Patiala on culture cocktail high

A Nine-day-long festival packed with musical evenings, dance performances, fashion shows and even a cricket match. The second Patiala Herita...

A Nine-day-long festival packed with musical evenings, dance performances, fashion shows and even a cricket match. The second Patiala Heritage Festival, which was kicked off on February 14 and ended today, proved to be a big hit. With all the heritage buildings of the city lit up, the cheer in the atmosphere was hard to miss.

The festival was inaugurated at the Sheesh Mahal here by Punjab Governor Justice (retd) O.P Verma. In the evening that day, mother-daughter duo Primila and Nandita Puri presented a kathak interpretation of Patiala Garana Gayeki.

The next day saw the crafts mela being inaugurated at Sheesh Mahal where as many as 150 artisans from all over the country participated. In the evening, Jawad and Mazhar Ali Khan of Patiala gharana enthralled the audience with Punjab ang thumri. Imrat and Wajahat Khan also presented a sitar and sarod jugalbandi.

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Other artistes who descended on the city for the extravanga included Yamini Krishnamurthi, Girija Devi, Shovana Narayan, Zila Khan and Mohd Ahmed Khan Warsi.

Art lovers were also treated to an exhibition of paintings from the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. The collection of 50 art works on display included paintings by artists M.F. Hussain, M.A.R. Chugtai and Krishen Khanna.

For sports lovers, there were golf, polo and cricket matches. The match between Punjab (Pakistan) XI and Punjab (India) XI proved to be a big hit. Former Pakistani cricketers Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar shared the field with Indian veterans Mohinder Amarnath and Ajay Jadeja.

The highlight of the cultural extravaganza was the Ghulam Ali Night. The ghazal singer from Pakistan began with Gori tere naina kajre bin kare, a thumri, and then moved on to popular ghazals like chupke chupke raat din and dil mein ik lehar.

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On February 21, fashion designers like Monapali, Nandita Gupta and Kavita Bhartia showcased their lines at a fashion show produced by Harmeet Bajaj.

On February 22, the last day of the festival, the Patiala Kennel Club organised a dog show, and the polo tournament finals were held. The festival ended on a high note with Stereo Nation, Pakistani group Junoon and Gursawak Mann performing at the Bhangra dance and pop concert.