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Folk arts take centre stage on Day 1 of Deshaj
The highlight of the programme was ‘Chalo Chale Kumbh Chale’ performance by folk singer Malini Awasthi. Artistes from several states will be performing in the two-day event.
With a number of Bollywood hits to his name, singer Master Saleem mesmerised the people of Awadh with the magic of popular Punjabi folk songs, at the fourth Deshaj event organised by Sonchiraiya Foundation here on Friday.
The highlight of the programme was ‘Chalo Chale Kumbh Chale’ performance by folk singer Malini Awasthi. Artistes from several states will be performing in the two-day event.
Artistes of Pai Danda from Banda and Bhaona from Assam showcased the enthusiasm among people for the upcoming Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, were featured on Day 1 of the event.
The programme started with Matki folk dance of Malwa. In this, many artistes, including Hiramani Verma, Khushi Chauhan, Babulal Devda and Seema Kushwaha gave a charming performance on songs such as ‘Sayba Mharo Lai Karan Phool Jhumko’.
State tourism and culture Minister Jaiveer Singh attended the programme as the chief guest and released a souvenir on Mahakumbh.
“Those who get the opportunity to take a dip in the holy river during Mahakumbh devotees are very lucky... Malini Awasthi is a heritage of the state. She is not only promoting culture through Sonchiraiya but is also bringing out folk tales from history books,” said the minister.
While inviting people for Mahakumbh to be held in Prayagraj, the minister said that he was confident that the event not only present a strong glimpse of India’s strong faith but also of welcome and hospitality.
In the series of cultural programmes, a glimpse of the presentations to be held over two days was shown in a special presentation of 20 minutes under the direction of Maitreyi Pahadi.
This presentation started with a mixed dance of U.P’s Kathak and Odisha’s Chhau in which the artists performed on Shiva Stuti ‘Girish Ganesham Gale Neelkanth’.
The story of Samudra Manthan was shown in this presentation. Also, artistes from Haryana performed Phag dance. All the folk dances were presented on the lyrics of Kathak.
After this, artistes from Kerala presented Garudan Parva. This dance, which took place at the Bhadrakali temple in Kerala, depicted the legend of Garuda. This was followed by a Haryana’s Phag performance. This dance reflected the spirit of the farming community’s harvest celebrations. The artistes depicted a dialogue between a new bride and her mother-in-law through “Main Nayi Naveli Aaye Phagan Mein”.
Advisor to the CM Awanish Awasthi, the president of Sonchiraiya Vidya Bindu Singh and vice-chancellor of Bhatkhande Culture University Prof. Mandavi Singh were also present on the occasion.
