JVF Annual Report 2013
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ANNUAL REPORT 2013 The last one year has been quite a productive year for JVF. We have done quite a few projects in the past twelve months. We have also built up new relationships with other organizations run by likeminded people. Given below is a brief of the different projects and activities undertaken by JVF. MANGANIYAR MILAN UTSAV – Hamira village, Jaisalmer April 3 - 4, 2013 Over the years, the Foundation has presented the Manganiyar artists at the Jaipur Heritage International Festival and the Jodhpur RIFF (Rajasthan International Folk Festival). While working with the community, we felt that it was very important for us to understand all the traditions of this caste and community. The Manganiyar artists also felt a need for the persons of their caste and community to be able to get together at some place to meet and interact and discuss with each other. So, we decided to do a get together of all the Manganiyars at Hamira village, Jaisalmer. The first Manganiyar Folk artists get together was organized in 2012 in association with the Manganiyar Lok Sangeet Sansthan, Hamira, and Jaisalmer. This year again, we organized the Manganiyar Milan Utsav in Hamira and it was attended by approx. 120 Manganiyars from the Jaisalmer and Barmer district. Another interesting part of the get together, was a show put up by the Meghwals of the area. When the Meghwals got to know that we were arriving in Hamira, they all gathered at our hotel and showcased their traditional singing. TAMASHA OF JAIPUR, Ambikeshwar Temple, Amber April 8, 2013 Tamasha is a traditional performing art of Jaipur and Amber. It was patronized by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh (1835 – 1880) of Jaipur. He had invited the Bhatt family of Amber to be a part of the Maharaja’s ‘Gunijankhana’. JVF has been working closely with the Bhatt family to preserve the age old tradition of Jaipur. Earlier JVF had worked with late Shri Gopi Bhatt and now we are working with his son Dilip Bhatt and his organization ‘Parampara Natya Samiti, Jaipur. Tamasha called ‘Gopi Chand Bhartari’ is organized 15 days after Holi at Ambikeshwar Mahadev Temple, Amber. Like every year, in 2013 also, JVF financially supported the Tamasha performance. It was also attended by the office team. 1 BARMER REGIONS’ ARTISTS GET TOGETHER – Shiv, Barmer June 21, 2013 For the past two years, the Foundation has been organizing a Manganiyar get together in Hamira, Jaisalmer. This get together is attended by Manganiyars of Jaisalmer. Though a few Manganiyars of Barmer were invited for the get together, the Manganiyars in Jaisalmer avoid calling the Manganiyars of Barmer. Therefore, a few Manganiyars of the Barmer region got in touch with JVF and asked for a get together to be organized in Barmer for the Manganiyar artists of the Barmer Region. From March 2013, we started collecting information about the artists of the Barmer region. During this process, we decided that it was important to personally meet and witness the talent of the artists in the Barmer Region. With the help of a local organization, Dharohar Lokgeet Sansthan, Shiv, Barmer, we planned an artists’ get together of the Barmer region. It included artists from all the communities of the region. It was not limited to the Manganiyars of the region. The responsibility of organizing the venue, boarding & lodging, etc was with Dharohar Lokgeet Sansthan, Shiv. With mutual understanding, the date for the get together was decided June 21, 2013. The different artists/ communities that showcased their performances included, Manganiyar Vocal traditions, Poetry by Dhadhi Community, Pabuji ka Phad and Bheel Bhope, Morchang and its traditional way of playing, Kathaa baat with Kamaycha, Sufi singers of the area, Bhajan tradition – Manganiyar with Meghwals, Surnai Langa and their instruments, Senior Kamaycha artists of the region and the Dhol traditions of the Manganiyar community. GAALIBAAZI PERFORMANCE, Jaipur July 7, 2013 Gaalibaazi is a more than 150 years old tradition of the Jaipur city. The particular time of the year when Gaalibaazi was organized, was after Holi in March and till Dusshehra in October. Traditionally, there were many Akhadas which practiced and performed Gaalibaazi. In recent times, there are only 14 Akhadas left and out of these 14 only 4 – 5 are actively functioning in it. Originally, Gaalibaazi was organized at the main crossroads of the walled city and the program would happen only at night after 10p.m. and go on till the wee hours of the morning. Over the past few years, Gaalibaazi is being organized during daytime because of the Supreme Court order which does not allow the use of sound systems after 10p.m. Like every year, this year as well JVF agreed to support the Gaalibaazi performance. It was scheduled for July 7, 2013 and was organized in association with Gaur Vipra Bhajan Evam Lokgeet Sansthan, Jaipur. This year the program was organized at Badrinathji Temple in Amber City. Badrinathji Temple is more than 700 years old temple and belongs to the Moortikar Samaj of Jaipur. The temple committee was originally not very keen to allow the organization of the performance but since JVF had good relations with them, we were able to convince them to allow the performance to happen. The Gaalibaazi performance was between 1p.m. – 6p.m., followed by a prasadi of Daal, baati and churma for all. The performance was well accepted by the audience. 2 MOMASAR FESTIVAL October 10, 2013 Momasar is a five hundred year old village, 260kms north-west from Jaipur and 100kms from Bikaner district head quarter, in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan with a population of approx. 12,000 people belonging to different castes. Momasar is famous for its Geendar festival which happens during Holi every year. The association of JVF started in 2004 when a team from JVF, along with a few guests, visited Momasar to attend the Geendar Festival. This year the festival was to be organized in Momasar for the third consecutive year. Since the festival was growing and the village Panchayat and the village persons were more eager to support, we started planning for the festival in early April 2013. We started discussions and talks with some of old associates of JVF and started discussing about the festival. We spoke to Momasar Panchayat and Momasar festival organizing Committee as well. Since the festival is growing, and the expenses were bound to increase, we started looking for sponsors for the festival. For this purpose, we got in touch with the department of Art and Culture, Govt. of Rajasthan, Mr. Sundeep Bhutoria , (Founder Prabha Khaitan Foundation and Rajasthan Forum), Chairman of Sangeet Natak Academy, Jodhpur. A letter along with the previous year Momasar festival report and other details were sent to these prospective sponsors. A tentative festival schedule was drafted in September and shown to the prospective sponsors including Mr. Sundeep Bhutoria, ICCR, Jaipur, Sangeet Natak Academy, Jodhpur and Principal Secretary, Art and Culture, Government of Rajasthan. A positive response was received from Mr. Sundeep Bhutoria and he agreed to sponsor the festival to the amount of Rs. 2.5 lakhs under his company Shree Cement Limited. Shree Cement limited collaborated with JVF as a corporate sponsor for Momasar festival 2013. Momasar Festival, this year, was presented as Shekhawati Utsav, Momasar. A new slot was added to the regular program. We organized a Baal – Mela during the day time where we had presented the non –stage performing arts including Nat, Kachhi Ghodi, Jugglers, Jaadugar, etc. The Baal Mela was attended by approx. 3,000 children from 10 schools in Momasar and nearby villages. The Momasar festival as a whole presented more than 200 artists from all over Rajasthan. For the first time this year, Doordarshan recorded the Shekhawati Utsav and it was telecasted nationally on Doordarshan. The festival witnessed an audience of approx. 12,000 – 15,000 people. The audience included people from nearby villages. JODHPUR RIFF October 17 – 21, 2013 Jodhpur RIFF celebrates roots music from India and around the world at the Meherangarh Fort. Now in its seventh year, RIFF continues to present some of Rajasthan’s finest traditional performers alongside exceptional artists from around the globe. Among its various strands, a 3 prominent focus this year was an exceptional musician community of the region, the Manganiyar of Marwar of whom very little is known. Through featured performances across the festival and a dedicated interactive session, Jodhpur RIFF facilitated a better knowing of this community. Jodhpur RIFF also presented living legends from around the world – Manu Chao La Ventura, the Gypsy all Stars led by Cedric Leonardi, Mario Reyes & Antonia Carmona and Daud Khan Sadozai alongside exceptional young talents such as Linda Gytri, James Mackintosh, SPIRO, Rizwan – Muazzam, Jeff Lang and young DJs Jus Now and Maga Bo, among others. This year RIFF presented a different genre of music – Bhojpuri music. Kalpana Patowary, the famous singer for Bhojpuri songs presented the Legacy of Bhikhari Thakur. A few movies directed by Ms. Surabhi Sharma about the Bhojpuri travelers were also screened during the festival. This year, RIFF was visited by more than 1200 – 1500 persons. We sold donor passes worth Rs. 32.5 Lakhs approximately. This year also marked the second phase of a relationship begun last year between Jodhpur RIFF and Celtic Connections (Scotland) the largest winter folk music festival in the northern hemisphere. We also began a fresh partnership with Norway. CELTIC CONNECTIONS AND SHOWCASE SCOTLAND, Glasgow January 21 – 26, 2014 Two years back from now, in January 2012, Mr. John Singh and Mr. Divya Bhatia had attended the Celtic Connections and Showcase Scotland. This visit gave rise to a new partnership between Scotland and Jodhpur RIFF.