The National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) is all set to showcase the traditional art and culture of Assam as it returns with the ninth edition of its Living Traditions folk festival platform, .
The two-day-festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday here.
Living Traditions 2017: Festival of Assam will enthrall audiences with interesting documentaries, folk performances and contemporary folk performance led by Joi Barua, known for lending his voice to Bollywood hits like "Dev D" and "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara".
"Assam's cultural and ethnic diversity is simply breathtaking. We are happy to bring alive a slice of Assam's rich culture through these exceptionally talented artists and documentaries. Assam has a folk legacy which goes way beyond the more popular Bihu. We hope to give the audiences a true flavor of this culture in the most authentic manner," said Suvarnalata Rao, Head Programming, Indian Music, NCPA.
Assam's ethnic diversity not only banks on its liaison with the Bihu dance form or the beautiful Kaziranga national park. The state brings about its richness through its bio diversity backed by its archeological sites, oil reserves and tea plantations. Its population is an intermix of languages, dresses, food-habits and art forms practiced by the large number of tribes that inhabit the land. It is a clear reflection of the overwhelming ethnic distinctiveness.
The festival first attempts to capture the vastness of Assam's culture with a series of documentaries. Land of the Brahmaputra, Purwottar Ki Parwaz, and Satras and Namghars of Assam will be screened on the inaugural day.
On the same day, the audiences will be regaled to a variety of performances by folk musicians. This group of musicians and dancers will keep enthusiasts glued to their seats with four different performances. They include the Borgeet, an invocation to Lord Krishna practiced by the Vaishnava sect, followed by Kamrupi lokgeet, a folk song in the dialect of Kamrup district, the Jhumur, associated with tea gardens and finally the Bihu, the most celebrated folk dance in all of Assam.
The concluding day will witness a presentation of songs drawn from the rich folk repertoire of the region, rendered in a contemporary style using visuals, modern expressions, arrangements and instrumentation. The performances will have a distinct contemporary style using modern expressions, arrangements and instrumentation.
Opening its doors to the world in 1969, the NCPA became the first multi-venue and multi-purpose cultural centre to be built in South Asia. Vibrant and diverse, the NCPA today is recognised by artistes, patrons and media alike as one of India's premier performing arts institution.
--IANS
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