Where Heritage Meets Music and Art: Bhadra Festival and Water Heritage Series to Celebrate Ahmedabad’s Historic Spaces

Ahmedabad’s Bhadra Festival will return on November 19, 12 years after its first edition in 2014. The festival will bring together music, folk performances, theatre, storytelling and heritage exhibitions across the Bhadra Fort precinct.

It will be followed by the Water Heritage Series on November 25, featuring performances at three historic stepwells in the city.

The Artist Lineup: What Are Bhadra Festival And Water Heritage Series?

The festival, organised by Crraft Of Art with support from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), aims to bring Ahmedabad’s cultural traditions and historic spaces together through performances and exhibitions.

The festival will begin at 4 pm, with performances and activities spread across Bhadra Fort, the Premabhai Hall precinct and Bhadra Plaza, before culminating in a grand musical concert at Teen Darwaza at 7.15 pm.

The Lineup includes Nagara performances by Nathulal Solanki and his troupe, Ravanahatta by Vijanand Turi and his troupe, Sidi Dhamal by the Sidi Goma Dance Group, Mallakhamb by Maharashtra’s Incredible Mallakhamb group and Natya Sangeet by Nisarg Trivedi and his ensemble.

Ustad Shujaat Khan, meanwhile, belongs to the Imdadkhani gharana and is known for his sitar playing in the gayaki ang style, which draws on the nuances of vocal music. He is the son and disciple of Ustad Vilayat Khan.

The festival will also feature a giant puppet parade by Dadi Pudumjee’s Ishara Puppet Theatre, Dastan-e-Darwaza storytelling and the Gujarati narrative Bhadrakhyan. Exhibitions will explore Bhadra’s history and Gujarati theatre, alongside photographs of the historic precinct.

Here is the full lineup of artists and their performances:

George Brooks To Lead

The Bhadra Fort concert will feature American saxophonist and composer George Brooks, along with Ustad Fazal Qureshi on tabla.

Brooks is known for bringing jazz and Indian classical music together. He studied jazz under saxophonist Frank Foster and at the New England Conservatory before developing a deeper interest in Indian classical music. He later travelled to India and studied under vocalist Pandit Pran Nath.

His projects include Summit, formed with Zakir Hussain, Steve Smith, Kai Eckhardt and Fareed Haque, as well as Bombay Jazz and Raga Bop Trio. He has collaborated with musicians including Terry Riley, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sultan Khan and L. Subramaniam.

Brooks was also nominated for a Grammy as a soloist on John McLaughlin’s album Floating Point, nominated in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category.

Three Stepwells To Host Water Heritage Series

The Water Heritage Series, meanwhile, will use Ahmedabad’s stepwells as venues for classical music, poetry and dance.

The November 25 programme will be spread across three historic stepwells.

• Jethabhai Ni Vav (Isanpur, 6:30 am): Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Jayateerth Mevundi.
• Amrutvarshini Vav (Panchkuva, 11:00 am): Poets Soumya Joshi and Anil Chavda, along with Bharatanatyam dancer Prachi Saathi.
• Dada Harir Ni Vav (Asarwa, 7:00 am): A musical ensemble led by Fazal Qureshi, featuring sarangi player Dilshad Khan, cellist Saskia Rao, kamaicha player Dera Khan and khartal players Khete Khan and Zakir Khan. Vocalist Himali Vyas Naik will join as a special guest.

Festival Returns After 12 Years

The return of the Bhadra Festival marks a revival of an event first held in 2014. Its programme will use the historic precinct as a setting for performances, exhibitions and installations, including projection mapping on Bhadra Fort and a visual presentation inspired by Mata ni Pachedi on the Premabhai Hall façade.

Crraft Of Art And The People Behind The Festival

The festivals are conceived and curated by Crraft Of Art, founded in 2010 by Birwa Qureshi, its founder and artistic director. 

Tabla player Ustad Fazal Qureshi, who is associated with the initiative, is the son of legendary tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha and younger brother of the late Ustad Zakir Hussain. His work spans Indian classical music, jazz and Western classical collaborations. He has also performed internationally with the Sweden-based world music group Mynta.