It’s that time of the year when individuals appear forward to some of the largest music and art festivals the nation has to supply. However, as the globe continues to go via extraordinary occasions and embrace a new regular amid the pandemic, organisers of a lot of such annual extravaganzas have had to tweak their formats a bit or, worse, even cancel them.
The considerably-awaited Sunburn Goa 2020 festival, for instance, which was supposed to take spot in Vagator from December 27 to 29 this year, now stands cancelled. Perfect Live, the organiser of the well-known electronic dance music (EDM) festival, took to social media not too long ago to announce the choice. “In consultation with the authorities, we have decided to reschedule the Sunburn Goa 2020, originally planned for the dates 27, 28 & 29 December in Vagator, Goa,” it stated in an official statement. The enterprise, having said that, hopes to be capable to announce new dates for the festival as “we will hopefully continue to see an improvement in the COVID-19 numbers & overall situation…”
Ziro Music Festival, held in the picturesque north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and identified for showcasing the country’s independent music scene, will also not come about in 2020, as per the organisers. The very same goes for India Art Fair, which is not taking spot subsequent year. The dates for Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), stated to be the world’s biggest totally free literary festival, also stay uncertain as of now.
While all the above festivals had to bite the dust, some other people have managed to remain afloat by going digital. Here’s a rundown of some of the upcoming festivals along with highlights and modifications, if any, that they are going to witness this time around…
Jodhpur RIFF
Rajasthan International Folk Festival (Jodhpur RIFF, or Jodhpur folk festival) is an annual pilgrimage for folk lovers. It is organised in and about Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and is timed to match the brightest complete moon evening of the year: Sharad Purnima.
Started in 2007, the festival has been offering an open stage to hundreds of acclaimed folk artists and musicians from India and abroad just about every year. While Jodhpur RIFF could not be held this year due to coronavirus, there’s some fantastic news in shop. The organisers have now shared the dates for subsequent year’s edition exclusively with The Spuzz on Sunday: October 19 to 24, 2021. “Due to the continuing pandemic, increase in cases and the resulting restrictions placed by the government on audience numbers, quarantine rules, closing borders to non-essential travel, etc, Jodhpur RIFF could not take place in late October this year, as was previously indicated,” stated Divya Bhatia, the festival director. “We are, however, in the midst of exploring the possibility of a new project-Jodhpur RIFF’s ‘Season of Music’ in Jodhpur sometime later this year or early next year. Season of Music will comprise some spectacular performances with a live audience, some interactive events, performances for online viewing and some streamed live from the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort,” added Bhatia.
While the nature and extent of every element in the season will be dependent on the actual regulations at the time of the occasion, the organisers will post extra facts as concepts create later this year on their web site (jodhpurriff.org), Facebook and Instagram pages, with each other with specifics on how to register and procure tickets.
Bacardi NH7 Weekender
The 11th edition of the ‘happiest music festival’ will have the usual joyful performances and parties, but this time, you need to have not leave property for it. Yes, Bacardi NH7 Weekender is going virtual for the very first time ever in its more than-a-decade-extended existence. The festival will be hosted practically in between December 5 and 6, and streamed on a platform designed by on line ticketing platform Paytm Insider.
Since 2010, Bacardi NH7 Weekender has delivered some exceptional reside performances-from the mesmerising Maganiyar Seduction and metal giants like Meshuggah and Megadeth to memorable festival closing acts like Asian Dub Foundation, MUTEMATH, The Raghu Dixit Project and Indian Ocean.
This year, about 24 artistes (final year, it was 60) will carry out on 3 virtual stages: Bacardi Stage, The Doers Club and Breezer Vivid Stage. The lineup incorporates names like Raja Kumari, Vidya Vox, Prateek Kuhad and Shruti Haasan (featuring Murthovic and Karan Parikh). The truncated version of the festival will also function virtual parties throughout the stream and participants will be capable to play games, click photographs and join reside parties with the artistes.
Hornbill Festival
After some initial confusion, the Nagaland government has now announced that the well-known Hornbill Festival will be held in a virtual avatar this year owing to the pandemic. “The department of tourism has informed that the government of Nagaland has decided to celebrate the Hornbill Festival 2020 in a completely virtual mode only through various audio-visual media channels and social media platforms. The content for the same will be sourced from government archives,” stated an official statement released by the government earlier in November.
Hornbill Festival ordinarily requires spot in between December 1 and 10 just about every year in the state capital Kohima. Started in 2000, it is ordinarily held in Kisama, a Naga heritage village situated about 10 km from Kohima. It capabilities a selection of cultural performances, style shows, music bands and sporting events, amongst other people. The music festival and rock contest are these days held in nearby Dimapur. This year, having said that, the scene would be fully unique, as every little thing would be enjoyed only on mobile screens.
Last year, a total of 2,82,811 guests attended, like 55,584 domestic vacationers and 3,015 foreign ones, as per reports. The aim of the festival is to revive and shield the wealthy culture of Nagaland.
Mystic India Festival
Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) is all set to organise the very first ever Mystic India Festival in Delhi some time in February subsequent year. Over two days, the festival will attract a number of mythologists, authors, researchers, well-known regional and folk singers from north and south India, Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan. The festival will also see celebrity writers in the broad traditions of ancient Indian writing attending it.
“The KLF has identified several destinations in India and around the world to hold Mystic India and Mystic World Festivals from 2020 onwards with an objective to develop insights into current problems and explore our collaborative power to solve them through global spiritual engagement,” stated Rashmi Ranjan Parida, founder and director, Kalinga Literary Festival and Mystic Kalinga Festival.
Mystic India Festival is an offshoot of Mystic Kalinga Festival, which had its fourth edition earlier this year. Held in Bhubaneswar just about every year, it is regarded a single of the largest events on mysticism, storytelling, the Puranas, music, classical and folk dance, and spiritual literature. The subsequent edition will take spot in December 2021.
SA Virtual
Even even though the physical edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival stands postponed, thanks to the virus, the Serendipity Arts Foundation is all set to host ‘SA Virtual’ from December 4 to 21. The on line occasion will function curated projects, performances, workshops, talks, engagement-primarily based initiatives and discourse about the arts. Some of the curators whose projects will function as component of SA Virtual are Amitesh Grover, Anmol Vellani, Anuja Ghosalkar and Kai Tuchmann, Kristine Michael and Chandrika Grover Ralleigh, Lina Vincent and artistic collaborator Akshay Mahajan, Mandeep Raikhy, Veeranganakumari Solanki and Siddhant Shah, amongst other people.
Explaining the notion behind SA Virtual, Sunil Kant Munjal, founder patron, Serendipity Arts Foundation, says, “Historically, the arts have survived perilous times and emerged stronger because of an innate ability to adapt, acclimatise and evolve. Over the last few months, the internet surge has catalysed this evolution.”
Smriti Rajgarhia, director, Serendipity Arts Foundation, adds, “As a foundation, we believe in the power of innovation and creativity. The pandemic has given us the opportunity to find new avenues and formats for the arts, and an effective way to create greater impact through the power of the internet, reaching out to new audiences while expanding conversations about and around the arts.” For extra facts, a single can pay a visit to www.seredipityart.org or comply with their Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts.
(Kunal Doley is a freelancer.)