By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 29 Sep: Rang Himalaya, the ‘intercultural festival to celebrate diversity and earth fellowship’, fills Dehradun with art, colours, emotions, insights and heartwarming music performances during the last two days. The festival began on the 26 September with the performance of the play, ‘Vasudhaive Kutumbhkam’, devised and directed by Theatre Maestro Alok Ulfat. The occasion was graced by Binita Shah, an environmental activist and sustainability professional. She announced the creation of another cultural space in Dalanwala to support the research of art and learning in Dehradun. The play ‘Drama for Diversity’, with dances performed to musical pieces belonging to diverse origins, was staged with great vigour and enthusiasm. This was followed by ‘Drums for Diversity’, in which the drumming team engaged everyone present in playing and dancing to the improvised beats and rhythms. The followed powerful slogans of diversity and the ‘whole earth is one family’ – which is also the meaning of the title of the play. The evening of 27 September spread joyful sounds in one of Rang Himalaya’s many creative segments, ‘Music for Diversity’. Musicians of various genres performed together in sync with one another to support the spirit of ‘Diversity’ and interdependence. Also present were Ira Chauhan, Sujata Paul, Dr Niru Goyal, Praveen Chandok and Kiran Goyal Ulfat, who thoroughly enjoyed the exuberance and craft of the music geniuses. The musicians included Doon’s own Rashi Sain, Sneha Rajput, Shubham Sahota, Shivam Dimri, Vikas Dasmana, Yogesh Khetwal, Ansh Malhotra, Himanshu Grover, Sanjay, Sarthak, Samrat, Rajeev Singh, Ne-Yo, Neeraj Negi and Nitin Bansal. The Music for Diversity is curated by Satvika Goyal, who is also the co-founder of the Rang Himalaya Festival. On Saturday, the Rang Himalaya team travelled to Sakya Academy to perform its play ‘Vasudhaive Kutumbhkam’ for the Sakya community. Present were Gyana Vajra Rimpoche, Patricia Donohue, Tenzin Choephak, Himanshu Shekhar and Kiran Goyal Ulfat who enjoyed the the music pieces and the dance interweaved with the play very meticulously staged by Alok Ulfat. The spirit of Rang Himalaya then travelled to the bustling public space to perform the play, dances, and raps to mesmerise the crowd with drum rhythms. The Rang Himalaya festival of Dehradun began on 26 September and will culminate on 6 October. The festival is open to all. There are no age limits and anyone interested to know more about the festival may connect with the team through its Facebook page or may call 9557280116.
