LUCKNOW, Jan. 31 -- Celebrating the shared cultural legacy of Lucknow and Kolkata, the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival (MSLF) began at Raja Ram Pal Singh Park here on Friday. The festival, themed 'Raabta Lucknow Calcutta Ka', opened with a stirring dhak performance by Gokuldas and his team of 12 women dhakis, blending Bengal's rhythmic tradition with Awadhi evening aesthetics.

Another attraction of the day was a Kathak performance by Shurti Ghosh, a Kolkata-based artiste who narrated the story of kathak and Wajid Ali Shah in Matiyaburj (in Kolkata).

She, through narration, poetry rendition and music composed by nawabs, spoke about the connection between Lucknow and Kolkata. "I learnt Kathak when I was five years old. My father was a...