“Look, she’s coming up,” someone said, and just like that, a group of us turned around to see a glorious full moon rise from the ramparts of Ahilya Fort.
We were seated on the fan-shaped ghats leading from the fort down to the river Narmada. For the last half hour, the young santoor exponent Satyendra Singh Solanki had been playing ‘Raag Bhoop’ on the stage erected against the backdrop of the river. The Sacred River Festival in Maheshwar, near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was a collection of such moments rather than one grand spectacle — from the providence of a boat moving slowly behind the stage just as Satyendra’s brother Ramendra Singh Solanki’s tabla accompaniment picked up to the explosion of flavours in the saffron kheer served as part of the dinner thaali to guests staying at Ahilya Fort. From chancing upon Gajju, the heritage hotel’s resident florist at work, to the delicate calligraphy that announced that the salmon at lunch had been hand-carried by two long-time guests from Ireland.
Now in its 21st year, the festival celebrates the twin deities who define Maheshwar: the Narmada and Ahilyabai Holkar, the visionary 18th-century ruler who established Maheshwar as her capital. This year explored the theme of ‘Utpatti’, the Sanskrit word for genesis. Fittingly, all the six performances over the three-day festival were by musicians and dancers hailing from the state.
