Jaipur lived up to its credentials as a cultural and literary capital of India when it hosted ‘Shaharnama Kahani Apne Shaharon Ki,’ festival organised by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation (PFK) in association with Rajasthan Tourism on 19 & 20th February 2023.
Shaharnama hosted dozens of authors and writers from all over India whose works have focused on cities. The festival’s co director Apra Kucchal came up with this innovative idea of blending books, authors and cuisines together on one platform. Kuchhal told The Daily Guardian that the aim of this initiative was to share the unique story of each and every city, reconnect people, foster synergies between literature and other artistic fields and capture the creative spirits of people. “Through this celebration, we shall honour every city’s unique story, it’s arts, crafts, culture as well as raise awareness about the power of literature, poetry, art & for sustainable and inclusive societies”, she explained.
Spread over a dozen literary sessions, Shaharnama saw sessions by authors such as Swapna Liddle , Jitendra Dixit, Yatendra Mishra , Sutapa Mukherjee, Sandeep Purohit, Amandeep Sandhu, Mihir Vatsa, Mahek Majeshwari, Anant Vijay, Parimal Bhattacharya, Anis ur Rahman, Sudha sadanand, Sandesh Bhandare and the likes. Author and political historian Rasheed Kidwai was also spotted on the dair curating some of the conversations. Poet and thinker Lokesh Kumar Singh Sahil joined poet & lyricist Aalok Shrivastav in a conversation about cities and lyrics with author and festival co director Neelima Dalmia Adhar. While introducing himself on stage, Sahil said, “Art is what differentiates animals and humans. I am on my way to becoming a human from an animal.”
The festival hosted the likes of Aditi Dugar, founder, Masque Mumbai, Chef Manish Mehrotra of Indian Accent and noted food historian-author Anoothi Vishal in an engaging session, talking about the origin of various Indian food ingredients, safeguarding Indian cuisine, amalgamation of various cuisines into what they called `the Indian Fabric of Oneness’ and the importance of preserving age old Indian recipes. Apart from Apra and Neelima also visible but behind the scenes was Sundeep Bhutoria, the managing trustee of Prabha Khaitan foundation. The two day literary and cultural festival also saw musical performances by Hariharan and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, some Sufiyana Qawwali and the traditional Kalbelia dance by Gulabo Bai.
Every city in the world has its own unique cultural assets and a creative vice. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) has taken cognizance of the fact that culture and creativity are strategic enablers to achieve sustainable urban development by 2030. The Shaharnama, boutique literature festival needs to branch out to Nagpur, Lucknow, Raipur, Coimbatore & Ranchi. This concept aims to bring together India’s diverse palette of linguistic, religious and cultural colours which are held together on the canvas of a composite national identity.