Second edition of Serendipity Arts Festival begins

All roads beginning today lead to Panaji as the second edition of the Serendipity Arts festival transforms the Goan capital into a public art space.

As the curtains went up on the arts festival, the Adil Shah Palace became a melting pot of multiple art forms for the vernissage here last evening.From Orijit Sen's graphical installation of the bustling Mapusa market of Goa, to Arati Kumar Rao's moving depiction of the manual scavengers, the exhibited works address contemporary issues like pollution, GST, demonetisation -- while satiating an art lover's imagination.

Navtej Singh's photographs look at India's coastal regions with a novel eye, as he glorifies the fury of the sea in a multitude of colours.Meanwhile, walking into Dayanita Singh's 'Pocket Museum' will tell you stories -- 'of little ladies', 'of men and gorgeous women' and also 'of the Godrej', yes, the refrigerators.A brainchild of Sunil Munjal, the uniqueness of the festival lies in the fact that it does not focus on a single art form, but brings together seven of them.

Curating these state-of-the-art projects are renowned personalities like Manjari Nirula (craft), Shubha Mudgal (music), Lillete Dubey (theatre), Sanjeev Bhargava (dance) and Manu Chandra (food) among many others.Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who inaugurated the festival yesterday, said it had helped bring the Goan tourist season to the forefront, by galvanising the multi-faceted culture of the state.

"This is the first ever Performing Arts festival to be held here. The momentum it has gathered is unlike any other form that has ever been witnessed. I am truly humbled with the line-up of artists from International and Indian genres, and I am happy to welcome all of them with much delight," Parrikar said."

The festival will be hosted across 11 venues which are a mix of indoor and outdoor locations - Adil Shah Palace, Captain of the Port Jetty, Bento Miguel, PWD Complex, Children's Park, Old GMC Complex, ESG, Kala Academy, DB Ground, Mandovi Promenade and Santa Monica Jetty.For the convenience of visitors, the venues have been connected for surface transportation to ensure maximum accessibility.The festival will come to a close on December 22.