AAW #202

There is so much happening in the city of Ahmedabad these days. Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Design gets a new director in Prof. Praveen Nahar. The district administration of Ahmedabad followed suit, just like Surat and Rajkot and banned PUBG. While all of this happens, we are here to present you the 202nd Ahmedabad Art Weekly.

The man with the mystical voice, playback singer Parthiv Gohil is revisiting the city of Ahmedabad for a brand new concert. Multi accolade winner Gohil who has formerly given soulful renditions in films like Devdas, Saawariya, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster travels across the globe with his band weaving musical dreams. Click here to watch the episode of Get Candid on creativeyatra’s youtube channel that features Parthiv Gohil.

If you are looking for an humorous evening mixed with traditional narratives head straight to ‘Hasyakavi No Dayro’ recital.

The SAFE2025 confluence organised by British High Commission focuses on the sensitive topic of Safe work places for women. Another enlightening conference that may connect to the digitally sound youth of Amdavad is the Democracy Dialogue Conclave. Conducted in association with Twitter India Team, the convention will delve into frank discussions on manifold hot topics such as social media, youth and the 2019 elections.

Literature fanatics of the city can have a blast at the upcoming Ruhaniyat poetry recital. The evening full of rhymes and recitals will be a worthy precursor to the World Poetry Day coming up on March 21. Poetess Swastika Jajoo is coming to Ahmedabad with her narrative pieces that touch upon the subject of gender and mental health. Explore the concept of self and introspect deeper on it with ‘Ulti Va’ experimental theatre performance.

Ahmedabad kids, attention! As creative as the award-winning illustrated book, The Day the Crayons Quit, children friendly play with the same name is revisiting Ahmedabad to give a fun-filled experience.

In the visual arts space, connoisseurs can take part in the Tribute Show titled ‘Remembering Mahendra Kadia’ that is organised to pay homage to the late artist. The event will be hosting a live painting session, where various artists will meet at the gallery and create artwork as a tribute to Kadia. Ashish Mehta, now a name synonymous with curated Heritage walks has organised a special Holi walk in the old city of Ahmedabad.

With the 202nd Ahmedabad Art Weekly, we are giving a hearty tribute to veteran puppeteer Meher Contractor. Born in 1918, Contractor after completing her education in Arts in London, joined the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts to form the Darpana Puppet Troupe. the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award laureate was an expert of the shadow play technique and received international acclaims for her rendition of Ramayana, Savitri and Satyavan and Rostam and Sohrab. She served as the vice president at the Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA) and even authored books on the art of puppetry. She has been a mentor to various acclaimed contemporary puppeteers, one of whom is Padma Shri Dadi Pudumjee.

Illustration: Nilesh Ramani