Indian Shakespeare~I
We call him Shakespeare of India. We regard him as the greatest poet and playwright of ancient India. The world recognises him as one of the greatest poets of all time.
Entertaining performances
The third day at the Festival of Arts presented an Arais, Opera and Musical theatre. The Lyric Ensemble of Delhi was formed in early 2016 to showcase the music of the stage. They presented everything from Jazz to Opera and solo to choir. It was the first concert series presented by the Ensemble. The music director for their programme was Clayton Duggan. The evening started with a delightful performance by S Sondheim with the words, “Into the Woods Medley”. The Catholic prayer song, “Hail Holy Queen”, was appreciated by everyone. The last performance by J V Heusen from the Ensemble “Come fly with me” was a beautiful song to end the evening.
Indian classical
The second last day at Festival of Arts presented Hindustani Vocal music. Jayateerth Mevundi of the Kirana Gharana, who presented mesmerising folk songs, is a disciple of the late Pt Arjunsa Nakod and late Pt Shripati Padegar. The chief guest of the programme was Dr Karan Singh, MP. Jayateerth Mevundi is an A-grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. He received the “YoungMaestro” award from the former President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. He sang all the songs inspired by his gurus. “I have been inspired greatly by Bhimsen Joshi, my guru's guru,” he said as he presented a melodious song on “Baje re moraliya”, which was originally sung by Lata Mangeskar. The accompanists, Aditi Garade on harmonium and Pandurang Pawar on tabla presented the best of their works. He ended the evening with Laxmi varnam.
Born to sing
A unique centenary tribute to legendary artist, M S Subbulakshmi, titled “A Shy Girl from Madurai”, traced the impact of the political, social reformist and spiritual movements that inspired her. Blending songs (in Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Kannada) and storytelling, this performance shifted through moods from the playful to the prayerful, to reclaim the legendary musician's values.
It was produced by Just Us Repertory, Chennai, with Gowri Ramnarayan as the music director and storyteller; Sushma Somasekharan and Vignesh Ishwar as the vocal trainers; Shreya Devnath playing the Violin; B Vijayagopal playing the Flute; and K Praveen Kumar playing the Mridangam.
Different songs played by them like “Vande Mataram” in Bengali, “Brochevar evarura…” in Telugu, “Dhav Vibho” in Marathi, “Kahan ke Pathog” in Hindi, “Jagadoddharana” in Kannada and “Arul Purivai” in Tamil, the melodious musical tribute to the legendary artist made its way deep into the hearts of its audience.
Ghazab Teri Adaa
One of the major highlights of the festival was a comic musical theatre presented in Hindi by National School of Drama Repertory Company, directed by Professor Waman Kendre. The play marked the centenary of World War I and is a tribute to the war victims. An original play, written by Waman Kendre, it has been inspired by Aristophanes' Lysistrata. The play illustrated the anti-war thesis and women's power and place in society. Music, choreography and the use of cinematic images are some of the highlights of the play.
The play began with the farewell address to the soldiers for the hundredth war. Women happily send away their husbands and sons quite unaware of the brutal consequences of war. The messenger brings news of victory on the war front and brings thousands of women from the defeated country for the King and his soldiers, but after seeing the plight of the defeated women, the King's women subjects come up with a plan to not have any physical contact with their husbands until the war stops. The play ended with a call for humanity and peace.
Taste of barbeque
The idea of cooking food in the open on wood or charcoal fire makes us think of a social gathering. Chef Vijay Thukral and his team came with an interesting idea to create an atmosphere of social gathering. The team presented an exquisite barbeque for the evening. Vijay Thukral has been the executive chef at the IIC for over 25 years. Adding some fresh spices to the food, he prepared a full meal for the guests. The starters included Fattoush, Couscous Salad, Hummus and many more. A large green salad or breads made a perfect accompaniment to a warm, cheesy meat or vegetable delights. The main course included great mix of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. It included Mutton Galuati Kebab, Mutton Shawarma, Grilled Chicken a la Greque, Fish Tagine, Vegetarian Gulati, Vegetable Souvlekia and much more. The end of a meal makes you crave for a sweet dessert. There was Fresh Grape Kulfi, Umm Ali and Melomakarouna me Simigdali.
Flavours of the doab
The fourth day at Food Festival saw the flavours of the Doab Rs a Syncretic Cuisine prepared by Atiya Zaidi. “Doab” literally means “two water”. Geographically the Doab is the region between the mighty rivers, the Ganga and the Yamuna. Though Lucknow and East UP are not a geographical part of this region, their rich culture has touched and intermingled with the robust culture of the Doab. From this the syncretic culture was born, which ignited the idea for this Food Festival. Beginning from the Salahuddins Seekh Kababs, Lal Masoor Sharwa Tikkis, Kacche Kele ki Pakori and Khushuma Dal Chaat. The main course included Singhara Ghos, Murg Musallam, Khoya Matar Dulna, Nanhe Aloo Ka Qorma and Boram Handi served with Chicken Dum Biryani, Tahiri and Kulcha or Mixed Roti. The syncretic cuisine also hadaccompaniments like Kate Dhaniye ki Chutney, Bathury ka raita and a green curd. The desserts were Maanda, Chawal Zarda and Peda. At last paan was served to bring that Doab taste.
Flavours from the European Continent
Continental food was brought to India by the British. It originated in Italy and went with Catherine de Medici to the French Court, where it reached its present form through the imagination and creativity of legendary French chefs. Hot sauces-the béchamel or white sauce and the brown sauce-and the cold sauce, mayonnaise, form the bedrock of continental cuisine. Buffets are very popular and comprise an array of cold cuts, salads and a variety of dressings. The classic dishes are the roasts, stews, and the ubiquitos fried fish. Souffles, hot and cold, savoury and sweet, too are favourites.
Chef Vijay Thukral has been the executive chef at IIC for over 25 years. He was trained by Roger Moncourt of the Ashoka Hotel, whose haute cuisine made the Supper Club famous. He also worked at the Hyatt Regency, Meridian and Maurya Sheraton. He has co-authored Secrets of The Kitchen with Bichoo Manekshaw
Flavours of coastal Kerala
Kerala is primarily an agricultural society. The bulk of the population is occupied in the cultivation of spices, rice, coffee, cocoa and fisheries. Different communities prepare dishes which have come to be very typical of them. The Hindus, with their rich and diverse vegetarian fare such as avial and erissery, and Christians, with the strong Dutch-Portuguese influence, excel in fish and meat preparations while Arabic influences are strong in the local Muslim cuisine.
Irrespective of religious affiliations or social strata, Malayali cuisine is an intricate balance of flavour aroma and nutritive values. Hailing from a family, where food was considered a religion, Prima Kurien's food journey started when she was very young. Her interest is primarily in her native Malayali cuisine. Around 2004, she was invited by a corporate house to cater an authentic Malayali dinner and since then has become a professional. She specialises in traditional Kerala food with a special emphasis on Syrian Christian cuisine. Even though Kerala is famous for its repertoire of seafood, poultry and meat, the menu lays equal stress on the flavourful and subtle vegetarian fare from the state.
By Bhavya Bareja, Garvit Agarwal and Komal Prasad
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