BhuFesto beckons
DATES: December 6 to 10
TIME: 2.30 pm to 7.30 pm
VENUES: Buddha Jayanti Park in Chandrasekharpur; Indira Gandhi Park and Kharavela Park in Khandagiri
VENUE THEMES
Buddha Jayanti Park– world of Panchatantra
Indira Gandhi Park — Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Kharavela Park — Arabian Nights
HIGHLIGHTS
Storytelling sessions in the sign language by Nita Gopalakrishnan; session for children with visual disabilities by Deepa Kiran
Bhubaneswar: Storytelling has always been an integral part of growing up in India. Indians grow up listening to stories passed down through generations. This not only teaches people important life lessons, but also familiarises them with India’s culture.
In a one-of-a-kind experience, .FEST is presenting the story of a lifetime through BhuFeSto – the international storytelling festival.
BhuFesto will be held from December 6 to 10 simultaneously at three locations in the city: the Buddha Jayanti Park in Chandrasekharpur, the Indira Gandhi Park and the Kharavela Park in Khandagiri from 2.30 pm to 7.30 pm.
BhuFesto will have the world’s best storytellers like Paula Martin from Argentina, Wangari Grace from Kenya, Dr Wajuppa Tossa from Thailand, Dongjoo Bang from South Korea and Sabrina Anastasia from France.
The festival is curated by the Bakul Foundation – a voluntary organisation that has been promoting storytelling in Odisha.
Speaking on BhuFeSto, BMC Commissioner and Bhubaneswar Development Authority Vice-Chairman Dr Krishan Kumar says, “Storytelling is not only a great way to learn the history of the city, but also teaches us important life lessons and builds a sense of togetherness. Bhubaneswar is also hosting the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 whose dates coincide with .FEST.”
BhuFeSto is a good occasion for people to learn more about the city through local storytellers as well as about other countries and cultures through foreign storytellers.’’
One of India’s renowned storytellers, the Indian representative at international storytelling festivals and curator of BhuFesTo, Deepa Kiran, said, “It is rare to see a government supporting a story telling initiative in India. Hence, Bhubaneswar Development Authority’s support to BhuFesTo is great. As a storyteller, I am looking forward to sharing my stories with the people of Bhubaneswar. And the exchange that I am going to have with the people is another thing I am looking forward to.”
BhuFeSto is being organised in parks that have been developed into theme parks through works of art that remind one about the world of stories.
Buddha Jayanti Park is being developed into the world of Panchatantra where one can see art works based on stories from it.
Indira Gandhi Park is being developed into the world of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Kharavela Park into the world of Arabian Nights.
The story telling sessions will be accompanied by demos of India’s storytelling traditions like the 13th century Urdu oral storytelling tradition of ‘Dastangoi’ presented by its most famous practitioner, Himanshu Bajpai, and the folk ‘Pandavani’ tradition from Chhattisgarh presented by its contemporary practitioner, Ritu Verma.
The famous Manganiyar tribe of folk musicians from Rajasthan, who have given Hindi cinema many popular songs like ‘Nimbuda Nimbuda,’ will also be performing for the first time in association with Deepa Kiran weaving together stories and songs.
One of the highlights of BhuFeSto is that it has storytelling sessions in the sign language by Nita Gopalakrishnan for people with hearing disabilities. Nita is the only specialist in this in India. There will also be a storytelling session for children with visual disabilities by Deepa Kiran.