Whirling

TOI Editor, "Week-long heritage fest in Ahd" - The Times Of India - India
Monday, November 17, 2008

Ahmedabad: A seven-day-long Ahmedabad Heritage Festival' to celebrate the thriving cultural heritage of the city will kick off from Wednesday in Ahmedabad.

This is in line with the World Heritage Week' which is celebrated worldwide from November 19-November 25 to celebrate heritage monuments of religious, historical and cultural significance.

Advisor, Heritage cell, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Debashish Nayak, said, "People's participation is essential for city's revitalisation process. In Ahmedabad, several institutions and individuals have come together to celebrate World Heritage Week'."

"Ahmedabad Heritage Centre(AHC) is coordinating this whole noble initiative which will feature special walks, street theatre, festivals and workshops, art exhibitions, film shows, house museums and display of collections," added Nayak.

Also a Sufi festival which will be part of the celebration will be organised on November 21 at Sarkhej Roza, Sarkhej.

Sheikha Khadija Radin, who is a senior teacher in the Mevlevi Order of America and the Sufi Ruhaniat International, will be perfoming the practice of whirling during the festival.

Khadija has pioneered the integration of whirling with Western movement to create a mesmerising and graceful mode of spiritual practice.

[Picture: Sheikha Khadija turning, 1982. Photo from the Mevlevi Order of America website. Click http://www.whirlingdervish.org/index.htm also for Sheikha Khadija's full program (18-23) in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.].