JKK – The Old and The New
The fabled pink city of Jaipur beautifully is truly astonishing for its synthesis of past and future, of the material and metaphysical worlds. In a similar manner, the Jawahar Kala Kendra located in the heart of the city is double-coded: a contemporary building based on an archaic notion of the Cosmos; the very same Navgaraha mandala, with one of the squares moved aside, to beautifully reiterate the gesture that created the original plan for Jaipur.
Created in the early 90s, the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) is a multi-arts center built with the purpose of preserving Rajasthani art, craft and culture. The Centre has been made in eight blocks housing museums, an amphi-theatre and closed auditorium, library, arts display rooms, cafeteria, small hostel and art-studio. It also houses two permanent art galleries and three other galleries and hosts its own theatre festival each year.
Chief Minister of Rajasthan Smt. Vasundhara Raje recently announced a special allocation for Jawahar Kala Kendra in the Rajasthan Budget 2016-2017. Given the indifference of the previous congress government towards everything ‘art’, CM Raje was deeply concerned about the sad state of JKK. Raje’s love and understanding for art and culture is well known, so is her knack for bringing near-dead projects alive. Immediately after coming to power in December 2013, Raje started searching for the right person to resurrect the then dull Jawahar Kala Kendra. Her search ended with Pooja Sood, who is now the Director General for Jawahar Kala Kendra. Pooja Sood is a renowned Curator and Art Management Consultant. Her contribution has been in the field of curating alternative contemporary art practices in India as well as exploring different models of institution building for contemporary art.
Makeover: Level 1
The makeover started with refurbishment of some of the facilities of the Jawahar Kala Kendra for the first time since its inception in 1993. While the spirit of JKK remains the same, the various venues within the Kendra have been revamped for a greater experience, both for artists as well as the visitors. Needless to say that Jawahar Kala Kendra has been a lively cultural hub over the past two decades in the Pink City. It was on the suggestion of the famous architect Charles Correa, who had designed JKK back in the 90s, that the renovation work was undertaken.
The revamping of the JKK has involved a ‘cleaning’ of the entire building — the sandstone as well as the marble. The central platform has been redone again and is now artiste-friendly. Earlier, the roughness of the platform used to trouble the artists. To maintain the art-consistency of the place, same artists were called to redo the frescos and murals that had earlier painted them. Similarly, the very same artists have redone the paintings and the interiors of the Indian Coffee House. The Rangayan auditorium has been totally redone with new sound and light infrastructure. Even the seats have been renovated with new upholstery. Jawahar Kala Kendra has now become disabled friendly and proper ramps have been constructed. The Kendra now has free Wifi facility for all its visitors.
The infrastructure at the library is to be modernized with most of the books and resource material being digitalized. A new Children Section has been created in the library with Junior Reading Room ORR) for children between 4-12 years. 6,000 new books have been added to the library.
Infusing Life into JKK: NavaRas
Starting anew may have been a rough task, but Jawahar Kala Kendra is set to be bubbling with energy again. Jawahar Kala Kendra is delighted to open its refurbished theatre facilities with an invocation to a fresh, aesthetic mood with a performing arts festival – Navaras. Navaras, in Sanskrit aesthetics, alludes to the nine emotions that can transport audiences to states of aesthetic rapture. Viewed differently, Navaras also signifies a new rasa, a fresh aesthetic mood or flavour, for the word nava signifies both the number nine and the word ‘new’. This week long celebration of art shall present a rich and diverse bouquet of offerings of theatre, contemporary dance, classical, sufi and fusion music to the spectators. The program shall start from the 15th of March and continue till 22nd of March. The event has been curated in a manner that it offers performances for every kind of taste, ranging from classical to contemporary fusion. Furthermore, there will be early morning performances as well as late evening performances —giving an option to the visitors for their convenient time to attend the event.
The Highlights of Navras, JKK:
- Architectural Walk: Jawahar Kala Kendra is not just a building, but breathing art in all its forms. Designed and built by Charles Correa, the building stands as a contemporary architectural symbol of the Pink City and its rich heritage. What better way to start with ‘Navaras’ than by introducing the audience to the beauty and uniqueness of Jawahar Kala Kendra like never before. A specially curated walk that shall throw light on magnificent architectural design of JKK shall be the kickstarter on the 15th, to be repeated on 20th and 21st
- The Manganiyar Seduction: From the obscure villages of Western Rajasthan, comes a musical tradition that is a centuries-old amalgamation of melodies from everywhere between Persia and Punjab. The music of Manganiyars, the Muslim court musicians is said to heal souls. Conceived by Roysten Abel, this spectacular 80-minute theatrical presentation shall create magic in music. Join the crowd on 15th March to witness ‘The Manganiyar Seduction’ directed by Roysten Abel at 7 PM at Madhyavarti.
- ‘Sharira’ Dance Performance: Sharira is universally seen as one of the most impressive examples of the work of unique choreographer and women’s rights campaigner Chandralekha. Educated in the classical dance tradition, she quickly freed dance from its religious context and broke through the strict boundaries between different styles, yoga and the martial arts. Central to her work is the creative, sensual power of the female body. Sharira is about the profound and invisible female energies that can activate our outer and inner selves. You can experience the force yourself on 16 March, with live music by the Gundecha brothers in Rangayan at 7 pm.
- Dhruv Sangari & Rooh Sufi Ensemble: Dhruv Sangari (also known as Bilal Chishty) has been performing professionally since 2001 with his Sufi music troupe ‘Rooh’. His repertoire includes Persio- Arabic poetry, Punjabi-Hindvi Sufi poetry and Urdu Poetry from the works of famed poets and saints such as Hazrat Amir Khusrau, Sant Kabir, Baba Farid RA, Hzt. Shah Hussain, Baba Bulleshah, Meerabai and more. Immerse in the piety of sufi music on the 17th of March at 7 PM at the Madhyavarti, JKK.
- MeiDhwani – Echoes of the Body: In an unravelling spiral Attakkalari’s new contemporary dance production, portrays individuals who are captives of circumstance and history. Derived from Tamil and Sanskrit (Mei meaning body and Dhwani meaning echo or suggestion) the title subtly alludes to ‘Echoes of the Body’. Capturing fragility and turmoil through movement, MeiDhwani creates magic! See for yourself – 18th March, 7 PM, Madhyavati
- Morning Ragas at JKK: A new feature on the JKK calendar is morning programme. On 19th March, Pandit Harish Tiwari at the JKK lawns at 7.30 AM will perform morning raga. On 20th March, there will be a classical performance on Sitar by Pandit Kushal as at 7.30 am at JKK Lawns. Imaginative artists know how to carry a tradition along with them. With his mellifluous voice, Harish Tiwari is one of those who totally immerse himself in the enchantment of ‘Swara’.
- Maati Baani: Maatibaani is a World Music band combining elements of Hindustani Classical with various styles of Folk music and New age sounds. No rules, no boundaries, they simply create the sound that we love to hear with different styles of music. Fusion lover? This is not-to-be-missed at 8.30 PM at Madhyavarti on March 19th.
The last days of the festival will be dedicated to theatre with Mohit Takalkar’s Hindi-Urdu play ‘Main Hoon Yusuf Aur Yai Hai Mera Bhai’ being performed on 21 March at 7 pm at Rangayan. On 22 March will be staged William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ in Manipuri language at 7 pm at Rangayan. On 20 March, visitors will get to witness ‘Nagamandala’ by Neelam Mansingh at Rangayan at 7 pm. Hindi play ‘Barrister Parvateesham’ by Shiva Prasad will be performed on Saturday, 19 March at 6.30 PM at Rangayan.
While the performances at Madhyavarti will be priced at Rs. 30, the ones in Rangayan will be priced at Rs. 100 per person. If you are an art/culture/music lover, you know where to be this week!
