Marred by controversy, the three-day World Culture Festival of Art of Living (AoL) concluded on Sunday evening in the presence of political heavyweights like Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, BJP p
Marred by controversy, the three-day World Culture Festival of Art of Living (AoL) concluded on Sunday evening in the presence of political heavyweights like Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, BJP president Amit Shah, former Union home minister L.K. Advani, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal even as the foundation’s chief Sri Sri Ravi Shankar urged the political parties “to not politicise events having a bearing on the country’s reputation” suggesting at the same time that “the media has been harsh in its criticism” of the event organised on the Yamuna floodplains.
The foundation had managed to get last minute permission on Friday from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which reprimanded the organisers of the event, which saw performances by several foreign dignitaries, for violating several environmental norms. The green court had levied a fine of '5 crore on the AoL, which they later clarified to be deposited within three weeks. Prior to the event, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, on a defiant note, had told a news channel that “he would go to jail rather paying the fine,” on which the tribunal had expressed its disappointment. Among the foreign dignitaries in attendance at the event were Bangladesh state minister for youth & sports Biren Sikder and Paraguay justice minister Carla Bacigalupo. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Venkiah Naidu also attended the concluding session. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu said fusion of various cultures rather than a monolithic societal set-up will make India a far greater civilization and people should learn from the nature which enriches lives through its biodiversity.
Minister of state for power Piyush Goel said the gathering of people from “over 160 countries” under one roof in India proves that high ideals and humanity transcend boundaries.
Mr Goel added: “Politics over minority issues, whether religious or otherwise, creates ghetto psychology and generates distress in a community.”
The spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar claimed that his foundation has already received invitation from Australia, Mexico and other nations for holding the next edition of the event. He also said that his organization would do everything for the rejuvenation of the Yamuna.
At the venue, the world’s largest celebration of cultural and spiritual integration ended with lakhs of people singing the “Vande Mataram” in one voice.
The festival, which was a musical and cultural ode to the spirit of humanity, teamwork and the diverse traditions had over the last three days, hosted meaningful discourses on faith, peace, co-existence and collaboration.
One of the highlights of the concluding day was ‘Cosmic Rhythm’, where over 4600 artists presented a performance comprising 30 dance forms, followed by a soulful rendition of Rabindra Sangeet by 1, 000 singers. The traditional colors of India were showcased in the form of folk performances from Assam (Bihu), Rajasthan (Ghoomar) and Andhra Pradesh (Kuchipudi) among others. The international performances were led by Pakistani Sufi dancers, expressing the desire of unification with the almighty; and the Tango dance by Argentinian performers.
Minister of state V K Singh and former Prime Minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik spoke on engendering values of leadership and suggested ways to become one. While Mr Singh asked people to practice “cautious honesty” and a good communicator to achieve one’s goals, Mr Bondevik said a leader is a servant who makes the final decision but is not arrogant but amiable.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar urged the political parties to keep their politics aside when such mega events are held. He said: “We need a certain maturity. I don’t mind but I request all political parties. Whenever such a grand event is being organised, party politics should be kept aside.”
The spiritual leader added: “You should come together so that India’s prestige on the world stage rises. It is not easy to organize an event of this magnitude.... It is a major thing... So that people from across the world can feel connected.”
He added: “We had consulted a couple of environmentalists before the event and they had said there would be no damage to the flood plains if this event was held. Further, we will also consult some environmentalists and work on rejuvenation of Yamuna with a concrete plan of action for Yamuna.”
He said they had initially thought of holding the event in a stadium, but then the idea had to be dropped because of the magnitude of the programme. “Any stadium would not have been able to accommodate these many artists and people,” he said.
