International Ancient Arts Festival: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, in collaboration with the ‘Rays of Wisdom Society’ and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, held the 8th International Ancient Arts Festival and Symposium from 8th to 10th November,2024 at IGNCA.
This event featured an exhibition titled ‘Metaphysical, Symbolic, and Healing Themes in Visual Arts’, alongside a conference on ‘Art, Religion, and Healing’. As part of the cultural program, Dr. Reela Hota presented ‘Antar Yatra’, a dance performance exploring the journey of consciousness through yogic philosophy.
On the second day, Shrinivas Joshi delivered a vocal recital, and the final day concluded with a Kuchipudi dance performance by Smt. Yamini Reddy and her group. The eminent guests present during the course of the event included Amita Sarabhai, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture; V. Srinivas (IAS), Secretary, Government of India, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG); Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA; Dr. Reela Hota, Odissi Danseuse and Founder, Rays of Wisdom Society; Dr. Manindra Thakur, Co-convener of the conference; and Prof. Richa Kamboj, Head of Kaladarsana, IGNCA.
The ‘International Ancient Arts Conference’, organized by the Rays of Wisdom Society in collaboration with the Religion, Consciousness, and Spirituality Group (nurtured by the Foundation for Creative Social Research), gathered esteemed scholars to examine the healing potential of ancient art forms. With lectures and discussions focused on ‘Religion, Consciousness and Spirituality and its Manifestation for Personal and Social Healing’, the conference aimed to reveal how timeless principles of spirituality are expressed through art.
The conference included insightful discussions on topics such as ‘Art and Conflict Resolution’, ‘Healing in Baul Philosophy’, ‘Odissi and its Universal Principles’, ‘Drama Movement and Therapeutics’, and ‘The Aesthetics of Beauty’. Scholars also explored ‘Dealing with Unfulfilled Desires through Malay Traditional Psychotherapy’, ‘Devotional Music and Spirituality’, ‘Kundalini in Poetry’, ‘Spirituality in Indian Fine Arts’, and ‘The Elements of Spirituality in Manipuri Music’.
The impact of religious rituals as socio-cultural art forms, the metaphysics of temple architecture, and the epistemology of children’s theatre were also significant focal points. Dr. Madhu Khanna, Professor of Indic Religion and Tagore National Fellow at the National Museum in New Delhi, delivered the keynote speech. The special guest of honour at inaugural session of the conference was Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi.
