Celebrating rivers: IGNCA to host 6th Nadi Utsav

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), under the Ministry of Culture, will host the sixth edition of Nadi Utsav from September 25 to 27 at its Janpath premises.

The festival, dedicated to rivers as lifelines of ecology and culture, will be inaugurated by Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil on September 25 at the Samvet Auditorium. IGNCA Trust president and Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Bahadur Rai will chair the inaugural session, with the welcome address by IGNCA Member Secretary Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi.

Announcing the details at a press conference, Prof K Anil Kumar, Head of Janapada Sampada Division, and festival convenor Abhay Mishra said the event would feature seminars, films, performances and exhibitions reflecting the ecological and cultural significance of rivers.

A national seminar on “Riverscape Dynamics: Changes and Continuity” will see 45 research papers presented, in collaboration with the University of Delhi. Parallel to this, the My River Story documentary festival will screen films such as Gotakhors: Disappearing Diving Communities, Arth Ganga, and Ladakh – Life along the Indus. Cultural highlights include classical renditions on rivers by Sudha Raghuraman and river songs from Bengal by Saurav Moni.