The convergence of literature, art and culture, Vishwarang

Bhopal, November 22, 2022: A global festival that aims to grow cultural awareness and spread the legacy of the rich Indian heritage, Vishwarang 2022, a 7 day cultural extravaganza came to an exciting closure at the heart of India, Bhopal. The festival welcomed and hosted artists and eminent personalities from across the globe, joining hands to enlighten and appreciate our country's culture, art and literature.
 

Vishwarang 2022, successfully celebrated the true spirit of literature, poetry, art, music, theatre and culture. Many dignitaries including Governor of Madhya Pradesh Mangubhai Patel, Governor of Chhattisgarh, Dr Anusuiya Uikey, and Minister of culture (Madhya Pradesh) Usha Thakur, Minister of Public Health and Welfare Department MP Prabhuram Chaudhary and MSME & Science & Technology Minister OM Prakash Sakhlecha graced the program by their presence.

While applauding Vishwarang, Governor of Madhya Pradesh Mangubhai Patel said, "Such festivals allow the future young generation to get the basic knowledge of art, culture, and literature. It helps in building a prosperous India. It is a unique confluence of languages, arts, and culture." He further said such programs inspire youth to work for family, society and country.

The Governor of Chhattisgarh Dr. Anusuiya Uikey said," Vishwarang became a convergence point of the world's literature, art and culture. This program brings a unique global exchange of literature, art and culture, allowing the Indian youth to learn not just about India’s diverse literature, art and culture but also get a global view. The event shows the true characteristics of Indian culture, bringing forth the values of socialism, literature, art and culture through each of the sessions. Vishwarang is contributing towards India's journey of becoming Vishwaguru in the 21st century."
 

Successfully concluding the 4th edition, Director of Vishwarang Santosh Choubey, said, "Art and culture play an extremely significant role in the development of any country and we are delighted to see the response towards the festival which is created to promote our country's art and culture. We are proud to see how Vishwarang has outgrown itself, from 12 countries to now being celebrated in more than 50 countries. Apart from the huge response in Bhopal, Vishawarang reached more than 2 crore people on our digital platforms.  What made this year even more precious is the letter we received from the honorable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, appreciating and congratulating us for Vishwarang. The success of this edition has reinforced our belief that celebration of art and culture transcend man made barriers. We are excited to announce thst the 5th edition of Vishwarang will be even bigger and better."
 

The success of the grand, star studded festival Vishwarang, is attributed to Director Santosh Choubey, Dr. Aditi Chaturvedi Vats, co-director of Vishwarang, Dr. Siddharth Chaturvedi, Co-Director of Vishwarang and Dr. Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi, Director of Get Set Parent's Children's Literature Art and Music Festival and the team at AISECT and Rabindranath Tagore University (RNTU), Bhopal.
 
 
Key highlights of Vishwarang 2022
This year, the festival began with an Artists Walk For World Peace & Harmony, followed by a National Painting exhibition. An art exhibition, film screening and discussion sessions on tribal and folk culture were held. The inauguration ceremony was graced by performances by acclaimed artists like Papon, Shilpa Rao, Maithili Thakur & Kaushiki Chakravarty. Celebrities like filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, actors Manoj Pahwa,  Rasika Dugal and Biswapati Sarkar, scientist K. Kasturirangan, Shark Tank fame Ashneer Grover, playwright and poet Nand Kishore Acharya, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Vinay Prabhakar Sahasrabuddhe, Indian diplomat and author Pavan K. Varma, National Organising Secretary of Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal Mukul Kanitkar, author Naveen Choudhary, etc participated in the festival.
 
 
Kala Mahotsav (14th – 16th November 2022)
From November 14 to November 16, a grand event of Vishwarang' Kala Mahotsav' was held at Rabindranath Tagore University and Rabindra Bhawan, Bhopal. The art festival began with the famous classical singer Kaushiki Chakraborty. Other key highlights of the festival included performances like Shri Ram by Shri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra, play 'Bandish' directed by well‐known theatrical director Poorva Naresh, Rabindra Sangeet by Shubbrata Sen, and Vrindgaan by Sur Parag Jabalpur.
 

Tagore International Literature and Arts Festival (17th- 20th November)
The main function of Vishwarang was inaugurated by the Hon'ble Shri Mangubhai Patel, Governor of Madhya Pradesh. Vishwarang festival was organized in association with more than 50 countries apart from India. A Sadbhavna Rally from Ravindra Bhavan to Khushabhau Thakre Hall and painting competition were the key highlights
 

Various sessions of literature, art, culture and music were organized under the main Vishwarang festival. Participants got an opportunity to partake in a variety of events like - Meet the author, poetic sessions, movies, story sessions etc. The event also saw active participation to discuss various relevant topics like Indian knowledge system and National Education Policy, Entrepreneurship etc. Painting, Dhrupad music, and poetry recitation by the Indian Diaspora enthralled the festival attendees. The festival also hosted the International Kavi Sammelan and Mushaira, in which poets like Alok Shrivastav, Azhar Iqbal, Shinkaf Nizam performed. The session also saw the participation of Francis Combes (France), Sheetanshu Yashashchandra, Shahnaz Munni (Bangladesh), Sukrita Paul, and Jayant Parmar. They also discussed world poetry and recited their compositions. Meanwhile, Santosh Choubey presided over the Second World Poetry Session. Vedim Terekhim (Russia), Moej, Majid (Tunisia), Nerissa Guevara (Philippines), A.J. Thomas, and Rituraj were also present. Apart from this, keeping in mind the importance of tribal community and their culture, Vishwarang also organized a special festival on Tribal Literature and Art Festival, under which programmes related to tribal art, dance, painting, and literature were held.
 
 
Partner Country Festival (1st – 10th November 2022)
Vishwarang festival has emerged as a platform from Central India that is now gaining fame in 50 other countries like Germany, USA, UK, UAE, Ireland, China, Singapore, Canada, and Netherlands. Various authors participated in the discussions, including diaspora literature, women's writings and the role of regional language literature. The 3-day festival featured prominent artists and popular faces in art, cinema, music and literature.
 

GSP Children's Literature, Art & Music Festival (18th – 20th November 2022)
 
Three days of fun-filled on-ground extravaganza for children, GSP's Children Literature, Art & Music Festival was also held in Bhopal. The festival organized world-class shows like- storytelling, author interactions, theatre workshops, Clowning and different art workshops on calligraphy, pottery, mandala, origami, doodling, dance and music Concert by renowned artists and professionals in each sector. The workshops were enjoyed by kids between the age group of 4-14 years. More than 15000 children & parents visited the festival and took part in engaging sessions & activities.
 
The festival hosted renowned names like Monika Santos from Spain, who organised a workshop on clowning, storyteller, Vikram Shridhar and ventriloquism Satyajit Pardhe who field a puppetry workshop. The festival also hosted Shobha Vishwanathan, Publishing Director at Karadi Tales Company Pvt. Ltd, Preeti Vyas - President and CEO, Amar Chitra Katha and Children's Author Saumya Rajendran & Nandini Nair for unique interactive and fun sessions for children and their parents.