Ahmedabad’s historic monuments will become venues for music, theatre, poetry, dance and visual arts on November 19 and 25, as two festivals supported by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation mark UNESCO World Heritage Week across the Walled City. The programmes will centre on the Bhadra precinct and three historic stepwells, with free entry and prior registration required for select performances.
The Bhadra Festival on November 19 will mark the return of a cultural celebration to the historic precinct after 12 years. The programme will begin at 4pm, with performances spread across Bhadra Fort, the Premabhai Hall precinct and Bhadra Plaza. It will conclude with a musical concert at Teen Darwaza at 7.15pm.
The festival will combine traditional and contemporary cultural forms. The programme includes nagara, Ravanhatta, Siddi dhamal, mallakhamb, natya sangeet, puppet theatre, storytelling and Gujarati folk narratives. Projection mapping on Bhadra Fort and a visual presentation inspired by Mata ni Pachedi will add contemporary elements to the historic setting.
Three exhibitions will also document different aspects of the precinct. One will present archival photographs tracing Bhadra’s history, another will examine the living archives of Gujarati theatre, and a third will use outdoor photographs to show the monument from different perspectives.
“Set against the historical backdrop of monuments in the Unesco-recognised Walled City of Ahmedabad, the festivals celebrate the richness and diversity of India’s cultural heritage through classical music, poetry, classical dance, theatre, storytelling, folk traditions and visual arts,” Birwa Qureshi, founder of a cultural organisation, said on Tuesday. Qureshi said the Bhadra Festival’s first edition was held in 2014.
The second programme, the Water Heritage Series, will take place on November 25 and focus on Ahmedabad’s historic stepwells. Performances will run from dawn to dusk across Jethabhai Ni Vav, Amrutvarshini Vav and Dada Harir Ni Vav.
A Hindustani classical vocal recital is scheduled at Jethabhai Ni Vav at 6.30am. Amrutvarshini Vav will host poetry and Bharatanatyam at 11am, while Dada Harir Ni Vav will be the venue for the musical finale at 7pm.
The events place Ahmedabad’s protected architectural sites in active public use rather than treating them only as static monuments. The programmes are designed to reconnect audiences with the city’s architectural and cultural legacy while using the distinctive spatial character of forts, plazas and stepwells as part of the experience.
Entry to both festivals will be free, although prior registration will be required for select performances. Seating at the stepwells will be limited, according to the event details supplied by the organisers.
