Pune, Dec 6 – The fifth edition of the three-day ‘Katha Yatra’, which was held from December 1 to 3 at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, was an amalgamation of a series of programmes filled with exciting activities woven around treasured stories through different art forms.
Organised by Bhaashaa Foundation, a non-profit organisation, in association with Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, ‘Navonmesh -– Celebrating Story of Rejuvenation’ was the signature concept of this year’s Katha Yatra.
The three-day event commenced with Ileana Citaristi’s Odissi performance, unfolding the story of ‘Eklavya.’
Addressing the gathering at inaugural function, Dr Sachchidanand Joshi, head of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), spoke about how writing pure language has become a problem in today’s era dominated by mobile phones and other electronic devices, altering the beauty of languages.
“In such a scenario, it is our responsibility to cultivate the love for languages in the new generation,” he added.
Shedding light upon artwork of the new Parliament building, Dr Joshi appreciated the work of the Ministry of Culture to showcase India’s rich heritage and tradition through this artwork.
On the second day, there was a session on ‘50 Years of Project Tiger’ by IFS Tushar Chavan, deputy conservator of Forest, shed light on importance of ‘Project Tiger’ and how saving tigers would save forests in the long run.
While retired Wing Commander Laxman Karnik shared his thrilling experiences of the 1971 war, Commander Parag Tiwari informed about beach security.
Commandant of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) informed audience about the construction of roads in the border and remote areas of the country.
On the third and concluding day, Dr Ravindra Borawake talked about ‘Digitisation of Ellora Caves’, followed by Dr Bharat Kelkar talked about how ‘Medicines Across Borders’ provide medical facilities in war-prone areas like Syria (2014), Yemen (2016) and Iraq (2018).
After that, Rear Admiral Ashish Kulkarni and Commodore M Dorai Babu shared unique history of sailing, sea trades, ports, docks, and shipbuilding from ancient India.
Subsequently, Mohan Shete spoke about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s foresight regarding building forts in and around water bodies. Then, Lieutenant Colonel Roshan Chavan addressed audience about the history and the achievements of the ‘Bands’ so far. The three-day festival concluded with the performance of a 200-year-old army band by the Bombay
Engineering Group.
