AAW #113

Even though the city couldn’t make out with the title of India’s first heritage city, the spirits of Ahmedabad have never descended. The effort of making it the most enriching city of India is constant by creators, which is visible in the 113th edition of Ahmedabad Art Weekly. Beyond the Rath Yatra, Eid-ul-Fitr, International Yoga Day and the Sabarmati Ashram’s Centenary celebration the city has a lot to give to its native residents. Visual art exhibitions, thought-provoking talk shows, musical and theatrical performances, literary gatherings and Yoga practices are some of the few aggrandizing events of the week.

The inspiration for this week’s AAW has been dedicated to Vadodara born 16th century Gujarati poet and prolific storyteller Shree Premanand Bhatt.  Renowned publically as ‘Ras Kavi’ (poet of sentiments), Premanand gave birth to flawless creations like Nalakhyan, Sudamacharitra, Dashamskandh, Rannyagna and various other supreme Gujarati literature. Many writers still commend his herculean task of uplifting the standards of Gujarati language during the middle ages when Mughal emperors ruled the state. Known for his musical-poetic recitals using Maan (a clay pot)  at various hamlets and villages of Gujarat on mythological epics of Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagwat, Harivansh Puraan, and life events of Poet Narsinh Mehta, Premanand can be credited to bring the language Gujarati back to life in an artistic form. It is his legacy that we speak today as a dialect, and team CY bows down to this heroic poet.

Illustration : Nilesh Ramani