The Beginning of 5th VEDA

Whistling Woods International marked the beginning of the year 2015 by adding a cultural program called the “5th VEDA,” (envisioned by Institute’s founder and legendary film maker Subhash Ghai.

In his words, “It behooves me to mention the concept of 5th VEDA since it is an integral part of who we are. 5th VEDA is about creating a new shared culture that would enable students to enrich their mind beyond classrooms and connect with themselves which in today’s hustle and bustle is very much required. It provides opportunity for artistic expressions and the sharing of cultural experiences with a diverse audience. Our core values embody who we are as a person and serve as the principles that influence the implementation of our ideas and therefore5th VEDA is quintessential for not only spiritual growth but of your personality as a whole.”

The event was inaugurated by the very gracious Bollywood actress, Mrs. Vidya Balan who emphasised on the importance of being in sync with India’s culture and keeping an open mind. To quote her, “I don’t think there is a glut of places able to offer artists a place to innovate their art forms even though the appetite for it is huge. You students should feel extremely lucky” she said. She lit the lamp along with Mr. Subhash Ghai and singer Sukhwinder Singh.

5th VEDA (also known as Natyashastra) aims to invite India’s best talent from the field of Drama, Music, Speech, Dance and all forms of Art and Culture to perform and share their experience with more than 500 students at the campus for the year 2015. 5thVEDA will hold an event filled with performances by various artists along with student participation on every Thursday of the week till December, 2015 in Campus Theatres. The goal for the entire event is to provide students with a wealth of knowledge about India’s culture and to offer a myriad of ideas as to how they can improve their performances and learn from the best.

Dr. Arnott from Australian Arts Ministry praised the event and said , “Art and music are interwoven components at WWI and its heartening to know that they believe in giving artists of different backgrounds an opportunity to express themselves. In an effort to support the growth of the cultural community, they not only bring a wide variety of talent to their stages, but also artists and creative outlets to help each other evolve further.”

Also present was acclaimed Director and recent Padma Shree awardee, Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Sister Kunti of Brahmakumari who applauded Mr. Ghai’s initiative. WWI’s student Akanksha then mesmerised the audience by performing a classical number without any instruments. Sukhwinder Singh began with an influential speech on Classical music and then set the stage on fire with his power packed classical performance concluding it with a heavy round of applause and loud cheers from the energetic crowd.

Later Mrs.Vidya Balan inaugurated the I-Pray room which is going to be student’s very own space to deal with their thoughts and relax both mind and body. The place is designed by Mr. Subhash Ghai himself.

The last part of the event was a Masterclass held by Sanjay leela Bhansali where he inspired the students by speaking to them about the hurdles he had to overcome to reach where he is. He encouraged students to follow their hearts and in the process be prepared to overcome adversity as they help in nurturing the artists within them. The students got an opportunity to discuss in depth with him about his movie Ram-Leela. He told them about how he was influenced by legendary film-maker V Shantaram which depicts in his films. Also how important it is for a director to love the cast of his movie and work as a family as it will help get better result.