Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. At a time the Capital was immersed in the different hues of festivals, the India International Centre, adding more colours on the canvas, painted a Festival of Arts in the city that captivated the minds of art lovers and catapulted the festive mood to a new high.

Inaugurated by Jammu Kashmir Governor and IIC president, N N Vohra, the festival presented a wide range of artistes, who showcased their talents in paintings, sculptures, cinema, dance, music and food. The inaugural ceremony was followed by a Bharatanatyam performance: “Where the streets are fragrant with sandal paste”, choreographed by Justin McCarthy and his troupe.  The other programmes included Carnatic violin duet by the Mysore Brothers ~ Mysore Nagaraj and Mysore Manjunath; as well as Mohan se Mahatma tak, a play to mark the centenary year of the Champaran Satyagraha, presented by Pierrot’s troupe and directed by Sayeed Alam.

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IIC Director, Air Marshal (Retd) Naresh Verma, said, “The Festival of Arts is a kaleidoscopic representation of all the festivals, which are celebrated here round the year. Premola Ghose and Lalsawmliani Tochhawng have played a role in curating the programmes of the festivals. The festival doesn’t aim at generating economic profit but our sole aim is to give the art lovers an authentic art experience. This year, we organised a play to commemorate Gandhi’s effort in the Champaran Satyagraha. The late Tom Alter personally told us that he was willing to play a major role in the play but unfortunately we lost him too soon. So this festival was also a tribute to the legendary actor.”

The other attractions of the festival included performances of Hindustan vocal music by Nandini Bedekar, who paid a tribute to late Kishori Amonkar. A concert of western classical music was presented by Cremona Quartet, a well-known string quartet from Italy. Folk dances and music from Cambodia was presented by a Cambodian troupe led by Sok Sidony.

The cultural extravaganza also marked the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Russia. An art exhibition, The Russian State and India ~ Imperial encounters to Contemporary Collaboration, curated by Hari Vasudevan, presented archival photographs, maps, illustrations, copies of paintings, portraits and engravings. The festival displayed a wide range of artistic works in various creative aspects that allowed the artists to present their talent on a wider panorama.

Of lines and strokes

An artist not only projects and protects the roots of his own point of view but he is also making a room for its opposite which will complement it.

Creating a full experience, Manish Pushkale presented a wide array of his works in his exhibition titled, Carrying roots around. In this exhibition, the metaphor of “roots” was in the context of modernity of today’s time and its relevance that allows an artist to examine, explore and enquire the possibilities and relevance of the “other half” in their art form as well as in their belief system.

Tarini Sethi showcased exhibition titled “Rumbles of the playpen”, in which young artists participated, including Harsh Nambiar (visual artist); Ishan Lamba (ceramist); Ayesha Singh (sculptor); Mehr Chatterjee (animation artist); Aditya Dutta (artist); Jaiveer Singh (solar energy experience); Nanaki Singh (Fine artist and illustrator); Working Hours Collective and Bombay Underground (zines); and Tarini Sethi (Fine artist and illustrator).

A cinematic journey through films

The film festival this year focused on cities, entitled “A cinematic journey through the cities, featuring ten award winning films from Italy covering the period from 1950- 2014, and presenting some of the great masters from the Italian cinema. Other films included classics from Britain, China, France, Germany and India. The film festival was divided into two parts: the first, a journey through Italian cities presented by the Italian embassy Cultural Centre Cineclub.

The other, films that explored iconic cities such as the backstreets of Belfast, a family in the East End of London, a besieged Paris during the Nazi occupation, a whimsical look at a divided Berlin, a love story on Hong Kong, and a lyrical Ozu-like family drama set in Calcutta of the 50s. The films screened at the festival included Fort Apache Napoli, The Girl by the Lake, Red Desert, The way we laughed, Ten Winters, Odd man out, Mahanagar and other classics.

On the Indian Plate

This year, the festival presented specially curated meals by chefs based in Delhi, such as Anumitra Ghosh Dostidar, Puja Sahu, Alex Moser, Vipul Gupta, Geetika Goyal and Vijay Thukral. The focus in the food festival of The IIC Experience 2017 was on fusion and tradition. Unlike in the earlier festivals, where the cuisine matched the cultural performance, this year reflected the trends in the city and its varied food culture and the work of adventurous and imaginative chefs.

Against the backdrop of the sea and riverine routes of India and Asia, Anumitra Ghosh Dostidar introduced local spices into traditional dishes, creating flavours that were new and exciting. Traditional Indian recipes were transformed by chefs Alex Moser and Vipul Gupta with the use of local, forgotten foods of India such as millet, an array of rice and black sesame.

In this specially-curated menu, food connoisseurs went through a journey of hand-picked ingredients found in regions across Asia.

The focus was on highly local, but essential taste enhancers like kokum, fennel, long pepper, mustard, poppy seed and candle nut. Each of these ingredients has been treated carefully to create a new dish, marrying the robustness of tradition with the sparkle of an unexpected cooking technique. This spread took the foodies through a culinary journey, cruising past the major port cities of Asia, through rivers, streams, backwaters and ponds across the region, tasting the specific flavours of each.

Mamta Sahu created unique Bhojpuri flavours at the festival and garnered appreciation from all. Many recipes have been handed down through generations to her and she has preserved their flavour and authenticity. Bihari cuisine goes beyond their traditional trademark dish, litti chokha.

The flavours are unique and local to the region. It is the taste of Panchforon (a mix of fennel, fenugreek, nigella and cumin seeds) and whole spices that give the food depth and complexity like none other. The flavours, aroma, freshness, spice and zest transport one back in time to the Magadh empire.

H A Mitbatch cuisine from Israel was presented by the Embassy of Israel. Israel is a young country with very ancient roots and their cuisine too reflects this.

The Diaspora Jews brought the foods of North Africa and the Arab world, redolent with spices, as well as the dishes of Eastern Europe, melding it with Levantine to create a melting pot cuisine.

Earlier there were local style restaurants ~ misdot/mizrachiyot, or eastern restaurants, run by Arabs that served the meze, grilled meats and chocolate mousse. Falafel and hummus became the Israeli national foods. Today, world class wine, cheese and an abundance of fresh produce combined with the creativity of chefs gives Israeli cuisine its dynamism.