Virasat - A mega celebration of folk-life

Virasat, an 11-day cultural festival was inaugurated on September 19 by George Fernandes, the Union Minister for Defence. The first day and a historical moment for Uttaranchal was set rolling with the Indonesian cultural performance of ‘Shadow Puppet’ titled ‘Hanuman Duta’.
The troupe gave the gathering a glimpse of the rich tradition of Ramayan in Indonesian folk culture.The current officiating Ambassador of Indonesia, M. Salam, was also present during the inauguration. Some of the other dignitaries who were present at the inaugural function included well-known film directors Prakash Jha and Govind Nihalani, the retrospectives of whose films formed part of the festival.
Speaking on the importance of such an event, Prakash Jha said, “It is encouraging to see Uttaranchal acting like a mini-India and thereby enriching its own culture and opening the eyes of everyone. It’s a celebration not in a cocoon.�
“The power of creation inspires us to live our lives with all the love we can. By being a part of this process of creativity, we, even if just for a moment, move one dimension to the other, from beauty to spirituality, from entertainment to rapture,� explained one of the thousands of visitors at Virasat.
Govind Nihalani regards the coming together of cinema and the various components of Virasat, an effort at conferring on cinema, the status of an ‘urban folk art.’
During the last week, Doon Valley was overtaken by a cultural frenzy and was dressed with a rich folk tapestry that was weaved by maestros from all over India. The days saw crowds thronging the Virasat village that was specially constructed for the festival. Here, a lot of people bought craft items from all over India.
Students from various schools of the valley came in thousands to be a part of the rich display of traditional craft items; numerous exhibitions set by organisation working in the field of history, culture and environment, and to be informed by resource persons such as Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, Jaya Jaitly, Rathi Vinay Jha, William S. Sax, Bill Harvey, etc.
Each day the central arena of Virasat village saw connoisseurs from the valley gather in the evenings, eager to be mesmerized by the beats of the drums and the synchronized movements of the performers, and the folk wisdom ingrained in the poetry of the folk singers who came from all over India and abroad. It was one of the greatest gatherings of culture, arts, and wisdom in the Doon Valley, the gateway to the Himalayas.
Speaking at the inauguration Fernandes said that protecting our cultural values is one of the most daunting tasks that the nation is facing. He called for making Virasat an annual event in Uttaranchal and promised to provide all possible help. He said that endeavors such as Virasat compel people to think anew about the rich cultural heritage of their country.
“A country lives by its culture and civilisation. These must be preserved religiously and this is a big challenge today. Virasat will be a step towards meeting this challenge.� Fernandes and Gen Rawat along with CMD ONGC, Subir Raha; Commandant IMA, Gen T.S. Shergill; and Secretary Tourism and Culture, N.N. Prasad, went around the village and interacted with the crafts persons and artisans who had were participating in the festival from all over India. The opening of the ‘Virasat Village’ took place to the rapturous sounds of ’Himalayi Naad’, a folk instrumental orchestra of Uttarakhand, led by the mystical beats of Dhol and Damau.
Informing about the objective behind a mega festival such as Virasat R.K. Singh, the force behind REACH explains, “The idea is to expose people to the rich and varied heritage of this incredible country and also to showcase the rich folk forms of Uttaranchal. For that purpose, about 250 folk artists from the remotest parts of the state travelled, some for the first time in their lives, to Dehradun in order to participate in the festival. We also want to present them in such a way as to generate respect for them among the local people.�