CHANDIGARH, November 28 The much-awaited 14th edition of the Chandigarh National Crafts Fair will be inaugurated by the Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh at Kalagram here, today is. The Crafts fair, organized by the North Zone Cultural Center (NZCC), Patiala, under the aegis of the Department of Art and Culture, UT Administration, Chandigarh is the prominent annual feature, which the people of Tricity wait for with a batedbreath. Necessary preparations for the big event, which were going on a war footing for weeks, are inching to a close now.
An imposing entrance has been aesthetically designed in bright colors at Kalagram, which is likely to attract people from across the tricity and elsewhere in the country. The backdrop of the main stage has also been prepared by Bengali artisans in a way to give a visual support to the presentation slated for the 10-day mega show. In what is going to the soul of the annual feature, is a spectacular presentation of 51 folk musical instruments themed “Rhythm of India”, which will follow by an equally impressive and well-choreographed presentation, blending pulsating folk dances of as many as 14 states curated and choreographed under the theme “Colours of India” by Sushil Sharma. Up next to set the stage on fire is prominent Punjabi Sufi singer Kanwar Grewal, who will enthrall the audience with his divine Sufi singing on the inaugural day. A variety of programmes based on various folk arts will continue to entertain the visiting guests throughout the day during the fair. Evenings are going to be even more musical this season, bringing haunting folk tunes of various parts of the country. Acclaimed Bollywood singers have been invited to be be part of the event. Prominent among them, Suresh Wadekar will dole out his career's best renditions, while on the concluding day, December 8, another Bollywood's big singing star Amit Kumar, will recapture the magic of his popular tracks, marking the grand finale to the grandiose. Other iconic singers who are lined up to perform include Gurnam Bhullar, Kulwinder Billa, Firoz Khan and Harbhajan Mann et al. To bring regional colours of various states of the country live, Geeta Bhardwaj, a gifted folk singer and Kaku Ram Thakur, both from Himachal Pradesh, Chaman Lahri from Jammu, Gulzar Ganai from Kashmir, Inder Arya from Uttarakhand will dole out their hot favourite numbers, taking you on a nostalgic trip to the would of music and muse. The coveted Lok Kala Sadhak (Lifetime Achievement) Awards will also be conferred on the legendary folk artistes by the Governor, for their insignificant contribution to diverse genres of performing art. This time around, two artistes have been jointly tipped for the award under two categories - “Folk Music” and “Folk Dance”. In the “Folk Dance” category, Tehartal artiste Durga Devi (Rajasthan) and Balak Ram Thakur (Himachal Pradesh) and in the “Folk Music” category, Lifetime Achievement Award will be jointly shared by Des Raj Lachkani (Punjab) and Gujri artiste “Begum Jaan” (Jammu & Kashmir).The award carry an amount of Rs. 2.5 lakh, a plaque and a shawl. Similarly, two youth awards, instituted this year, will also be given to the winners. This year's award goes to Manoj Jale (Haryana) and Sudhanshu Bisht (Uttarakhand) under the category, each carrying an amount of Rs 1 lakh, a plaque and a shawl. What is going to be the one stop destination for the visiting guests is the heritage street set up at venue, offering glimpses from our composite cultural heritage, besides throwing an opportunity for the inquisitive buyers to replenish their wardrobes and kitchen, et al. A glimpse of a typical Punjab village set up at the Mela venue will take the urban cousins on a snappy ride to the rural India offering a typical metaphor. From tomorrow onwards, entry to the fair will be free in the morning for those school students who accompanies a school group. This apart, a cultural quiz and many more activities for the children have been designed to make it a student-centric session. The incurable Mela buffs, including art lovers, are in for a string of surprises of sorts.The Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Academy will organize a one-hour program on days earmarked for the purpose where local young upcoming artistes from the city will showcase their skills, while the in Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy will organize an exhibition during the 10-day cultural extravaganza, besides an on-the-spot photography competition along with live paintings by well-known painters.