This upcoming cultural fest by SRMFACS in Bengaluru brings various classical dances and music forms under one roof

Sri Sri Radha Madhava Classical Fine Arts Cultural Society (SRMFACS) presents the 2nd edition of Shri Radha Ashtami Fine Arts Cultural Festival, this coming week. The festival is a homage to the sacred appearance day of Radha Devi, promising an evening steeped in spiritual and cultural enrichment. The audience can expect dance forms like bharatanatyam, kathak, kuchipudi and yakshagana along with soul-stirring devotional music with both carnatic and hindustani presentations and inspiring harikathas and Bhagavad Gita recitations. Some of the highlights of the festival includes a special bharatanatyam performance by Rukmini Vijayakumar and a kathak performance by Amita Mathur, a senior artiste from Pune. The SRMFACS was founded by Ashish Kumar and we get chatty with him to know more about this increasingly popular festival.

Tell us about the festival and how the idea came into being?

The festival is a reflection of my deep-seated commitment to celebrating significant spiritual occasions through the timeless beauty of classical arts. Despite being settled in the US for the past two decades, I have remained deeply connected to the spirituality, culture, traditions and values of India, personally practicing them for a long time. I felt a strong need to communicate and share this spiritual wisdom with the broader community and I realised that the medium of arts especially classical dance, music and harikatha is the most effective way to achieve this. We have assembled a diverse lineup of performances that embody the essence of devotion and artistry.

How is this edition different from the previous one?

The second edition of the Shri Radha Ashtami Festival represents a significant expansion and evolution from our inaugural event, bringing more diverse experience to both performers and audiences alike. In 2022, during the post-lockdown period, we organised our first edition in Chennai. Given the prevailing circumstances and safety considerations at the time, the event was limited to a one-day festival with a more constrained lineup of performances, primarily featuring local artistes from Chennai. This year, for our second edition, we have been fortunate to expand the festival to a comprehensive three-day event.

Do you plan on adding art forms in the upcoming editions?

We are always looking to expand and enrich the festival by incorporating more forms of music and dance in future editions. Our primary goal is to create a platform that celebrates the vast diversity of Indian classical arts. We are also interested in showcasing regional folk traditions that have strong classical roots. These forms often carry unique regional flavours while staying true to the foundational principles of Indian classical arts.

Entry free. September 11 and 12, 9 am to 9 pm and September 13, 9 am to 1 pm. At Seva Sadan, Malleshwaram.

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