Zohra Segal (1912-2014) wore many hats with elan, and lived life on her own terms. Born Sahibzadi Zohra Begum Mumtaz-ullah Khan into an aristocratic Muslim family in Saharanpur, Zohra broke the glass ceiling at a time when it was unknown for women to defy norms and make choices. Since her passing, her Odissi dancer-daughter Kiran Segal has been organising an annual tribute event dedicated to the arts.
“I launched the festival in 2016. Art was what defined her. So the remembrance event is dedicated to her passion for acting and dance,” says Kiran.
The Zohra Segal Trust, in collaboration with India International Centre, supported by the Raza Foundation is presenting its annual Zohra Segal Festival of the Arts this weekend at the IIC in Delhi. Like in the earlier editions, this year’s line up is unusual too. The festival begins with Fado, the Portuguese-inspired music that Goans have adopted.
It combines music and poetry. Fado was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists in 2011. Meaning ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’ in Portuguese, Fado has a melancholic feel and its singers were traditionally never invited to perform.
At the festival, Shrushti and Swaraa Prabhudessai will be accompanied by guitarists Franz Schubert Cotta and Sherwyn Correia. Kiran with mother Zohra| Photo Credit:Courtesy: Kiran Segal The second day features the journey of Lavani, the Maharashtrian folk dance, tracing its evolution from the 1800s, and narrated in the traditional storytelling fo.
