So what’s on show today?

The opening segment will have Kalaripayattu from Kerala,Silambam from Tamil Nadu,Dandpatta from Maharashtra,Gatka from Punjab,Akhara from Madhya Pradesh,Talwaras from Gujarat,Thangtha from Manipur and Naga warriors. “Our first challenge was to fuse their movements with music. Martial arts are not performed with music and unlike dance do not follow any lines or patterns. So designing formations to suit their movements was a tough task,” said Gopinath. “We also struggled to bring the different forms together. Initially,all of them had reservations and insisted they stick to their moves. But we managed to convince them and their support was marvellous,” Sanjeev added.

There were other obstacles too. While Gopinath came down with dengue,Sanjeev met with an accident. “We were drained by the end of it,but we are extremely lucky that we did manage to come here,” Gopinath said.

Revival: National song
A tribute to Vande Mataram,the national song of India. After much discussion on which version of the song to play,AR Rahman’s version of the song,produced by Bharat Bala,has been finalised.

Music of universal love
Like the opening ceremony,the grand closing of the Commonwealth Games will also have no space for Bollywood actors. However,popular Indian singers will be a pivotal part of the main ‘Music of Universal Love’ segment. This segment,the longest,will have 29 mainstream artistes performing in sub-segments focusing on Sufi,folk and Bollywood music. Ranjit Barot,in charge of arranging and composing music for the ceremonies,has tweaked Rahman’s Games anthem for the section.

The Sufi section will begin with Bulle Shah and Amir Khusrau poems sung by Delhi-based Zila Khan,daughter of Sitar maestro Vilayat Khan. The section will also have Kailash Kher and his band Kailasa. “I will be singing a couple of songs apart from the one I composed as a tribute to Delhi. To be on this stage is a matter of national pride for me,” said Kher.

The folk section will have names like Ila Arun,Usha Uthup,Sukhwinder Singh and Shubha Mudgal. “My compositions Resham ka rumaal and Morni will definitely be there,” said Arun. Mudgal will perform Ab ke sawan,while Singh will regale the audience with Chak De India.

The Bollywood section will have Shankar Ehsaan Loy,Sunidhi Chauhan,Shaan and Indian Idol winner Sriram on stage. “We want to make sure people can experience the colourful and extremely musical India,” said Barot.