Monday, May 20th 2013 saw the opening of the royal gallery of musical instruments – Symphony of Mewar at The Zenana Mahal, The City Palace, Udaipur. This gallery is a tribute by Shriji to the Living Heritage of Mewar and a haven for music connoisseurs. It was inaugurated by Ms. Rolee Agrawal, IRS, Commissoner of Income Tax, Ahmedabad on the 20th.
On the day of inauguration, a guided tour of the gallery was followed by performances. Then were acknowledged and welcomed, the students and artists of Maharana Mewar Public School (MMPS), Udaipur. A delightful performance by the school orchestra created the perfect ambience and a platform to introduce Dr. Poonam Joshi and her accompanying artist, Ustad Naseer Husaain Khan on the tabla. The musical evening was a perfect curtain-raising ceremony for Symphony Of Mewar which promises to keep the heritage of Mewar alive and take its passion of music to the world.
A soft launch on May 18th witnessed 85 renowned tour guides expressing keen interest to get a preview of the gallery. They were highly impressed with the quality of work and displays and are eager to present it to the world. Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Executive Director, Historic Resort Hotels Pvt. Ltd. during his interaction with the guides, apprised them that MMCF has opened two new galleries of international level within a short span of 90 days.
Shriji commented, “Symphony of Mewar is a collection of one single family with most of the instruments being used by a family in the earlier times. The collection is unique and some items on display have never been seen by lot of people”
The gallery now welcomes you to step back in time for a while and experience the breathtaking royal musical instruments for yourself.
About Dr. Poonam Joshi:
Dr. Poonam Joshi (Kathak Dancer and Sitarist), hails from Nainital, Uttar Pradesh. She is a gold Medalist in Sitar from Rajasthan University, Jaipur and Doctor of Music in Sitar from Banaras Hindu University, Banaras. Presently she is Head of the Department of Music (Instrumental), Government Meera Girls PG College, Udaipur 313001, Rajasthan. She is 'A' Grade Classical (Sitar) Artist from All India Radio, Jaipur since January 2000. She has received several accolades over the years and has performed at various festivals and national level programmes.
Kartik Poornima Ceremony 2012 [Passes Available*]
at Jagmandir Island Palace, a palace on an island in Lake Pichola, The City Palace Complex, Udaipur
As an initiative to promote the culture and heritage of Mewar and India, Maharana of Mewar Charitable
Foundation, Udaipur organizes the festival of Kartik Poornima each year at The City Palace Complex, Udaipur, under the umbrella of Eternal Mewar Festivals. The festival vehicles the values and history attached to Mewar and is a proof of the commitment towards preserving the heritage of the region by the House of Mewar.
Each year famous musicians are invited to perform at this festival in order to promote culture through music and also as an offering to Lord Brahma to whom the festival is dedicated. This year Eternal Mewar festival Kartik Poornima 2012 Experience the mystique of life! is proud to present 'Radha Raas' – sufi kathak and qawwali conceptulised, directed and performed by Sufi Kathak Danseuse Ms. Manjari Chaturvedi along with Qawwals from Awadh and classical musicians from Delhi. An initiative of the Sufi Kathak Foundation, the concept of 'Radha Raas' defines how a secular cultural spirit emerges when Hindu and Muslim identities merge into one another and transcend into love beyond the confines of religion, which is very relevant in today's time and is an idea that we think would find resonance with the vision and belief.
Manjari Chaturvedi is a leading exponent of the Indian classical dance form of Kathak and is acclaimed for being the creator and only performing artist of Sufi Kathak. She has combined the mysticism of Sufi traditions with classical Indian dance to create a stunning new art form called Sufi Kathak, thus setting a historical step in the field of performing arts through the creation of a completely new art form which remains original and yet follows the precedents of mystical traditions that are nearly 700 years old. In the last decade, Manjari has performed in more than 200 concerts all over the world including Europe (France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, U.K. & Ireland), the Middle East (Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait), South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka) and Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan) along with Australia and America.
“Manjari dances in surrender to Him, to His Glory, to His Love and to His world there is an underlying lilting melody and strong rhythm in her dance, which depicts separation and union, the fire of the eternal dance of moth...”
Introducing the mystique of Sufism in dance, she traveled to countries like Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan and worked with artists from Iran, Turkey and Morocco to study the music and dance forms related with Sufi thought. Bred of Manjari’s knowledge and experience, Sufi Kathak melds the philosophical depth of Sufi poetry with the narrative beauty and grace of classical Indian dance forms to evolve a new school of performance that uses classical dance to narrate and interpret Sufi poetry.
Sufi Kathak is a dance form that spans from earthly romance of Hindi folk to the evolved Sufi imagery of love in Persian poetry, from a beloved in flesh and blood to the abstract presence of the Almighty, from a form to formlessness making Sufi Kathak, the Dance of the Soul. With her own efforts, Manjari has made the dance form richer by adding new dimensions to the dance form with varying music creating a wide repertoire, which was earlier never a part of any classical dance traditions by aligning Sufi Kathak with the Sufi music of Rajasthan, Kashmir, Qawwalli of Awadh, poetry of Bulleh Shah of Punjab and spiritual music of Iran. Through more than a decade of Manjari’s dedicated endeavours, Sufi Kathak, now, has its own visual entity separate from other Indian classical dance forms. Sufi Kathak by Manjari transcends all religions to become a link bridging God and the devotees; taking one far away from materialism. It is synonymous with serenity, piety, mental peace and divine power, which is a symbol of truth. It is attracting the new generation at the international level, breaking barriers as an example of unity in diversity.
The Sufi Kathak Foundation is a non-profit registered society founded by Manjari Chaturvedi to create awareness for Sufi Kathak and other related ancient performing art traditions. The Foundation works towards providing scholarships to students pursuing classical music and dance, and also pension and medical insurance to needy artists.
