Incidental Art,an informal group of musicians and theatre artistes led by Giti Chandra,sang its way into peoples hearts For the parents and children gathered at Gurgaons Epicentre,the night was one of music and poetry,bright lights and prayer,as Incidental Art,a group of 16 singers and five theatre actors,got together to present Prayer Before Birth. Incidental Art,formed last December by 45-year-old Giti Chandra,who teaches English at St Stephens College,turned T.S. Eliots poem,Journey of the Magi,into a performance act,with theatre actors Sunit Tandon and Ramesh Thakur. Ahead of Christmas,the singers praised the Lord with the carol We Three Kings. And if Eric Claptons Tears In Heaven complemented Elizabeth Barrett Brownings poem,Cry of the Children,11-year-old Ananya Pandeys poem,Santas Workplace,found a place alongside the happy carol Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. The group also skimmed over the issues of security plaguing the world. Professor Chandra,who formed the group,says,Usually,concerts are bound by themes and poetry readings may extend to enactments. I wanted to put the two forms together and do something fun. The members of the group are all very talented singers and actors who usually dont have time for attending regular rehearsals. Chandra,an accomplished violinist who had played with the Delhi Symphony Orchestra and was associated with the college choir,also conducted the Capital City Minstrels choir for five years. Not surprisingly,Incidental Art includes ex-cop Maxwell Pereira who sang with the Capital City Minstrels and Chandras student Nigel Eccleston. Also part of the group are Sabina Mehta Jaitley,who has a theatre group of her own called Dramebaaz,and singer Reuben Israel,who has a band called Impromptu. The pianist,A.J. James,is an economist. Most of the artistes live in Gurgaon,but some drove all the way from Faridabad for practice sessions. My husband,who is also a pianist,made audio files they could listen to while driving, says Chandra. The informal group is now planning an evening of love songs for the spring.
