On the first day of India's largest arts and cultural summit, 'Bhaav: The Expressions Summit 2025,' the Art of Living launched 'Sita Charitam,' India's largest live performance and art gathering. It witnessed a confluence of 500 artists and 30 dance, music, and art forms. The concert will travel to 180 countries and will include a unique dialogue taken from more than 20 volumes, including songs in multiple local languages.
Bhaav 2025 witnessed an amazing display of India's rich cultural diversity as a Bharatnatyam performance by 10 transgender artists from West Bengal enthralled the audience, and the audience danced to the tunes of the 'Out of the Box' music band from 'Art of Living' Arise, which included a group of former prisoner artists.
Bhaav: The Expression Summit 2025
Bhaav 2025 began as a deeply emotional experience. Be it the passionate Bharatnatyam presented by Kavya Muraleedharan and her troupe or the Kathak presented by three generations, who came on the stage under the leadership of Kathak maestro Manisha Sathe, uniting every generation. The presentation of Ram Bhajan, in which a group of 30 artists performed live music, left the audience emotional. The presentation of Garba songs also forced the audience to dance.
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat shares 'wonderful experience'
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Culture and Tourism, was the guest of honour at the event. He shared his experience on X and posted, "It was truly wonderful to experience a mega celebration of cultural wealth and ambassadors of Bharat at The Art of Living’s Bhaav 2025 that I attended today in the presence of HH Shri Shri Ravishankar Guruji this evening at Bengaluru."
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar lit the lamp
The festival was inaugurated grandly with the lighting of the lamp amidst the recitation of shlokas. On this occasion, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Padmashree Manjamma Jogathi, Padmashree Omprakash Sharma, Padmashree Uma Maheshwari, and music emperor Chitraveena N Eminent artists like Ravikiran were present. The event brought together more than 600 delegates to become a part of the vast cultural community.
The Art Awards 2025, presented by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, honoured renowned artists for their lifetime contribution to Indian art. Among the honoured artists was 94-year-old veena player R Visvesvaran, veteran mridangam scholar A Anand, Yakshagana hero Bannage Survan, and Garba artiste Atul Purohit.