Millennium City to go traditional for 3-day revelry

GURGAON: It’s time again for Gurgaonites’ annual date with tradition. The third Gurgaon Utsav — to be held from November 14 to 16 at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park — will feature acts in dance, drama and music.
The Utsav is presented by Gurgaon’s Arts and Literature Foundation, in association with the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon and the Department of Cultural Affairs (Government of Haryana).
Uma Prakash, of the Arts and Literature Foundation, says this annual get-together is an answer to the wishes of Gurgaon residents for regular cultural distractions. “Gurgaonites seek cultural activities in their own city, rather than face long hours of commuting. The Department of Culture supported the Gurgaon Utsav as it sees it as fulfilling a need of the people of Gurgaon.” And what better place to connect with tradition than the outdoors, amid the oasis-like calm and verdancy of the Aravalli Biodiversity Park?
Manjari Chaturvedi, noted Sufi-Kathak dancer, will be performing on day one, accompanied by qawwals from Awadh and manganiars from Rajasthan, in what promises to be a spirit-lifting start to this year’s Utsav. On day two, Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain, a couple of mesmeric dastango, will, in the great custom of storytelling, spin yarns of yore. Farooqui and Husain will present the traditional (and comical) ‘Dastaan-e-Mehtaab’, alongside reciting parts of ‘Mantoiyat’, the life-story of the legendary Saadat Hasan Manto. Susmit Sen, guitarist and founder-member of fusion rockers Indian Ocean, will bring the Utsav to a close, when he and his new outfit, the Susmit Sen Chronicles, perform original compositions from their latest album, ‘Ocean To Ocean’.
The venue, the amphitheatre at the sprawling Aravalli Biodiversity Park, on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, is walking distance from the Guru Dronacharya Metro station. Admission is free — passes can be collected from Binge Bakery (Qutab Plaza) and Music Station (Galleria) in Gurgaon, and from Full Circle Bookshop in Delhi (Greater Kailash 1, Khan Market and Nizamuddin East outlets).
So if you’re looking for a mystical experience, seek to get a taste of how men told tales all those centuries ago, or want to hear a guitar maestro strut his stuff, then make your way to the Gurgaon Utsav this coming weekend. Soul-stirring performances are guaranteed.