Testimony of the Times: A festival highlights transitions and renewal | The Indian Express

Testimony of the Times: A festival highlights transitions and renewal | The Indian Express

Testimony of the Times: A festival highlights transitions and renewal

New Delhi’s Bikaner House opens the cultural season with a two-week festival titled "Scenes from Making of a Modern Nation".

Written by Shiny Varghese | Published: August 9, 2018 12:41:43 am

A page from Indian Century

New Delhi’s Bikaner House opens the cultural season with a two-week festival titled “Scenes from Making of a Modern Nation”. “It talks about identity, where do we find ourselves in the making of a post-modern independent India, how do we see and know ourselves, and how do the old and new come together,” says Priya Pall, curatorial director, Bikaner House. A string of events have been planned from today, which include exhibitions, talks, performances, and film screenings, highlighting transitions and renewal. A slice of the festival:

Of the Cloth: Curated by textile scholar Rta Kapur Chisti, the exhibition “Revisiting Khadi – The Fabric of Freedom”, conceived by late Martand Singh, finds a new canvas at the Bikaner House. His exhibition in 2002-03 gave a new spin to khadi, allowing visitors to texturally experience the fabric. Chisti presents nearly 40 pieces, which include contemporary designs from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Who’s the Smartest: India’s quiz master Siddhartha Basu will take the stage for a quiz on the making of modern India. In collaboration with DK Books India, Basu will question authors, historians and newsmakers on the book Indian Century, which recounts historic milestones. Pages from the visually rich tome will have full-blown displays at the venue.

Frame by Frame: The festival promises a delicious mix of films, from an ode to Shashi Kapoor through Merchant Ivory Productions to veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal’s works and contemporary cult movies.

Let’s Talk: As Bengaluru artist and storyteller Raghava KK arrives in the Capital for a group show on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and art, he will present a talk at the festival, closing the gap between intuition and expression.

At Bikaner House from August 9 to 26. Free entry. Contact: 23388408