INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HAPPINESS Melange of music, dance at Triveni today

Team L&M

To celebrate the International Day of Happiness (March 20) Vrindavan Foundation for Art and Culture (VFAC) is holding Art for Peace today event today. It consists of three parts Varnika, Anahata, and the Saga of Joy.
Varnika shows the essence of colours on canvas with live music of Violin, Tabla, Flute, Piano, Guitar and songs based on the theme of anti-war. Anahata is an organic way of matching the rhythms of Indian classical music according to the beats and cycle concept with the universal clock tempo-60 beat per minute with yoga moves and stretches. The Saga of Joy is an instrumental ensemble presented by fusion band Impulse. It pays homage to various legends who have lived their lives in service of art.
VFAC Founder Arunangshu Chaudhury, who is also an internationally acclaimed Indian percussionist, believes that regular involvement with an art form can help a person achieve sound mental health. “It is high time that we realise importance of art in life,” says Archana Singh, Co-Founder of the organisation. Chaudhury tells us more:

What is the idea behind holding this event?
We seek to instil in people the belief that self-care and nourishment, instinctively paves a way for community welfare and prosperity. It holds the vision of being able to promote holistic well-being through the resonating powers of performing and visual arts thereby rejuvenating people’s spirits. We believe that performing and visual arts can also empower individuals, rather than just entertain them. They can aid in rising above economic poverty while also improving the lives of everyone they touch.
Art for Peace is one such event. In recent world scenarios we feel it is extremely important to realise that thinking artfully is the only way to be compassionate to each other. Involvement with art forms can channelise human energy towards creation.

When was the last time you held a physical event (before pandemic)
In 2019, we held several cultural shows in Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Kolkata. Our last show was at India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, Delhi right before the lockdown began.

Did you hold events during the pandemic
Yes, we did organise online events during the pandemic like yoga workshops for children, music workshops for corporate employees of Carlsberg by Sujoy Chakravarty, Dipankar Roy, Saubhagya Gandharv and webinar for the faculty members of Sunderdeep Institutions.
We also organised Dashavatara, an online thematic dance series on social media conveying our age old wisdom and lessons from Indian mythology for peace during the difficult times. It was presented by a young dancer and visual artist Anohita Chowdhury.

Are you hopeful that audiences will be there?
Yes this is the time when it is extremely necessary to unlock the art from online to physical mode. Both the platforms are now ready to host any kind of event with its full potential. Keeping the interest of viewers and physical audience we have planned the event on an open air Amphitheater at Triveni and it will be streamed Live on all our social media handles at the same time.

Who are the participating artists? Give us a brief about them.
The Saga of Joy has artists like Dipankar Roy, Shujay Chakravarty, Saubhagya Gandharv, Sudipo Mazumder and Manish Sharma apart from me. The visual artists include Sara Khan, Tanisha Rao, Nikita Pawar, Anohita Chowdhury and Shruti Gupta. Manoj Gupta and his team will present a performance of yoga while dance performances are by Meera Udar, Manasvi Garg and Divyanshi Khaneja.

AT Triveni Kala Sangam Amphitheatre, Tansen Marg, 5pm today