AAW #241

We have approached the last weekend of the year, nay the decade, and as we look back at the past year a lot has happened. We took off to Moon, Spotify finally came to India, a lot of bills were passed and various other major events that will be shaping our future. So, let’s live these last days of 2019 to our fullest and welcome the future with open arms. Here are the 241^st edition and the last Ahmedabad Art Weekly of 2019 to help you bid a glorious adieu to this amazing year.

First up, we have three incredible festivals that will prove to be an apt destination for the end of year celebration. Hosting their 40^th edition, Saptak Annual Music Festival is back to offer Amdawadis an enchanting classical music experience. With various big names of Indian classical music sharing a stage, Saptak will give the New Year a grandiose welcome.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation organises Kankaria Carnival on the last week of every year, and this year is no exception. With amazing laser shows, magic shows, mouth-watering delicacies and magnificent aeromodelling events, where else would you want to be?

The 41^st Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival commemorates the death anniversary of a great visionary man who took India to space. The festival will host 3 great performances, a theatre performance from Britain, a dance routine from America and a concert by our very own Indian Ocean.

Organised by the DNP Yuva Club, explore the 36 pols that have become the identity of old Amdawad by taking part in ‘Dhal ni Pol Heritage Walk’. It will indeed be a fascinating journey as you unfold the layers of culture and history of the city, passing each pol. And if you are looking for more creative exploration, Liam Kumawat and Meghna Rajput are coming up with a collaborated painting exhibition called Tulika that will showcase some of their latest works.

If you are in search of some intellectually enticing talks, we have a couple of them lined up for you. Hosting at Cafe 85°C, an open talk on ‘Dependency’ will help you get a better understanding of this concept and guide you to tackle it. Scrapyard theatre is organizing their 25^th episode if The Culture Talk which will be hosting Vivek Desai, a photographer and Shilpa Desai, a writer and columnist who will converse on the field of art, culture, heritage and technology.

For all the Star Wars fans out there, Unlocked is organising a Star Wars Quiz that will check how much you know about the intergalactic battles between the Jedi and the dark force. So, may the force be with you and we hope that you win some amazing prizes.

Monsoon is a play written and directed by Kalpesh Vadher who narrates the story of a painter who lives in the nostalgia of her loved one ‘Nupur’ through his paintings. Watch this unique and artistic story unfold at the Scrapyard Theatre. Kachha Chitha is a stand-up comedy show by ShubhamUpadhyay who will present his story of dos and do overs of jokes over time.

Born Shantilal Patel, Pramukh Swami Maharaj is, without a doubt, one of the most influential spiritual gurus of India. He was strongly inclined towards spirituality from a very young age and upon an invitation by Shastriji Maharaj, his mentor and the founder of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, when he turned 17, he left his life as a normal kid to become a sadhu. He became a close disciple of Shastriji who appointed him as the president of BAPS in 1950, just a year before the demise of Shastriji. And under his leadership, BAPS grew from a small scale organization in Gujarat to become an international Hindu socio-spiritual community.

For his spiritual guidance to numerous souls across the world, we dedicate our 241st edition of Ahmedabad Art Weekly to his legacy.