Grab, push, maul, scream...welcome to Pune festival
- newindpress.com
Chaos personified. And if it needed any demonstration, it happened at the Pune Festival's inaugural function on Friday evening (24th). For the hundreds who were willing to grab, push, pull, scream, maul their way inside the venue Shree Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch, there were few parallel experiences in history. Absolute chaos reigned at the Rangmanch, the VVIP entry notwithstanding, where even women in designer shimmer got down to wrangles, flaunting their clout, just to get past a rough security. Where even members of the festival's organising committee had to shout hoarse to shove through the crowds, a harassed pediatrician and wife of industrialist Arun Firodia, Jayashree, was seen desperately managing to keep her composure.
Surely this must have not been what was promised to the Cuban Ambassador, who along with a bewildered family, had a very unceremonious welcome into the much marketed "the festival" of Pune. Scenes at the "lesser gates" were reduced to near stampedes.
Obviously both organisers and security - police and private - were not prepared for this.
But then "Aishwarya Rai aa rahi hain," they said. The actress was chief guest for the function which had also invited festival representatives of Spain, Austria and Cuba, festival regular actress Rati Agnihotri, actors Ajinkya Deo and Salil Ankola and host of others. Few got to other details apart from the silver screen's Ice Maiden. The mess was evident as a nervous Ahaana Deol, Hema Malini's younger daughter gave a Odissi recital as a part of Ganpati vandana.
Rai later formally inaugurated the function with the lighting of the traditional lamp and with an ‘aarti’ of Ganpati. Yes, incidentally this is all in honour and celebration of the Ganeshotsav. The festival is a four-day affair, with cultural performances.
