The war-cry hit deafening decibels last week. We were wondering what was wrong with the country. Thankfully, amidst this din, some people were singing songs of peace and love too. Artists Unite is an artists collective based out of Delhi. They held a cultural event over the weekend at Red Fort and when we attended last evening, it was heartening to see posters with slogans like “Make Chai Not War”. Needless to say, we are fans of the event.
The lawns outside Lal Qila made the venue very symbolic and an anti-establishment feel to the proceedings. In fact the beautifully lit Fort made a dreamy setting for a music event. There were paintings and installations on the theme of peace and acceptance on the ground.
A host of artists – young talents as well as stars performed for the last two days. When we reached, Aditi Mangaldas and her troupe were in the midst of a mesmerizing Kathak performance. The dancers had their faces veiled as a mark of protest. Aditi in fact interspersed the piece with few lines on peace and acceptance. We are always humbled as to how, every time we see her, Aditi manages to take an Indian classical dance form to a total global ballet feel.
We also heard Sonam Kalra who sang Sufi numbers. Kudos to her spirit – she defied the organizers and sang that last Bulleh Shah poetry she thought was apt for the occasion.
Shubha Mudgal was among the last performers for the evening and she captivated the crowd through her strong voice renditions about break barriers based on caste, creed, and gender. No electronic instrument on stage, she was accompanied by only table and harmonium. It was here the maestro sing with such minimal support.
But the event was not really about the performances. It was the cause and the spirit. The diverse audience included regular art enthusiasts as well as visitors who had got interested and walked in. Visibly it was students who dominated the gathering. But then there were people from all walks of life here. There was no chair in front of the stage. Everybody stood patiently while the artists did their thing. Some would occasionally walk down to the food area to refuel and then come back to the show. And we loved the show – the show of unity, of peace, or breaking stereotypes and barriers.
Kudos to Artists Unite; we at Delhi-Fun-Dos stand with you.
To watch the videos and more posts about this event check out our Instagram channel.
Well, I don’t think anyone wants war. People just don’t want the proxy war which also kills our army men and even civilians to stop but it takes a high level of maturity to grasp that. But yes, any artistic event is always welcome.
This sounds like a great event. War is never a good thing. My husband has had to participate in one, and he wasn’t a fan. I wish everyone could just get along.
Wow that was a great event for peace… I heard about this event through a friend… It’s always Good to practice to get into good deeds 😊👍🏼
what a great cause this is! this somehow reminds me of Live AIDS. I wish they would do more of this here!
What a great way to protest in a positive way. I have always hated wars as nothing is good about them.
What a great cause! i wish we had less war in the world, but it’s nice that we can have events like this to celebrate peace.
After looking at the situation I don’t think there will be a war. I loved that they are protesting in a peaceful way.
What an amazing sounding event and a wonderful way to unite people together against hatred and war! I love it.
Good to see such events are being held at least that will enlighten people to unite together. I will never say yes to war. People just don’t have an idea of what it is. The fight is against terrorism and not the innocent civilians and we don’t wanna lose all the armies. No army family deserves it every time.
So beautiful. I’m glad I could take part in it, even if only by reading your words about it. It sounds really nice and the cause is a noble one as well.
Great to learn about the Indian culture here, thanks for including some video clips for us to watch and listen to the arts performed. Really interesting.