Small Talk

Musical extravaganza
Come May 31 and all roads in Pune will lead to the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi,where A R Rahman will perform live in front of a capacity crowd of 35,000 people. Organised by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation and the Alandi Dehu Vikas Parisar. Samiti,the concert is part of his Jai Ho World Tour. It will feature performances by over 70 artists,including Hariharan,Sadhana Sargam,BLAAZE,Benny Dayal,Rashid Ali and others. This will be the maestro’s first live concert in the country after his Oscar win in February. “It’s a matter of great pride that A R Rahman will be performing live in Pune,and more so,since this will be his first concert anywhere in the country since he brought home the coveted Oscar awards,” said Adinath Mangeshkar,son of Hridaynath Mangeshkar. “I think we were just lucky that we approached Rahman before anybody else could and luckier to get his nod for the event,” he added. Produced by Deepak Gattani,the show is being co-organised by the Alandi Dehu Vikas Parisar Samiti and proceeds from the show will go to the Alandi Dehu Vikas Parisar Samiti and the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation.

Highfliers!
The Max Mueller Bhavan will be presenting a rooftop movie on Friday entitled,‘Die Blindgänger’ (The Blindflyers) which will be held on the rooftop of the Max Mueller Bhavan. The story deals with the lives of two girls who are blind and tells the story of the trials and tribulations that they face when they decide to audition for the school band. Encountering various obstacles during their quest to become famous they meet a young boy from Kazakhastan who helps them in their endeavour to reach the pinnacles of glory and also help him return to his native land. The screening will begin from 6.30 in the evening at the Bhavan.

Trek’s the word
For all those who love the great outdoors and feel one with nature,there is news to rejoice. Trekdi,an organisation that plans treks to forts and places surrounding the city will be organising a pre-monsoon trek to the forts of Purandar and Wajragad on May 31. The trek,which will be of one day’s duration,will cost Rs 300 and will be inclusive of the morning breakfast and evening snacks. The trek will begin at the Swargate bus depot and terminate there on the same day in the evening. In addition to the two forts the trekkers will also be taken to the temple of at Kedareshwar and to Balekilla. More details about the trek can be obtained on the official website of Trekdi.

Glamorous evening
The Summer Funk 2009,a show by the students of Shiamak Davar’s Institute of Performing Arts (SDIPA),was an event filled with excitement and energy. Having taken place at Yashwantrao Chavan Auditorium on 25 and 26 May,the event witnessed extraordinary performances by students on various themes such as- recent hits,comedy songs,romantic tracks and so on. The glamourous event witnessed students between the age group four to 84 dance on the tunes of songs like- Maa da Laadla,Delhi 6,Chance pe Dance and so on. Another attraction of the event was the performance by students of Victory Arts Foundation,a non-profit organisation reaching out to underprivileged,specially abled,visually impaired children,who performed on the tunes of- Gurus of peace and Morya.
“Dancing takes a lot of courage because one has to unveil his/her soul through movements,” is what Davar had to say. More than 1200 students performed during the two-day extravaganza that concluded with the Special Potential Batch of SDIPA dancing to the tunes of — Jai Ho.