Pune, new & improved?

An arts and culture reporter moves to Pune a few years ago. While her first year is spent covering the Sawai Gandharva music festival, Nritya Ganga dance recitals, and art shows of watercolour seascapes, the next couple of years are overshadowed by Sufi music festivals, rock and pop gigs, contemporary and ballroom style dance events, art installations, and experimental theatre.

This seemingly sudden shift in the cultural scene of the city is now visible, in everyday life. Pune’s cultural fabric is now adding a variety of new weaves to break away from the typecast image of the city- pensioner’s paradise or an IT hub. And that has resulted in a surge of the number of genres in the various arts- rock music, belly dancing, contemporary art, and the latest entrant, stand-up comedy.

Sample this: a Bryan Adams concert, a Sean Kingston gig, a few art installations and video art exhibitions in the past one year, theatre plays like Move Over, All Thieves, and a constant rise in the number of students queuing up to learn dance styles like Merengue and Bachata.

Leading ballroom choreographer Sandeep Soparrkar says, “I have seen Pune change so much in the past few years. When I started, there were too few students, but now, we sometimes have to reject admissions.”

Aditi Mittal, a stand-up comic who studied in Pune, recalls, “When I was in school, we saw a very interesting play. And I thought to myself- this should happen more often. I am very happy to see it happening now.”

The St Mary’s School alumnus feels that the city is becoming more adventurous, for the current generation likes ‘spending more time outdoors’. “In the past two months, I have performed in the city five times,” she adds.

The change is evident even in the classical music scene. The hitherto purist classical approach is now making way for a fusion to attract more audiences. Young classical singer Rahul Deshpande, the brain behind the Vasantotsav music festival says, “Five years back I started this fest with a vision to bring all kinds of music under one roof. In the first year we had Ghulam Ali (ghazal), Abida Parveen (sufi), Kishori Amonkar (Hindustani classical), L Subramaniam (Carnatic) and Zakir Husain (contemporary) on the same stage. It was interesting to see many people who had come to listen to Kishoritai and hear Ghulam Ali for the first time.”

Much like the skyline of the city, the cultural ground too is evolving. The arts community is welcoming it with both hands. “It’s good to see the young generation interested in art, not just to buy it, but also to understand it,” says artist Raju Sutar, who has been trying to bring in contemporary elements into the Pune Art scene. The happy news however, is the fine balance that the city is striking with the new and old. Soparrkar cites an example. “During Ganpati, my students in Pune ask me to give them off days to celebrate the festival, while in Mumbai they look at it as a holiday,” says the choreographer adding that he hopes that this doesn’t change.