Jaipur Tales

November 30, 2012: All Jaipur-Kolkata flights were fully booked due to the onset of the marriage season.

I reached Jaipur today afternoon and went straight to the Hawa Mahal Banquets – an open terrace of Hotel Rajputana Sheraton where the event `Jaipur Tales’ was hosted by Prabha Khaitan Foundation and Siyahi to mark 285th Jaipur Foundation Day.

I conceptualized this event with the idea to provide a platform to the common people who have seen and witnessed the changes in Jaipur for over half a century. Mita Kapur of Siyahi helped me to get these special people and also organized the event.

Among the panelists were Dr Chandramani Singh, an art historian and textile expert. She has worked with the Benaras Hindu University, The City Palace, Jawahar Kala Kendra and also for the restoration of the Jaigarh Fort.

Dr Singh has edited six works and authored nine books including Art Treasures of Rajasthan, Performing Arts of Rajasthan: Lok-Rang and Protected Monuments of Rajasthan.

Dilip Bhatt, another of the illustrious member panelist, is a performer of Jaipur’s 250-year-old traditional drama style called tamasha which he has been doing for the past 30 years. He actively participates in plays and nukkad natakas as well. Dilip is committed to spreading awareness about the tamasha tradition. He teaches this art form to new performers and is thereby trying to ensure that this art form stays alive.

Gopal Singh Nandiwal studied architecture in London and Town & Country planning from the University of Manchester in 1959. He worked with the Town Planning division of the Government of Rajasthan since 1960. He has helped develop the current face of Rajasthan and his valuable contributions are evident in the master plans of the pink city.

Jugal Kishore Kumrawat (picture) is the owner of Madhobaba Paan & Juice Center at Chandpol Bazaar. His grandfather founded this shop during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II. The shop has been running for over a century and has been passed down to the fourth generation in the family.

Satya Narain Natha makes traditional and religious idols in different stones – marble, granite and sandstone. He has worked to popularize local arts such as wood carving, metal handicraft and blue pottery. He has also worked on projects for the Sultanate of Oman’s palace, Queen Elizabeth II of England, World Health Organisation (WHO), International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva and the Kennedy Memorial in Washington.

Vinod Joshi, a qualified social anthropologist, has extensively researched Rajasthan’s kalbeliya dance and the lifestyles of the performers. He has worked with local artists to increase awareness of Rajasthani culture. His years of effort and research have contributed deeply towards his current work as the Regional Director of the Rural Arts program at the Jaipur Virasat Foundation.

Though it was a day full of wedding functions still there was a very healthy turnout of audience and everybody enjoyed this discussion in which most of the speakers held a mike for the first time in their life.

I am thinking of flying to Kolkata tomorrow so that I can get more time to prepare things for the visit of Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Gehlot.
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