Song and dance took centre stage at the Indian Museum on March 23 as part of ‘Vasant Utsav ’24’, organised by Dona Ganguly and her students at Diksha Manjari, in association with Prabha Khaitan Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. “The event was a cultural medium for my institution to pass on the significance of the Vasant festival to the next generation,” said Ganguly, the producer of the show for the evening
Photos: Upama Dutta
Around 500 students trained by Ganguly, decked up in ethnic finery, took over the central courtyard of the Indian Museum. Waving their hands in the air, they passed through the audience before making their way to the stage with hypnotic grace. A series of dance numbers followed, including Rabindrasangeet and Nazrulgeeti
Ganguly herself, dressed as Radha in blue and pink, was seen performing with her students during Radha Krishna’s ‘Raas Leela’. In each performance, there were different sets of students dancing, dressed up in different costumes. The overarching theme behind each performance was Holi. “Every year we choose different songs so that everyone gets to know what Holi is all about and what each poet has said about Holi,” explained Ganguly
The event also witnessed a confluence of languages, with several Hindi songs being performed as the evening went on. Interspersed between the performances were snippets from Tagore’s poems as well as symphonies centred around Holi and spring. The audience was also introduced to the act of Lathi Khel through rhythms
A total of 16 songs were staged in front of more than 100 people. At the conclusion of the event, Ganguly and Gauri Basu (extreme left), Ehsaas Woman of Kolkata, were felicitated by Arijit Dutta Choudhury (fourth from left), the director of the Indian Museum (also pictured are Sayan Bhattacharya, education officer of the Indian Museum; Anindita Chatterjee, executive trustee of Prabha Khaitan Foundation; and Jagriti Hazra, young professional, education team, Indian Museum). The evening wrapped with the student performers distributing sweets and sprinkling colours to ring in the Holi celebrations
