Encouraging talent

When Shovana Narayan looks back, she remembers the tremendous encouragement she got from her seniors.

When Kathak exponent Shovana Narayan looks back at her career, the one thing she remembers fondly is the tremendous encouragement she got from her seniors. Today, when she herself is at a vantage position, she wants to do the same for upcoming artistes.

When she discussed the idea with close friends and fellow artistes, tabla maestro Ustad Shafaat Ahmed Khan and painter Naresh Kapuria, they were very upbeat about it. Thus came into existence Arpan, a festival that promotes promising talent. Into its second year, the two-day festival held recently at the India Habitat Centre, presented six artistes who can rightly be called the torchbearers of the Indian classical arts tradition.

“We have seen or heard the work of some artists, while some others have been recommended by those whose judgement we trust,” says Narayan of the choice of artists, “and after interacting with them since we started rehearsing, I would say that there has been no mistake. The idea is to provide a platform to artistes so that they can concentrate on their performance, as the nitty gritty of organisation is taken care of by us. They are our future and they have to carry forward our tradition. And going by their enthusiasm, I can say that the future is very bright.”

The participating artists — Arushi Mudgal, Abhay Sopori, Namita Jain, Amit Sachdeva, Saeed Zafar, Tanvir Ahmed and Imran Ahmed — are very upbeat about the concept.

“This is an excellent opportunity for us to learn to work together,” they say in unison. “It also teaches them to take pride in others’ achievement,” adds Kapuria. The theme of this year’s festival was Sawan (the rainy season), that is symbolic of youthfulness and exuberance. Just like the artists who took part in the festival.

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