Citygritty 8212; Pune

Boogie nightsMuch before the Bacardi Blast caught the fancy of Pune's youth, we had Sony's Colgate Gel Boogie Woogie Show creating similar e...

Boogie nights
Much before the Bacardi Blast caught the fancy of Pune8217;s youth, we had Sony8217;s Colgate Gel Boogie Woogie Show creating similar excitement amongst the city8217;s children when the men from the show trooped into town for a three-day auditioning session at Holiday Inn.

A special round was conducted for kids under 10, with a handful making it to Mumbai for the finals. The luckiest and, of course, the best of the lot turned out to be six-and-a-half-year-old Prinka of St Joseph8217;s School, who danced to Raat Ka Samaa, Jhoome Chandrama and walked away with the trophy.

Another Pune girl who won accolades for her performance was Ritika Handa, a 10-year-old from St Mary8217;s High school, who danced to Sunita Rao8217;s Kesariya. This special round, marking the 100th episode of the show and with Subhash Ghai as the chief guest, will be telecast on August 19, so stay cued to watch Pune8217;s bundle of talent showing their mite.

Some soul, some spirit
There is little that can rival the soulful strains of a sitar filling the early morning air in an ambience as beautiful as the marbled Osho samadhi. And this magic in the air was more than evident on July 9, Guru Poornima day, when Osho8217;s followers gathered outside the Lao Tzu gate as Ustad Shahid Parvez presented raag Ahir Bhairav, transporting the listeners to a world where music and meditation mixed to create a perfect whole.

But saving the best for the last, the Osho Commune International had its grand finale on July 10, with Dr Mallika Sarabhai putting in a scintillating performance. Drawing from Draupadi8217;s rebellious spirit, she used the mudras of Bharatnatyam to depict the major episodes in the character8217;s life, resulting in a beautiful blend of theatre and dance forms.

The second part of her presentation comprised some sparkling pieces of folk dances by artistes of the Darapana Academy of Performing arts, Ahmedabad, the piece de resistance being Bharat Baria8217;s solo with five pots on his head as he danced on the edge of swords and small pots.

Musical notes
Have you ever attended a classical music programme and wished you could understand its finer intricacies? Spectrum, a city-based organisation, is holding workshops on Indian classical music to help such people. 8220;The most common musical education is through performance, but ours is an interactive programme meant to educate listeners. They feel inhibited if they are not aware of musical terminologies like laya and taal, are unable to travel musically with the singer and feel lost. These problems will be tackled with demonstrations and visual aids,8221; says founder Nitin Amin.

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The workshop is spread over two weekends and will be held on July 11 from 6 to 9 pm and on July 12 from 9 am to 12 noon and again, at the same times, on July 18 and 19 at Jnyanaprabodhini. A flautist himself, Amin set up Spectrum Society for Performing Entrepreneurs and Conscious Training towards Understanding Music along with vocalist Samir Duble a year ago. 8220;This is our eighth programme and we are already overwhelmed with the response. We hope to hold these workshops more frequently,8221; says Amin. Now this is one kind of music listeners may be glad to face.