last year’s Gurgaon Utsav.(Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The Arts and Literature Foundation, in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the Haryana department of art and cultural affairs, will present the event for the seventh consecutive year.

“For the first time, artists at the event will celebrate folk and storytelling traditions of our country,” one of the organisers Uma Prakash said, adding that each day will have one major event, apart from number of smaller ones.

The programmes will start at 7pm every day; entry is free.

On April 13, Dastangoi Mohammed Farooqui will present his play titled Dastan-e Karn Az Mahabharat, based on the heroism of the epic’s protagonist, Karna. The most interesting part about the performance is the use of Sanskrit, Arabic and Urdu by all characters.

On April 14, Padma Shri Prahlad Tipanya from Malwa will take centre stage with his rendition of Kabir in the folk style of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh.

“He will perform with his troupe, which includes accompanying singers and instrumentalists playing manjira, dholak, harmonium, timki, violin, tambura and kartal,” said Anjali Singh, another organiser.

And on the last day, April 15, the Nooran Sisters will give a performance of Bulle Shah’s poetry, Anjali said.

The sisters are famous for following the Sufi traditions of Punjab, Sham Chaurasi Gharana and Marasi traditions of music. The sisters have performed several traditional Sufi songs, including Allah Hu and Jugni. They shot to stardom with their the song ‘Pataka guddi’ from the Bollywood movie ‘Highway’.

Aside from these major performances, the best of folk artistes from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab will also liven the festival with their talent.

Last year, the event took place between March 10 and 12.

It included an interpretation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream, qawwali by Dhruv Sangari and folk music by Malini Awasthi, among many other performances.