Dec 31, 2011

Thank you IPTA...


The evening of 28th December…. 

I never heard about IPTA until a week back. All I could make out from their brochure was IPTA stands for Indian People’s Theatre Association. Of the variety of programmes in offer by the Bhilai chapter, I was interested in the last day ie 28th December – Rastriya Nirtya Samaroh (National Dance fest). 

The evening was a perfect confluence of folk, classical, music, talent and rhapsody. There was Jhumar, Bihu, Gidda, folk dances from Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan & Kashmir. The music was live and the energy infectious. 

The last time I attended a cultural dance fest that too with sole Indian folk & classical dances was way back in my school. By the time I came to college, the stages danced to the tune of cinematic versions. Rahman & Enigma ruled. Classical was enjoyed only when presented either as a fusion or as a fast number. Maybe pure classical or folk lost its fervour because the narration was sometimes incomprehensible to the masses. Of course… for arts and dance only a moron will attach language as a barrier. 

I'm a trained classical dancer. Cinematic and classical fusions have made me sick, although I have adorned those roles many times. The yearning for something pure had been there for long and the evening of 28th gave me that vent.  

I walked into Kala Mandir just wanting to have a nice evening. But when I left, I was ecstatic…

Thank you IPTA…

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