Cynics at the celebration

Fairylights pick out the outlines of the arches of Jaipur's gates. Above them loom the Aravallis where Amber Fort is floodlit with even more lights than usual.

It's been a busy day with Rajeev Sethi entering into a heated discussion on the state of Indian textiles, the openings of craft and designer bazaars, polo tourneys, Bollywood dance extravaganzas and now, an evening of classical jugalbandi at Ganesh Pol.

Later still, there will be an all-night party at Jaigarh. Jaipur's attempt at replicating the famous Edinburgh Festival is in full swing.

The annual Edinburgh joust brings together the best creative traditions in the performing arts, and has gone on to become a benchmark among societies wanting to showcase the finest traditional and contemporary talent.

But despite all the hype and hoopla, the Jaipur Heritage Festival hasn't managed to penetrate even the fabric of social life in Jaipur.

Organised as a two-week event (January 7-21), the Heritage fest attempts one of the most ambitious 14-day calendars since the Festivals of India programmes in countries such as the UK, US, France and Russia.

Choked with an agenda given over to talks and seminars, to entertainment, musical soirees, fashion shows, and the like, it is dedicated to the spirit of conservation and heritage of the Pink City.

It is precisely this moral argument, "we're doing it for the people" that seems to have acted as a barrier between the organisers and the participants who are mostly incidental tourists in the city.

But are the organisers to blame? With their heart decidedly in the right place, it wouldn't seem so.

For despite support from friends, the event has grown into a hydra-headed monster that appears stretched for everything from sponsors and funds to people, ideas and management expertise.

From schedules gone awry to police busting up musical performances in 'Silence' zones, Heritage falls short of expectations arising from lack of an overall co-ordination authority.

The face of Heritage is the Jaipur Virasat Foundation, an offshoot of Jaipur's Intach initiative, spun off by J P "John" Singh, exporter and printer of apparel under the brand name of Anokhi, and his wife, Faith, who believe in the cause of empowerment and employment, two vital issues that they hope will show the way for conservation of traditional craft resources.

Along with a few similar-thinking individuals, the Virasat endeavour is intended to help draw attention to the need for the preservation of such skills. On the face of it, this is an honest and transparent effort. But with no distinct ownership, differences are inevitable.

Clearly, the need for a separate festival organisation committee as an independent entity could be critical if the inevitable tussle between private/state hierarchy is to be avoided in the future.

If the Singhs of Anokhi and their friends were able to support the entire festival as a commercial venture, no other intervention would have been required.

But festivals require a high dosage of funds. This is why sponsorships were required, and funds drawn directly as well as indirectly from such support organisations as Rajasthan Tourism.

Gujarat Ambuja, in fact, has been one of the chief sponsors, and support for the festival has also come from interested parties such as the Taj and Oberoi group of hotels, Samode Hotels, jewellers Gem Palace and Surana Jewellers, the Bhoruka Charitable Trust, and festival donors Apeejay, East UK, Friends of Jaipur UK, Sir Ghulam Noon and Simrane. Several individuals have participated in their private capacity.

According to Faith, Heritage has been put together with an investment of Rs 2 crore, while the state's commissioner of tourism, Rajeeva Swarup pegs it at Rs 3 crore. Other sponsors have either supported events, or paid for the expenses of performers (most of whom have not charged a fee).

Clearly, this is going to be unviable as a long-term option, and may require a corpus fund to be set up for Heritage, as distinct from the Virasat Foundation.

The Virasat Foundation wants to use any funds available to it for documentation and conservation work. Swarup appears more concerned about increasing footfalls into the city and the state, which is the basis on which the corporation can justify its support to the festival.

Is there an agenda that has been worked out regarding the implementation of work processes?

"It's there loosely, understood between us, but we have nothing in written," confirms Swarup. Obviously the festival needs to be corporatised, but is anyone thinking about it?

There are also doubts among cynics about the festival's validity and continuity. Will it even survive the next year? Have sponsors committed themselves to an agreement to oversee the fallout and work processes emerging from the festival over any period of time?

Unfortunately, there are no answers, which leaves the event vulnerable to easy dissipation as just a well-meaning effort. Virasat's concerns are genuine, and timely.

Unfortunately, the festival has seen a near-absence of the local elite not directly involved with the festival. Also, there's no active street level participation.

If the issues under discussion have failed to make an impact by failing to draw anyone other than invited local social activists, the festive programmes have been co-opted almost entirely by the organisers' Friends & Co.

There is the issue also of the festival's novelty value. High points can be awarded for hearing Shubha Mudgal sing at Amber Fort a week after Shujaat Khan and Talvin Singh's musical jugalbandi. There were also models in Rajesh Pratap outfits pirouetting at a two-century old private villa.

But there is nothing that is new for pampered Mumbaikars and Dilliwallahs in the exhibits (Rehwa sarees, Michael Aram silver, Anita Lal's Good Earth and the like). A case of new wine in an old bottle, Heritage will have to come up with a USP if the festival is to succeed.

But then there are issues about Jaipur as a venue to begin with. Edinburgh succeeds because it is a small town where everything is within walkable distance.

This is certainly not true of Jaipur with its traffic snarls and chaotic streetlife. For the festival visitor, an absence of signages to venues is a big hindrance.

And just for the record, the money spent on publicity could have been better utilised if it listed a schedule of events instead of carping on would-be critics of the festival.

In its current avataar, the Jaipur Heritage International Festival will have to rise much higher than its current showing to gain corporate recognition.

Till then, it will have to contend with being a poor cousin to the better-established Surajkund Crafts Mela in February and the Khajuraho Dance Festival in March, both superior contenders to the Edinburgh experience.