First time in Raipur for Kalam Silver Jubilee

With mythologist Devdutt Pattnaik

April 1, 2018: I came to Raipur on Good Friday from Delhi to attend the Silver Jubilee edition of Kalam Raipur marking the completion of 25 successful editions of Kalam Central. I landed at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in the afternoon and went straight for Hyatt Raipur.

With Rakhi Jain, Anindita, Kirti Kirdatt, Sangeeta Mohta, Nidhi Daga, Anjali Daga and Apara Kuchhal

This was my first visit to Raipur. The small airport in Raipur is named in the honour of Swami Vivekananda as Swami ji is said to have had his first spiritual experience this city.

With Kalpana Choudhary and Diksha Bhatt

I had a series of meetings with various NGOs and literary and cultural groups of Raipur in the evening whereby we discussed possibilities of expanding the footprint of our activities in the Chhattisgarh region. I got many feedback and suggestions to ponder upon.

Dinner hosted for me by Kanshy Memorial Society at Courtyard by Marriott, Raipur

At night, I left Hyatt Raipur and went to the Courtyard by Marriott, located few stretches away, to attend a dinner hosted by Kanshy Memorial Society, our local associate for Kalam. 

With Parivesh Mishra and Gaurav

I met some of the eminent citizens of Raipur who are linked to art, culture and academia, and have been a part of Kalam in Raipur for the past few years.

With Padma Shri Anuj Sharma and Apara Kuchhal

On Saturday (31st March) I attended the Silver Jubilee edition of Kalam Central with Guest Author Devdutt Pattnaik at the Couryard By Marriott ballroom. Devdutt is one of the most prolific authors and the most popular contemporary mythologist in the country.

With Rahul Singh

During Kalam Session

It was a very lively session of Kalam with over 150 guests from Raipur and adjoining cities. There were a number of IAS and government officials present at the session along with a host of litterateurs and cultural aficionados. 

They all sat in rapt attention lapping up every word from the mythologist par excellence. 

Devdutt Pattnaik’s perspective on the Indian and Greek mythologies and his style of narrative was much appreciated by those present.

With Teejan Bai at her house in village Ganiyari

After the Kalam session I travelled to Ganiyari village near Durg to meet the legendary Teejan Bai who is an exponent of Pandavani, a traditional art form of Chhattisgarh, in which, she, all by herself, enacts tales from the Mahabharata in her sing-song style using few local musical instruments like tambura, ektara or kartal. 

She was honoured by the Government with the Padma Shri in 1987 and Padma Bhushan in 2003. She also won the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1995. Teejan Bai went on to get international recognition and acclaim and has travelled all over the world as India’s cultural ambassador.

With Mirza Masood

Today morning I met Mirza Masood, a veteran and noted playwright, author and journalist, based out of Raipur. I shall leave for Kolkata in a short while by the evening flight.

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