An Odissi recital presented by an all-male troupe; an exhibition — complete with live demonstrations — on the craft traditions of Awadh; Kannadiga Oota, an exclusive meal with delicacies from North and coastal Karnataka; or a unique Yakshagana theatre performance — experience all this, and much more, at the cultural extravaganza called ‘The IIC Experience: A Festival of the Arts’, which begins today and continues until October 15 at the India International Centre. And, it definitely has a little bit of everything, be it dance, theatre, folk art, painting, music (Indian, Western classical and jazz), installations, photography exhibitions, and, of course, food.
As Indrani Majumdar from the IIC Programme Office puts it, the good thing about this annual affair, which is now in its 15th year, it that “This kind of potpourri works well, as it presents everything for everyone.” However, this time, the Experience has a Lakhnavi/Awadhi sub-theme, spread across food, film, performances, and exhibitions. Madhavi Kuckreja is a part of the team curating and organising everything in this department. She comments, “You can say that we are doing a mini-Awadh festival here.”
There are two riveting Awadh-oriented exhibitions on the cards; for the one entitled ‘Husn-e Karigari-e Awadh’ which, as the name suggests, is on the crafts of the region, Kukreja comments, “Not only are the usual chikankari and zardozi works from Awadh being displayed, there are also things that are a bit more unusual. Like, there’s one craft, chatapati- or tukdi-work, which has pieces of cloth that are joined together and it’s not-so-well-known outside Awadh.”
As per Majumdar, other events that people oughtn’t miss include, “Ila Arun’s programme, Shabd Leela, which will be very special. And the all-day Odissi recital has people coming all the way from Bhubaneswar. In fact, all performances have their own personality.”
IIC will also be welcoming a Yakshagana performance after a very long time. For the uninitiated, this is a unique form of theatre from parts of Karnataka and Kerala.
