Ritanjali Hastir, Keekli Reporter, 28th May, 2015, Shimla
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated the Shimla Art Festival at Gaiety Theatre here today as this three days long festival will showcase the talent of neighboring fine art colleges of north India and their students who will exhibit their art work. Twenty artists from Shimla City will be depicting the glory of Shimla via their art work. Most attractive part of the Shimla Art Festival would be a live 3D painting on the Mall and Ridge and live portrait making and calligraphy art performances by 10 artists.
Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the state government was mulling to start fine arts classes in government senior secondary schools at district headquarters besides few colleges thereafter to promote fine arts. He said that the government had announced a College of Fine Arts in the state which would be opened soon. He said that as per ‘Guru Shishya’ traditions many artists were being involved in reviving Kangra School of paintings to straightening and reviving the dying art. He said that Himachal was a treasure house of traditional art, scriptures and paintings which include the famous Kangra miniature paintings and during the erstwhile era of princely states various forms of arts including the Pahari and Guler school of paintings flourished in the State. “We need to revive the traditional form of art and in order to achieve this purpose we are going to open a Fine Arts College” he said.
The Minister also said music and art forms had a long hand-in-glove relations and combination of two can create miracles. The Gaiety Theatre which was renovated was proving handy in promoting various forms of arts besides customs and culture of the state. He said that the government was making serious efforts to renovate all the ancient buildings in the state and to re-construct them in its ancient architect. Time was not far when various art forms would flourish in Shimla and the government would unconditionally support the efforts of various organizations coming forward for the purpose. He also honoured the reputed artists, including National awardees who participated in the Art Fest.
The Chief Minister also evinced keen interest in art and paint exhibition set up by Department of Visual Arts HPU, College of Fine Arts, New Delhi, Khayati Art, Rajkot, College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, Punjab, Kangra Miniature Paintings. A colourful cultural presentation was also presented on the occasion by the Children of Sacred Heart and Loreto Convent. Whereas at the same time Prof. Him Chatterji, a professor of Visual and Fine Arts in HP University painted a beautiful painting on the spot.
While sharing his views, Chatterji said that Shimla has attracted many artists to picture and portray the solitude of mountains and the rattling rivers. Even Rudyard Kipling was taken away by the beauty of Shimla hills. To add few, Amrita Shergill, Shobha Singh, Satish Gujral, Krishan Khanna, were the famous artists who poured their ideas on the canvass and taught fine arts. He urged for making Shimla Arts Festival a routine affair every year and to start fine arts subject in colleges of the state.
During the art festival, six national reputed artists from six different states will be painting in public. Which includes – K.K. Gandhi’s (Jammu) demonstration on a big canvas at Ridge; Professor S.N. Lehri, a well know artist and principal of College of Fine Arts, Delhi; Ram Viranjan Artist from Hariyana and Chairman Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra University; Chandrakant Prajapati from Surat, Gujrat; Baldev Gambhir from Amritsar and Dr. Anand Sharma from Chandigarh, College of Fine Arts all are going to paint in the multipurpose hall at Gaiety.[mudslide:picasa,0,[email protected],6154124817486186321]
