The G-20 delegates got up to give a standing ovation for a Dance drama where Kathak dancers, snake charmers, and street magicians came to raise awareness on Water pollution and create environmental awareness. Delegates from Australia, Canada, and Britain expressed that the power of the Indian performers struck them.
Dr Navina Jafa who presented the dance drama Yamunashtakam, expressed, "The G-20 performance of Performing for Climate Action was a thought that came from seeing my father's work."
Navina's father, Virendra Singh Jafa, was a civil servant responsible for creating the Speed Post ( the government postal courier) and crafting the financial format for defence/ space production, making India produce missiles and other space equipment at a lower cost than NASA. These are revolutionary progressive programs for the growth of the country. Dr Navina Jafa, dancer, author, artistic skill and heritage tourism expert, said she also wants to contribute to India's development through art and knowledge skills.
Doing a Fulbright Scholarship program in Cultural Management at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC was inspired by her father's stint at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( USA). He enhanced his education with a master's program in Political Science.
Jafa said, "My education and experience in Cultural Heritage, I hope, can contribute to making India the global leader for climate /environmental action through culture. I hope the dance drama based on the Hindu Seer Adi Shankaracharya's poem on the River Yamuna is just the beginning of showing the powerful impact of Kathak dance and street performers towards climate action, an important issue in the 2023 Indian presidency of G-20."
