Lucknow, 2015.10.06 (Amar Ujala): Ordinary people may have looked on the two-day Mathura Mahotsav (net, FB) festival held on the Akshay Patra grounds in April as an extraordinary event, but for its organizer, MP Hema Malini, it was nothing more than a rehearsal for a Braj of the future.
Hema Malini was able to attract many actors and artistes from the Bollywood scene to come and perform at the Mahotsav, whose purpose was to make Braj culture better known both in India and internationally. The intention was also to give local artists an opportunity to refine their talents before a nation-wide audience, as the two-day program was also televised.
But Hema is not satisfied with this step, which she views as only a beginning. She has written an entire screenplay for the future of the Braj area. She would like to see such festivals take place in Braj every day of the year. For that purpose, she has proposed the construction of a permanent world-class venue at the Mukta Kashiya Manch, an outdoor amphitheatre in Dampier Nagar, a well-to-do colony in Mathura city.
Her meeting with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav the other day was just part of the script.
Indeed, Hema Malini is not just the Lok Sabha member for Mathura constituency. She is playing several roles in this play. She has dedicated herself to giving an impetus to Indian culture and its followers world-wide by celebrating Lord Krishna, and the land of his birth and childhood. She seeks to affirm the importance of the land of Braj as a place of spiritual and cultural significance and is making numerous efforts to attract attention from all over the world and enticing people to come and visit.
On her return to Mathura from Delhi, she surprised people by making a visit to Dampier Nagar to see the venue there for the first time. She liked what she saw, and immediately contacted Dhirendra Merchant, one of Mumbai’s leading stage designers to help in designing an upgrade of the site. Meetings with the MVDA followed and other experts were called in, including architect Mayank Garg.
Among the improvements called for are making the stage higher, to facilitate filming during programs, and upgrading of the lighting and sound systems.
At her meeting with CM Akhilesh Yadav, MP Hema Malini was able to get him enthusiastic about immediately making partial changes. Her plan is not only that events of an international caliber will be held there, but it will be used to showcase local talent and give more opportunities for Braj artists to refine their talents.
Krishna lila and Radha’s glories
In her talks with Akhilesh Yadav, Hema also presented her ideas for the “Krishna theme park.” “Not everyone will be able to visit all of Braj, to do the 84-kos parikrama. Most people come for a short time and we want to give them a kind of opportunity to see the whole of Braj in one go,” she said. The park will have dioramas of Krishna’s pastimes and other exhibits.
A preview of this theme park idea was given at the Mathura Mahotsav itself, where a model Braj village was created with various displays of Krisna lila and the Braj culture. This was very well received and led to the elaboration of the concept. She has requested that 50 acres of land be found for the project.
“The idea is to give visitors and tourists more things to do, as well as to improve the infrastructure to receive and host them,” she said.
Another subject discussed at their meeting was the creation of a “Radha garden” in Raval.
Akhilesh Yadav has said that he will take an active role in all these projects.
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