Indian Culture Takes Center Stage at G20 Summit with ‘Bharat Vadya Darshanam’

A range of instrumental music performances that showcase the Indian culture will be presented for the global leaders coming to attend the G20 summit. The performances will take place at Bharat Mandapam complex in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan on the occasion of a dinner that will be hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on September 9.

‘Bharat Vadya Darshanam’ is a fusion of different musical styles that prevail within Bharat and is organized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi under the Ministry of Culture. During the dinner program, about 78 instrumentalists from all over the country will perform together before the world leaders for three hours between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Dr. Sandhya Purecha, said that the program will witness compositions in Vilambit Laya (slow tempo) followed by Madhya Laya (medium fast tempo) and with few scores in Druta Laya (Fast tempo).

Some of the most ancient Vedic musical instruments, tribal instruments, and folk instruments besides classical musical instruments will be presented in an attempt to create a beautiful landscape, Dr. Purecha was quoted as saying. She also added that the participating musicians come from different regions of India and will therefore play an array of traditional instruments in their traditional attire.

The participants had reached the national capital on August 31 and have been practicing since then for their performance at the global summit. String instruments, instruments with membranes, wind instruments, and metal instruments will be performed one after the other in different groups.

Many rare instruments such as Surbahar, Jaltarang, Naltarang, Vichitra Veena, Rudra Veena, Saraswati Veena, Dhangli, Sundri, Bhapang, and Dilruba will also be featured during the presentation. Dr. Purecha said that the musical program will be the only cultural program at the G20 Summit.

All the artists will play the ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ song at the end of the performance, which is also the theme of G20. The artists will be concluding the program with a musical performance on the song “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara.” No Bollywood songs will be presented at the event, and only classical and folk songs will be performed in front of the foreign dignitaries.

As per an NDTV report, from Rabindranath Tagore’s popular song Ekla Chalo Re to performances by Rajasthani folk artists will take the forefront at the musical evening. Apart from that, music from Gujarat and Southern India will also find a place at the event. Some of the major genres that will be presented are Hindustani, Carnatic, folk, and contemporary music.

Tight Security for the G20 Summit

The New Delhi area, which houses the G20 Summit venue and hotels where delegates will be staying, will be put under tight security from Friday morning. Officials have said that there will be a slew of traffic restrictions in place. As the New Delhi district will be considered as Controlled Zone-I, the movement of vehicles will be regulated from 5 am on Friday till 11.59 pm on Sunday in view of the summit.

However, the police have said that the movement of ambulances will be allowed, and local residents of the area and tourists accommodated there will be permitted to move after presenting proper identification papers.

According to officials, police will also be maintaining a hawk-eye vigil during the summit, with the assistance of over 50,000 personnel, K9 dog squads, and mounted police. Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) SS Yadav had said that India Gate and Kartavya Path have been “designated in the controlled zone” and thereby the Delhi Police has appealed to people not to visit the area for “walking, cycling or picnicking” during Summit days.

Nearly 16 roads and junctions will be treated as “Controlled Zone II” from 12 noon till 2 pm on Sunday. The Controlled Zone II roads and junctions include W-Point, A-Point, DDU Marg, Vikas Marg (till Noida Link Road-Pusta Road), Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Delhi Gate, etc.

In an advisory released by the Delhi Traffic Police, a list of restrictions on the movement of goods vehicles, buses, auto-rickshaws, and taxis has urged people to make maximum use of metro services in view of regulated movement of traffic.

(with inputs from PTI)