The historic Katni stone of Madhya Pradesh is all set to go global under the grand patronage of the district administration of Katni. A festival named especially after the stone is underway at present in Katni district, where the stone is found. The district administration is organising a 20-day stone sculpture festival called ‘Adharshila-Katni Stone Festival’ from 9-28 November at Jagriti Park to highlight the historic stone which is listed in the One District One Product scheme.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, the District Collector of Katni, Mr. Priyank Mishra, explained the main objectives of the festival.
KATNI STONE FESTIVAL
The Katni administration has roped in stone artists from all parts of the country for the event to engage in carving sculptures and other art pieces out of Katni sandstone and marble blocks. The festival also has cultural events for people’s engagement and more visibility.
DC Priyank Mishra said, “The Katni stone has become our ‘One District One Product’, and there are various aspects of promoting this scheme, which include improving the production of the stone and improving the productivity of mines. One of the main aspects is the marketing and branding of the stone to give it an international appeal. That is why we roped in stone artists from all over the country to make modern art pieces with our stone.”
RENOWNED SCULPTORS TAKE PART
Accordingly, the administration called for entries from national-level artists in October for participating in this festival. Many artists from states like Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh are attending the ongoing festival. Mr Mishra said artists are being provided remuneration for their work, lodging facilities and, at the end of the festival, an exhibition-cum-auction of their work will be held. In addition, local artists are being provided with a workspace to make art pieces and showcase their works alongside the creations of artists who took part in the festival. This will boost local artisans and encourage them to create more out of the district’s local stone, and will also bring them more work owing to their skills of working on Katni stone.
WORKSHOP ON STONE WASTE
One of the most important event of this entire festival that DC Priyank Mishra drew attention to was a workshop held on November 24 where a panel of experts was invited to describe how minimising the stone waste which is accumulated in the stone and marble industry can be made possible.
“Gainful utilisation of stone waste and slurry is a must for an industry and our panel discussion is meant to educate locals on how the waste generated from these industries can be brought into other use. For this, we called scientists from the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Advanced Materials & Processes (AM&P). These scientists demonstrated to the local stake holders what can be done of the stone waste. This idea of using waste generated from stone industries is new and has the potential of becoming a major game-changer in the days to come. We got a great response and the workshop proved to be very informative and enlightening”, DC Priyank Mishra added.
DASTANGOI AND CLASSICAL MUSICIANS PERFORM
Apart from stone making, the administration also organised various social and cultural events for entertainment purposes to seek more engagement from people. Around Children’s Day, a food festival and ‘Katni’s Got Talent’ show were held which attracted more than 120 entries for singing, dancing, elocution, poetry reading etc., and went on for three days.
DC Priyank Mishra also added that under the banner of Adharshila, they hosted a Dastan on tribal queen of MP, Rani Durgavati. “With Jan Jaateeya Gaurav Saptaah being celebrated all over India, we hosted a story-telling event on the life of Rani Durgavati, who is the pride of Madhya Pradesh. Her story depicts pure valour and courage and dates back to the 16th century. Dastangos Himanshu Bajpai and Pragya Sharma were invited to Katni to come and perform for the said function.”
Adharshila will also see the famous Dhrupad vocalists Mallick Brothers – Pt Prashant Mallick and Pt Nishant Mallick – performing on its closing ceremony on November 28.
By organising the Adharshila festival, the Katni administration has started a first-of-its-kind stone festival in the country. It is not only a promotion of the ‘One District One Product’ scheme but is also an endeavour to make a place for Katni stone in the world of sculpture and art, so that accomplished artists seek this stone to carve out their exclusive designs.
