Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival

Launched in 2010, the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival is an annual event centred around a handicrafts exhibition and sale showcasing products made by artisans from across the country. The festival, which spans five days in the first week of February, also features talks, workshops, walking tours, book launches, exhibitions, film screenings and cultural performances.

Each year, the festival organised by the Sanatkada Trust, has a different theme that explores a specific aspect of Lucknow and defines its visual aesthetics and performances. These have included ‘Feminists of Awadh’ (2014), which spotlighted female icons from Lucknow; ‘Lucknow ki Rachi Bass Tehzeeb’ (2016), which celebrated the different communities that have enriched the city; and ‘Lucknowi Bawarchikhane’ (2022), which documented the different dishes of the region. This year, the theme of the festival is Raqs-o-Mausiqi meaning ‘time of music, pleasure and comfort’.

The speakers and performers of the previous editions of the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival were mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, scholar Rosie Llewellyn-Jones, singers Shubha Mudgal and Tajdar Junaid and the bands Alif and Indian Ocean.

The 14th edition of the festival is scheduled to take place in February 2023. This year, artists and performers at Mahindra Sanatkada Festival include Avahan-The Band, Kathak performance by Shinjini Kulkarni, a lecture on ‘Music Archiving’ by archivist Irfan Zuberi, tabla performance by Pandit Anindo Chatterjee and a conversation on ‘Influence of Awadhi Awadhi-Lucknowi influence on Indian Cinema—films, music and songs’ with Muzaffar Ali and Atul Tiwari. Other attractions at the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow festival include the Weaves and Crafts Bazaar, Heritage Walks, Literary Guftgu, food stalls showcasing the culinary traditions of the city, workshops, discussions, films, theatre and much more. With such a wide range of art offerings, this festival celebrates both the culturally-rich Awadh region, as well as the entire country.

Check out other multiarts festivals here.