Ahmedabad World Heritage Week will bring music, theatre, poetry, folk traditions and visual arts to the city’s historic Bhadra precinct and three stepwells on November 19 and 25, with the festivals supported by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
The Bhadra Festival on November 19 will mark the return of a cultural programme to the historic precinct after 12 years, according to Birwa Qureshi, founder of a cultural organisation involved in the programme. The festival will begin at 4pm, with performances distributed across Bhadra Fort, the Premabhai Hall precinct and Bhadra Plaza. It will conclude with a musical concert at Teen Darwaza at 7.15pm.
The programme will combine traditional and contemporary performances against the architectural setting of Ahmedabad’s UNESCO-recognised Walled City. It will include nagara, Ravanhatta, Siddi dhamal, mallakhamb and natya sangeet, along with 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 festival. Three exhibitions will also focus on the precinct’s history. These will include archival photographs documenting Bhadra’s past, an exhibition tracing the living archives of Gujarati theatre and outdoor photographs showing the monument from different perspectives.
Qureshi said the festivals were intended to celebrate India’s cultural heritage through classical music, poetry, classical dance, theatre, storytelling, folk traditions and visual arts. The use of heritage structures as performance venues is also designed to reconnect audiences with the Walled City’s architectural and cultural legacy, according to the programme description.
The second event, the Water Heritage Series, will be held on November 25 and will focus on Ahmedabad’s historic stepwells. Performances will take place from dawn to dusk at 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.
Both festivals will have free entry, although prior registration will be required for select performances. Seating at the stepwells will be limited, making registration and venue capacity relevant for visitors planning to attend the Water Heritage Series.
The events place Ahmedabad’s monuments in an active public and cultural setting rather than presenting them only as static historic sites. The announced programme will unfold across a fort precinct, plazas, a historic gateway and stepwells, linking performances and exhibitions to locations that form part of the city’s recognised architectural heritage.
The Bhadra Festival is scheduled for November 19, followed by the Water Heritage Series on November 25. Further attendance arrangements will depend on the registration requirements for individual performances and the limited seating available at the stepwell venues.
