The heritage town of Ramgarh Shekhawati in Rajasthan, known for its old havelis, forts and chhatris, hosted the annual Vedaaranya Heritage and Healing Festival (VHAH) Festival from 26 to 29 January this year.

Set amidst a historical landscape of exceptional architectural beauty, the festival, now in its eighth year, reverberated with music, dance, and live art performances. Organised by the department of tourism of the government of Rajasthan, Shruti Foundation, and the Shekhawati chapter of INTACH as part of the effort to revive this unique region, VHAH Fest 2024 was co-curated by Shruti Nada Poddar (founder, Shruti Foundation) and Mira Misra Kaushik.

Speaking about Ramgarh Shekhawati, Nada Poddar said the town, which was developed in the 19th century by wealthy Indian merchants, has more than 200 magnificent havelis, 36 cenotaphs, and 101 temples. Also known as Doosari Kashi, it has the only Veda temple in the world and once had eight centres of Sanskrit learning. Though the town shows signs of aging, it is being revived as a heritage destination and as the world capital of frescoes or wall paintings.

“Our key focus was to resurrect Ramgarh Shekhawati, which was the town with the highest per capita income in the world in the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. It was not ruled by a king but by the richest seths or merchants of that time. Unfortunately, it was left to die over the past nine decades, throwing its economic and social order into chaos and disintegration,” says Nada Poddar. The Shruti Foundation, which started the festival, is instrumental in the town’s revival.

VHAH Fest 2024 brought together great performers, artists, and heritage experts from across India and abroad. It opened with Rajasthani folk dances by Ramgarh’s talented school children. Next up was East Meets West, a jugalbandi of sitar and cello by Shubhendra Rao and Saskia De Hass with a detailed alap-jod-jhala in raga Janasammohini created by Pandit Ravi Shankar. This was followed by slow and medium tempo compositions in raga Maanjh Khamaj with excellent tabla accompaniment by Durjay Bhaumik.

Curated by Guru Geeta Chandran, Tridhara was a confluence of Kathak by Divya Goswamy, Odissi by Lipsa Mohanti, and Bharatanatyam by Radhika Kathal. The performance opened with Tulsidasa’s traditional Ganesh Stuti, Gaaiye Ganapati Jaga-vandan. The performers then launched into solos with Lipsa interpreting Shiva-Panchakam in Odissi, Divya presenting Maharaja Swathi Thirunal’s (1813 – 1846) Shankar Shri Giriraj Prabhu in Kathak, and Radhika presenting Gopal-Krishna Bharathi’s (1810-1896) interpretation of Lord Nataraja’s Ananda Tandava. At the end, all three dancers performed together to a Telugu translation of a Tagore song.

A group of traditional Mir musicians from Pugal in Bikaner, headed by Mir Basu Khan, mesmerised the audience with a spirited Sufi folk performance that included kalams of Khusro and Meerabai’s devotional songs.

The unusual live art performance had Satish Gupta painting a Nataraja on his canvas as Shruti Nada Poddar recited Shiva chants and mystic poetry with the taanpura and a local percussion instrument heightening the spiritual aura.

Iranian folk dances were presented by Melika Nemati at the inaugural dinner for delegates.

During the day, festival attendees could participate in the guided Ramgarh Shekhawati Heritage Tour, acquaint themselves with the town’s local Ayurvedic recipes, and attend yoga healing sessions.

In addition to classical and folk performances by world-renowned musicians, and presentations by domain experts, indigenous crafts persons, healers, designers, and entrepreneurs, the festival had a food and crafts mela with stalls and traditional games. There were also workshops that taught Kantha embroidery and weaving with katran or waste material. Architecture enthusiasts were treated to a lecture demonstration on heritage restoration techniques using lime (chuna) by INTACH’s Shekhawati Chapter at the Veda temple.

The evening performances included the Meera: Naatya Katha based on the life of Meera Bai by Sonal Mansingh. Enacting the role of Meera, Mansingh narrated the life journey of the Bhakti saint, sang her poetry, and presented short dance dramas by her students on the important episodes of Meerabai’s life.

And finally, Sangeeta Nerurkar’s rendition of classics by Saigal and Begum Akhtar in the courtyard of the Museum of Heritage and Art @ Ramgarh (MOHAR) haveli was a befitting conclusion to VHAH Fest 2024, a unique confluence of tangible and intangible heritage with a range of superlative cultural offerings.

Manjari Sinha is a senior music critic.