Patiala heritage fest from Feb 22

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 15

To commemorate the 257 years of existence of the Patiala City, a Patiala Heritage Festival and Crafts Mela will be held from February 22 to March 5. The mela, where the decades-old Patiala royalty, culture and hospitality will be on display, is being organised by the state Department of Cultural Affairs and Tourism.

Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit said preparations were almost complete, and the legacy and culture of the city would be brought to fore at the event. A dog show, a flower and food festival, dance perfomances and music renditions would mark the festival.

Prominent personalities such as kuchipudi dancer and Padma Bhushan awardee Raja Radha Reddy, tabla player and Padma Bhushan awardee Ustad Zakir Hussain and sitar player Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan will grace the event with their presence. Also, classical singer Shubha Mudgal, classical sitar player Sahid Parvez Khan and classical dancer Shovana Narayan will perform at the festival.

More than 150 craft persons will put their stalls displaying metalwork, traditional jewellery, textiles and pottery products during the crafts mela at Sheesh Mahal. In addition, this year, a vintage car rally will commence on February 27. It will start from Chandigarh and culminate at Pul Cinema in Patiala, via Patiala University and Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology. A fashion show will also be organised on February 27 at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports.

During the festival, some light would be shed on Sheesh Mahal, which was built by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, and Yadavindra Public School, which was founded by Maharaja Yadavindra Singh.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (development) Preeti Yadav will be the nodal officer for the event. Jang-e-Saragarhi, a light and sound show, is also scheduled to be held at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, besides an exhibition cricket match, a car rally for visually-impaired people and a cycle rally.

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The Patiala gharana is one of the main vocal gharanas in Indian classical music today, however, none of its practitioners have ever lived in the city. The grand old man of the Patiala gharana, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, from the last century, was from Kasur. However, he never lived in Patiala. Khan’s disciples and their followers are likely to perform at the Patiala Heritage Festival.

In the past, the Patiala Heritage Festival has featured the nation’s finest artistes from Ustad Vilayat Khan to Yamini Krishnamurthy.

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A heritage walk was organised to commemorate the 257 years of existence of the Patiala city on Saturday. The walk began from Shahi Samadhan and culminated at Qila Mubarak, via Haveliwala mohalla, Chatta Nanumal, Bartan Bazaar, Sappanwali Gali and Darshini Gate.

Ravee Singh Ahluwalia of Patiala Foundation urged the participants to preserve the heritage of the city.