By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 22 Oct: On the seventh day of Virasat Mahotsav 2024, (21 October) the day began with an impressive cultural dance and performance by schoolgirls. The attractive and mesmerising presentation in the students’ cultural sadhana captivated the hearts of the audience.
The performances in Virasat Mahotsav featuring classical music and dance witnessed Ananya Dobhal, a student of Sant Kabir Academy, dance to “Mori Gagariya Kahe Ko Fori Re Shyam”.
In the ongoing sequence of classical music and dance, Pawani Juyal presented a captivating performance of “Barsan Lagi Badariya”.
Prerna Maurya from Shri Guru Ram Rai Degree College, Gauri Verma from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Neha Agarwal from DAV College, and Unnati Pangwal from Touchwood School, along with Devina Darshan Rawat, Manchat Kaur, and Anvesha, also enchanted everyone with their presentations.
As part of the second phase of Virasat Sadhana, BS Negi MPPS hosted an inspiring and captivating talk on calligraphy by Qamar Dagar. Present were Namita Mamgai, Principal of MPPS, Vijayashree, and Harish Awal from Virasat. Dagar, a famous pictorial calligrapher, shared her unique approach to creating a distinctive visual language by blending Hindi and Urdu scripts. She emphasised the artistic harmony between the two scripts, displaying Hindi from left to right and Urdu from right to left.
Coming from the renowned Dagar family, known for its contributions to classical music, she has chosen pictorial calligraphy as her medium of expression. Her remarkable works are displayed in private collections in India, Europe, and the United States.
The cultural evening of the seventh day of heritage was formally inaugurated by MLA, Vikas Nagar, Munna Singh Chauhan, and President of Olympic Council of Asia and patron of Virasat, Raja Randhir Singh, by jointly lighting the lamp.
In the evening session, a captivating Jaunsari folk was presented. Ghamveer Bharti, the lead of the Jaunsari organisation Gaon Ka Rivaaz, along with his cultural team, performed an enchanting display of folk music and dance. The performance, beginning with Mahasu Vandana by Gaon Ka Rivaaz became a major highlight of the evening. This 20-member group had Ghamveer Bharti as the main singer. He was accompanied by Rajat Verma on the keyboard, Vedansh on the octopod, Shyam Pundir on the dholak, and Kapil on the dhol.
The performance began with a devotional tribute, Mahasu Vandana, followed by a vibrant series of traditional dances, including Naati, Arul, and Taandi. The team included members like Vishal Bharti, Rajat Verma Dayal, Shyam Pundir, Anuj Khanna, Nitesh Khanna, Bittu Verma, Neelam Khanna, Kajal, Sangeeta, Vishal Bharti, Nitesh, Pradeep Rockstar, Vedansh, Ravindra Verma, Priyanshu, Kapil, Chandra Priya Negi, Deeksha, and Sunil Verma.
After the lighting of the lamp, Shinjini Kulkarni, granddaughter of the great Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj, gave a captivating Kathak presentation. She began with Shiva Aradhana in ‘Chaar Taal’. Her performance concluded with a soulful rendition of Raga Darbari. She was accompanied by Shubh Maharaj on tabla, Vishal Mishra on sitar, Ashwini Soni who provided rhythmic recitation (paddhant) and Zaki Khan as vocalist.
In the final evening of Virasat, Marathi theatrical music artist Omkar Dadarakar proved to be a standout performer. His presentation resonated deeply with all the guests at the festival.
