Music for the Soul

The repercussions of 26/11are playing out on stage. At the second edition of the Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF), there was a stirring performance in memory of the terror victims. Despite the winter chill, the Sathya Sai International Centre at Pragati Vihar was packed with people, keen to experience flautist R. Raghuraman and vocalist Sudha Raman’s Beyond 60 hours, in memory of 26/11.

Next, Guru Shahdhacharya’s disciples, wearing wooden masks and masquerading as boatmen battling the vagaries of climate, floored the audience with a superb Chhau performance. In the next recital, an ebullient Mayur was resplendent in a green costume. Combining martial dances in Yodha, the dancers moved stealthily, sweeping the audience with the spectacular dance-drama. Touching on the permanence of love and relationships was Kathak dancer Madhura Phatak (in the picture), a disciple of Shovana Narayan, who impressed the audience with her brilliant footwork in Inteezar, a 35-minute performance. Writing her own script, Phatak, in her 30s, questioned the relevance of a man for a woman. “Inteezar is everyone’s story. It seems everybody is waiting for a piece of recognition, a feeling of security in life. I expressed it through a woman’s perspective,” says Phatak.

The DIAF is on till December 24