2,500 artists dance on Vande Mataram embodying India’s spirit of unity in diversity

Around 10 students of Maharaja Sayajirao University in Gujarat’s Vadodara practiced for 25 days prior to the event. While all of them are undergraduate students in performing arts, learning Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form most of them have been practicing for at least a couple of years, they said they were a little anxious for this performance and wanted to put in extra efforts.

“We practised for a long time even though it was a small performance,” said Divya Patel, Assistant Professor in the Performing Arts department at the university.

Many student performers were delighted to catch glimpses of sorties by fighter jets during rehearsals. “While we couldn’t see the parade today, we have been in awe of these formations by the jets during the practice sessions,” a student said.

Disha Handique, 20, who along with her group of six performed Sattriya, a classical dance form from Assam, said, “The other performances were so beautiful that I can’t even express it in words.” The group comprises of students of the Srimanta Sankaradeva University in Guwahati and have been practicing for 12 days now.

However, Handique added, “I really enjoyed the entire experience of performing in front of so many dignitaries, but the air in Delhi is very bad. Ever since we landed here, the air smells different and makes us feel a little nauseous.”

Meanwhile, for artists from Chhattisgarh, presenting their folk dance, ‘Gedi’ or bamboo dance, has been a reassurance that the art is still alive and thriving. In the group of 35 dancers from Bilaspur, which also had fresh entrants, few have been practicing since decades. They began their practice sessions on January 6. The sessions used to start at 7:30 am. “The last three days were the most exciting when rehearsed at the Kartavya Path. This is the best experience of my life… my parents are very proud of me,” said Priyanshu Bhaskar (20).

Another group member said, “This is a very great platform to showcase our folk dance… This costume is also fully handmade and takes around 12 days to make. This gives us visibility.”

There was a group from Manipur too. “This has been our first time performing in Delhi and that too on Republic Day. I’m seeing the Capital for the first time,” said Paolam Janet (23, pursuing diploma in dance like others in her group.

However for Elina, 24, another group member, the most treasured memory she is taking home is the group’s visit to Sarojini Nagar. the hub of flea shopping. “We used to get a window of a few hours from 11 am till 3 pm… we used to rush there. We have brought lots of clothes.”