Pune Festival

Addressing the audience which consisted mainly of school children, Mayor Rajlakshmi Bhosale observed that the organisers were performing an important service by bringing forth pressing issues on films. "Climate change and global warming are two of the biggest challenges before us all. And unless citizens make a concerted effort to bring about changes in their lifestyles, there's little we can do about it. I'm particularly hopeful that since this is basically an audience of youngsters, these films will make an impact on their minds, and motivate them to preserve the environment better."

Chief guest for the occasion, B G Deshmukh, former Union cabinet secretary, voiced similar concerns, and asked the organisers to make the festival an annual feature in the city.

Also present at the inauguration was municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi, educationist E Bharucha, P A Vasanti, director, Centre for Media Studies (CMS), and Claes Leijon, counsellor for development cooperation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

Festival schedule
December 11: 4 pm onwards Shehnai exponent Tukaram Daithankar, santoor maestro Pt Shivkumar Sharma and vocalists Krishnendra Wadikar, Suhas Vyas and Pt Ajay Chakravarti
December 12: 4 pm onwards Sitarist Farhan Khan, Kathak dancers Anuj and Smriti Mishra and vocalists Prasad Khaparde, Devaki Pandit and Malini Rajurkar
December 13: 4 pm onwards Violin `jugalbandi' by Ganesh and Kumaresh and vocalists Arshad Ali, Madhup Mudgal, Pt Rajan and Pt Sajan Mishra
December 14: Morning session: 8 am onwards Vocalists Pt Jasraj and Vinayak Torvi and flautist Pt Ronu Mujumdar
Evening session: 4 pm onwards `Taal Vadya Kacheri', vocalists Prabha Atre, Aruna Sairam, Shrinivas Joshi and Madhuri Dandge, sarod exponent Tejendra Majumdar

The festival, which began 55 years ago, has featured some of the biggest names in Indian classical music over the years. Speaking at a press conference in the city on Monday, executive secretary of the Mandal and Joshi's son, Shrinivas Joshi, said, "It is a matter of great pride and joy that Pt Joshi has been honoured with the Bharat Ratna. But there is also a sense of sadness and loss because we do not have Pt Feroz Dastur among us any more." Dastur, who passed away earlier this year after a prolonged illness, was, like the senior Joshi, a disciple of the legendary Sawai Gandharva.

Over 70 films from 15 countries -- including Japan, China, Israel and Taiwan -- will be screened in the eight-day festival which will be held in three venues -- City Pride in Kothrud, National Film Archive Of India and Dhruva Auditorium at the Indira University Campus in Wakad.

Festival director Virendra Chitrav said, "Film festivals have always received overwhelming response from Puneites. This time, to cover a larger audience, we have decided to conduct part of it in Pimpri Chinchwad for the first time. A lot of students in Wakad, and adjoining areas as well as IT professionals will be able to be a part of the festival."

Two Marathi films will be premiered along with last year's seven best films.

Convener of the festival Dr Mohan Agashe said, "Asia is, at present, the focus of the social and political change and the shift is also reflected in cinema. The festival will bring the best of the Asian countries to our audience."

"Interactions with directors and artists will also be organised in `Open Forum.' We have also organised a special section devoted to films from the SAARC countries along with special screenings of Israeli director Dan Wolman and Korean Director Kim-Ki-Duk's films in the Retrospective section," said Satish Jakatdar, festival director.

Registration for the festival will be open from October 4.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. B B Ahuja, deputy director, COEP said, "Mind Spark is all about innovation and innovative ideas. Last year over 7000 students participated in various events. This year we expect the number of students to be more than 10,000. We also plan to take the event international in the near future."

Dr P P Rege, dean, student affairs said, "We want to promote a sense of entrepreneurship and team spirit among the students, both participating and volunteering. This year there are 600 students in the volunteering and organising committee. Also many industries like TCS, Microsoft, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra have come ahead to sponsor the events. We hope to make this a big event."

Head of the student committee Sandesh Poojari said, "in addition to the thirty events we will also have seminars and workshops on varied topics to inculcate an analytical skill in the minds of the students.

The website for the event is www.mind-spark.org. The student committee head Sandesh Poojari and publicity head Sachin Gadade can be contacted on 9823344551 and 9860450925 respectively.

"As per the tradition, we have planned a grand inauguration ceremony," organising committee president Aba Bagul said. In the event, select personalities will be felicitated for their invaluable contribution to society. Accordingly, balladeer Vitthal Umap, actor Prasad Oak and social worker Shubhangi Bhalerao would be presented with the Shri Laxmimata Kala Sanskriti award.

Also, renowned poet F.M. Shinde and folk artist Madhu Kambikar would be conferred with the Shri Laxmimata Kala Sanskriti Vishesh award.

Other attractions during the inauguration ceremony include sitar recital by Khan Saheb Usman Khan and a lavani performance by Swapna Sangamnerkar.

A case in point would be the Ganeshutsav.org, which packs in all of this. Another site, Surajganesha.com, captures the essence of the various mandals, besides offering aartis and pujas. These sites are mostly visited by people living abroad who long to experience the festivities back home.

Anulekha Kulkarni, a Puneite now living in the US, has been logging on to these sites regularly. "I'm originally from Kolkata, but I have never missed a Ganesh festival since I moved to Pune in 2001. But I missed it this year as I had to move to the US. These sites are a great way of knowing what's happening."

Says Sanjay Daga of Suraj Info, the company that owns Surajganesha.com, "We started the site in 2000. There are a lot of Indians living abroad who miss the festival terribly. This is our gift to them."

The website is also aimed at non-Hindus in various countries who celebrate the festival. "Whenever I travelled abroad, people would often ask for CDs of aartis. So, we have even uploaded aartis online," says Daga.

Echoing this, Shrikant Yadav, cofounder of Ganeshutsav.org, says, "Our objective was to give Indians living abroad a taste of the festival. Ganeshotsav has become a global festival now."

Suresh Kalmadi, chairman, Pune festival said, "The inaugural ceremony includes awards to eminent personalities from various fields. This year, awards will be given to actor Nilu Phule, wrestler Harishchandra Birajdar and badminton quarter finalist in Beijing Olympics Saina Nehwal".

He said, "As this is the 20th year of the festival, we are starting an academy that would promote local talent on a national level".

An added attraction of the inaugural show will be Ganesh Parampara, a unique presentation on the journey of the Ganesh festival from Shivaji era to the present day, a dance show by Sonali Kulkarni and Sharvari Jemenis called Colours of India, a medley fusion programme by Malaika Arora Khan and Jai Hind, an audio visual by Durga Jasraj.

On September 6, the festival will showcase performances by Yogini Gandhi, Vijay Ghate, Pandit Ajay Pohankar and Abhijeet Pohankar. Noted performers like Odissi dancer Raminder Khurana, singer Daler Mehendi and Hema Malini would entertain the audience.

A four-year-old case in the Bombay High Court asking the government to ban Ganesh idols made of plaster of Paris could be moving towards conclusion, with the public prosecutor having said verbally last month that the government agrees with the petitioner.

The Maharashtra Andhshraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS), an organisation fighting blind faith and superstitions with branches across the state including Pune, had filed a petition in 2004 arguing that plaster of Paris is dangerous for the environment. The organisation concedes that the verdict is unlikely to come before the Ganpati festival, but is optimistic that a ban on idols made of plaster of Paris will be in place before next year's festival.

This year, the organisation is again working with to people to promote eco-friendly models and has roped in students across the state. Its case is being heard by the Aurangabad bench of the High Court, where it is pushing for a policy decision to be taken to ban plaster of Paris idols in favour of clay idols.

"The court has now directed the public prosecutor to file the government's agreement in an affidavit," said lawyer Pravin Chavan, who is representing the petitioner."Plaster of Paris (PoP) does not dissolve in water easily. On an average, if an idol made of PoP weighs 3 kg, then with over 10 million idols being made every season, we are releasing over 30 million kg PoP into our water bodies. This pollutes our fish; the water is also harmful for human consumption and causes breathing problems; it is primarily harmful for the environment," said Chavan.

Says Papiya Banerjee, Director of HR, Aviva Global Services speaking on the festival, said, "Organisations and institutions the world over are changing their methods for growing and developing their leaders to reach their full potential. The Festival of Learning is a unique concept and a humble effort to celebrate the learning journey for each individual and open doors for deeper and meaningful exploration combined with conscious learning, knowledge creation, sharing and collective reflection."

"It is a social project that will bring about individual transformation at a micro-level and can bring about a societal change at a macro-level," says Dr. Monica Gupta, an independent OD consultant.

The festival also has the support of the Chairman of NASSCOM, Dr. Ganesh Natarajan who will be presiding over the inauguration that will be done at the hands of the Governor of Maharashtra Dr. SC Jamir.

The festival will open with the play, `Sangeet Sharda', followed by `Chaiti' on May 9. While the former was first staged in 1895, the latter is a recent creation by the Talegaon Dabhade-based group Kalapini. Another popular play, `Sanshaykallol', will be staged on May 10. The next day, `Sangeet Manapaman' will return to stage after a long time. One of the most famous Sangeet Nataks of all time, `Katyar Kaljat Ghusli,' will mark the end of the festival on May 12.

All the Sangeet Natak's will witness performances by renowned singers and actors, including Ravindra Khare, Ram Sathaye, Sanjeev Mehendale, Gautam Murdeshwar, Ravindra Kulkarni, Arvind Pilgaonkar, Urjita Behere, Kavita Tikekar, Bhakti Page, Sampada Thite, Kshama Vaidya and Charudutta Aphale.

"All the actors almost immediately agreed to participate at the festival," Ravindra Khare, trustee, Bharat Natya Sanshodhan Mandir, said. He also expressed pleasure over the keen interest youngsters are showing to this form of theatre. "We are getting a lot of college students to participate," he said.

He said the age-old tradition of encouraging theatre in general and amateur theatre in particular had earned the organisation a reputable position in the theatrical circles. The organisation has nurtured the tradition of Sangeet Nataks for over 115 years now. As it is moving ahead to complete its 120 years of existence, the group plans to spruce up the old Bharat natya sanshodhan mandir auditorium. "We want to rebuild the whole structure, but the plans are in a preliminary stage," Khare, who is a builder by profession, said. The season as well as regular tickets will be available from April 30 between 9 to 11.30 am and between 5 to 8 at Bharat Natya Mandir office.

The auspicious day is celebrated by putting up a `gudi' made by tying a red silk cloth, tender neem leaves and `gaathi' made of sugar candy to a bamboo with a silver container placed on the tip. The day starts with families consuming a mixture of neem leaves, jaggery and coriander seeds first thing in the morning. This teaches people to accept the bad and the good times with equanimity. Neem, with its medicinal properties, is also helpful in warding off summer ills.

A statement issued by Pandit Vasant Gadgil of Sharada Dnyanapeetham has urged people to put up the `gudi' after 9.30 am on Sunday as the `amavasya' (new moon day) ends at 9.25 am and the month of Chaitra starts after that. "The `gudi' should be dismantled before 7 pm." he stated.

Meanwhile, city-based Girme farm will be distributing about 500 saplings of neem (azadiaracta Indica) and hibiscus at the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati temple from 9.30 am onwards. The initiative has been undertaken to underline the importance of neem trees and to help its plantation.

A large number of farmers from the Vidarbha region and cooperative societies dealing in oranges will participate at the festival, which hopes to provide a market for orange producers.

According to the marketing federation, the state accounts for 23 per cent of the total number of oranges produced in the country. Orange crop production is the highest in the three districts of Nagpur, Amravati and Vidarbha. Oranges produced during this season, that is in `Mrug Bahar', are sweet in taste. The festival will be inaugurated by state minister for marketing Harshavardhan Patil at 9.30 am on March 23.

In order to spread awareness and bringing together nature lovers, Vasundhara will offer 60 environment-related films, short-films and documentaries. There will be panel discussion, workshops and audio-visual presentations as well.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Vijay Varma, convenor of the festival, said that the event aims to break new grounds with topical themes. "The films that are being screened are nationally and internationally acclaimed. This will be yet another interesting option for film lovers," he said.

David Attenborough's `Are We Changing Planet Earth?', a 59-minute film, will be showcased on the opening night. The movie talks about how mankind has transformed our planet.

The `ultimatum' published in a Hindi daily that all north Indians should leave the state on February 25 saw many link the two different issues as not many seemed to know that the festival is normally celebrated around Diwali in October-November.

The other pertinent fact for a large number of Biharis who have come to study, work and even chosen to settle down in Pune is that it's always been difficult to perform chhat puja here as there are very few clean water bodies available.

Observed mostly by the people of Bihar, the festival of chhat is dedicated to the worship of the Sun God and therefore, is also known as SuryaShashti.

The word Chhat denotes the number `six' and thus the festival begins on the sixth day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu lunar calendar, corresponding to late October and mid-November, depending on the year. And it goes on for three days.

"Not a single Bihari will ever show disrespect towards chhat puja. It is such an important part of everyone's life in Bihar. I've been in Pune for last four years and we prefer to celebrate the festival at home, since the river is very unclean and we cannot take a dip in it. So we dig a small hole in the ground nearby and fill it with water, big enough to dip our feet before performing the puja," says Pravir Kumar Sinha, lecturer, Indira School of Communication.