By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Virasat, a 14-day long art and culture festival organized by REACH begins at Dr B R Ambedkar Stadium in Dehradun from Saturday (Oct 4).
The 30th edition of REACH Virasat festival is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Atomic bombing at Hiroshima eighty years ago.
The festival will commence with the Sarod recital by the world legendary Sarod Player Ustad Amjal Ali Khan, said R.K Singh, Founding member of REACH and its General Secretary.
Singh said the festival will feature a diverse array of programs that include heritage showcase sessions, where young artists from schools and colleges in Dehradun will display their talents and also participate in craft workshops led by master artisans, Heritage quiz competition, Crafts treasure Hunt and many other activities. Special sessions are also held for specially abled students during Virasat.
The grand stage will be made in the image of another historical site of India, the Surya Mandir constructed by the Kashmiri King Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota Dynasty.
There will be the speciality handloom and crafts, pottery, wood work, metal craft, leather craft and many more stalls from various states adding the glitz to the festival.
Additionally, a vintage car and bike rally, a heritage quiz, a photography competition, and talks on music, film,history and literature by experts such Historian Sohail Hasmi, critic Shailaja Khanna, Artist Jatin Das, Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha and Journalists Rajesh Badal and Shashi Keswani and Ex-foreign secretary Shyam Saran will also participate.
Many folk and classical art forms from all over India and the neighbouring countries will be featured in the performances, such as the Chholiya and other folk dances & folks songs by Upreti sisters, Chakravyuh – famous Folk theatre of Uttarakhand, the folk music and dances of Gujarat, Goa, Sri Lanka , Kyrgyzstan and Belarus and Bharatnatyam from Tamil Nadu, Kuchipudi from Andhra Pradesh and Kathak from Uttar Pradesh 0
The event’s main attraction will be a magnificent instrumental music program that includes performances of Ghazal, Sufi, and Carnatic music in addition to Hindustani and Carnatic classical music. Renowned performers such as Dr.N.Rajam, Pt.Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt.Sajan Mishra, Parveen Sultana, Ashwini Bhide, Anupama Bhagwat, Ustad Ahmad Hussain and Muhammad Hussain, Manoj Tiwari, Usha Uthup, Prabhakar and Diwakar Kashyap, Adnan Khan, Pratik Shrivastav, Anirudh Aithal, Soumitra Thakur, Deepak Kshirsagar, Shinjini Kulkarni, Omkar Dadarkar, Praveen Godkhindi, Osman Mir, Manjari Chaturvedi, Jawaad Ali Khan, Shashwati Mandal, Jayatirth Mewundi, Deborshee Bhattacherjee, Yadnesh Raikar, Abhay Sopori, Ramana Balchandhran, Arunima Kumar, Debopriya and Shuchismita Chaterjee and Nayanika Ghosh will perform.
A mushaira will also be organized in the event where poets like Sheen Kaaf Nizam, Farhat Ehsas, Madan Mohan Danish, Shakeel Azmi, Dr.Nusrat Mehdi and Rashmi Saba will participate.
Besides R.K. Singh, Vijayashree Joshi, Joint Secretary, Sunil Verma Director Craft, Pradeep Maithal, Head Operations, Priyamvada Iyer Media Incharge and other key officials from REACH were also present at the press conference.