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The India Story 2022, a Neotia Arts Trust initiative presented by Chivas Glassware

Event witnessed a host of performances by music bands and performers from across India

Sramana Ray Published 23.12.22, 02:53 AM
Co-created by artistes and dancers of Continew Collective (a collective of independent dancers of diverse forms) from Kolkata and designed and directed by Paramita Saha, Encounterkraft was a performance under the Art & Installation section at The India Story. As the title suggests, Encounterkraft was a movement installation professing the theme of encounters between bodies — often termed impression management in our daily lives. It beautifully captured the abrupt changes occurring in the process of a dance performance when one body encounters the other. It even ponders the sudden encounter of the dancing body with the audience. Twelve dancers dressed in white — Sourami, Sangram, Srijaini, Rupsa, Ujjayee, Pintu, Asish, Sabita, Arunima, Srijaa, Srestha and Madhyama of the Continew Collective presented an energetic ensemble of movements and moments and engrossed The Telegraph and the audience for 20 minutes. The grace and poise of the movements and the natural element of daily encounters blended superbly and mesmerised the crowd.

Co-created by artistes and dancers of Continew Collective (a collective of independent dancers of diverse forms) from Kolkata and designed and directed by Paramita Saha, Encounterkraft was a performance under the Art & Installation section at The India Story. As the title suggests, Encounterkraft was a movement installation professing the theme of encounters between bodies — often termed impression management in our daily lives. It beautifully captured the abrupt changes occurring in the process of a dance performance when one body encounters the other. It even ponders the sudden encounter of the dancing body with the audience. Twelve dancers dressed in white — Sourami, Sangram, Srijaini, Rupsa, Ujjayee, Pintu, Asish, Sabita, Arunima, Srijaa, Srestha and Madhyama of the Continew Collective presented an energetic ensemble of movements and moments and engrossed The Telegraph and the audience for 20 minutes. The grace and poise of the movements and the natural element of daily encounters blended superbly and mesmerised the crowd.

Encounterkraft — A movement art installation

Paramita Saha

Paramita Saha

“The dancing body can subvert the status quo at every instant. Contemporary dance flows freely and holds history, politics, culture and science in every fold. It holds time yet moves in a steady stream of consciousness. It tells a story and it is a story. We’re here to remind the audience at The India Story 2022 of hope, joy and the power of a dancing body”, said Paramita Saha, danseuse and designer of Encounterkraft.

Last Minute India — From Mumbai to Kolkata

The Mumbai-based Hindi pop and alternative rock band won the hearts of the crowd at The India Story on DAY 1 with their brilliant setlist as we grooved to the tunes of some Bolly tracks like Dil chahta hai, Ae dil hai mushkil, Ilahi, Kabira, Udta Punjab and some original fresh tracks by the band namely Nadaan, Aao na (which has already received 200K+ streams online), Yaadein, among others beautiful tracks. They kept the audience hooked for a good one-and-a-half hours. Their powerpacked performance set the winter evening mood right and filled in the air with a jovial spirit. Artistes Subodh Gupta (bassist and songwriter), Bhumit Gor (rhythm guitarist), Abdul Shaikh (lead vocalist), Yash Khona (drummer) and Austin Furtado (guitarist) kept us all tapping our feet into the night with their brilliantly musical presentation. “Playing at India story was an amazing experience! We enjoyed playing for the crowd which grooved to our originals and covers. It was an event that provided an opportunity and appreciated upcoming independent artistes. Can’t wait to be back in Kolkata!” said Subodh.

The Mumbai-based Hindi pop and alternative rock band won the hearts of the crowd at The India Story on DAY 1 with their brilliant setlist as we grooved to the tunes of some Bolly tracks like Dil chahta hai, Ae dil hai mushkil, Ilahi, Kabira, Udta Punjab and some original fresh tracks by the band namely Nadaan, Aao na (which has already received 200K+ streams online), Yaadein, among others beautiful tracks. They kept the audience hooked for a good one-and-a-half hours. Their powerpacked performance set the winter evening mood right and filled in the air with a jovial spirit. Artistes Subodh Gupta (bassist and songwriter), Bhumit Gor (rhythm guitarist), Abdul Shaikh (lead vocalist), Yash Khona (drummer) and Austin Furtado (guitarist) kept us all tapping our feet into the night with their brilliantly musical presentation. “Playing at India story was an amazing experience! We enjoyed playing for the crowd which grooved to our originals and covers. It was an event that provided an opportunity and appreciated upcoming independent artistes. Can’t wait to be back in Kolkata!” said Subodh.

Zephyrtone — The amazing electronic duo

DAY 2 of The India Story was the epitome of beats and music as the fastest-rising electronic act by the musical duo Sayan and Zephyr set the stage on fire with their house music and popular covers of both Hindi and English songs as well as a few originals. The duo looked brilliant on stage with Zephyr’s high ponytail stealing the show as Sayan coordinated on the console superbly with her voice. The stylish duo performed tracks and their covers like Mood 24K Golden, Astronaut In the Ocean, Tere bina (their original track), Pasoori as we grooved to their bass drops and tunes that kept the night rocking. “We had fun performing for the people of Kolkata. It was a different kind of experience altogether at The India Story,” said Zephyr. “It was a pleasure performing in Kolkata as it’s my second home,” Sayan.

DAY 2 of The India Story was the epitome of beats and music as the fastest-rising electronic act by the musical duo Sayan and Zephyr set the stage on fire with their house music and popular covers of both Hindi and English songs as well as a few originals. The duo looked brilliant on stage with Zephyr’s high ponytail stealing the show as Sayan coordinated on the console superbly with her voice. The stylish duo performed tracks and their covers like Mood 24K Golden, Astronaut In the Ocean, Tere bina (their original track), Pasoori as we grooved to their bass drops and tunes that kept the night rocking. “We had fun performing for the people of Kolkata. It was a different kind of experience altogether at The India Story,” said Zephyr. “It was a pleasure performing in Kolkata as it’s my second home,” Sayan.

Jasleen Royal Live — The grand finale

DAY 3 of The India Story wrapped up with a mind-blowing performance by the singer Jasleen Kaur Royal aka Jasleen Royal who kick-started her setlist with Love you zindagi and won the audience’s hearts with her dulcet tunes and sweet voice. Pani da, Ranjha, Kho gaye hum kahan are some other tracks that we loved. We asked Jasleen to describe her journey from India’s Got Talent to playback singing and she defined it as “long and fulfilling”. “I have been here before and it is always great performing in Kolkata as people are inclined towards art and music. As an artiste it feels great to perform for people who know and appreciate art and music,” said Jasleen. Well, Jasleen is a dog lover and has dedicated the song Nit nit to her dog Kobe and she performed the number on stage and added a special note to Kobe before it at The India Story grand finale.

DAY 3 of The India Story wrapped up with a mind-blowing performance by the singer Jasleen Kaur Royal aka Jasleen Royal who kick-started her setlist with Love you zindagi and won the audience’s hearts with her dulcet tunes and sweet voice. Pani da, Ranjha, Kho gaye hum kahan are some other tracks that we loved. We asked Jasleen to describe her journey from India’s Got Talent to playback singing and she defined it as “long and fulfilling”. “I have been here before and it is always great performing in Kolkata as people are inclined towards art and music. As an artiste it feels great to perform for people who know and appreciate art and music,” said Jasleen. Well, Jasleen is a dog lover and has dedicated the song Nit nit to her dog Kobe and she performed the number on stage and added a special note to Kobe before it at The India Story grand finale.

Madhu Neotia, the brain and heart behind The India Story, with Jasleen Royal

Madhu Neotia, the brain and heart behind The India Story, with Jasleen Royal

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The India Story Jasleen Royal Neotia Arts Trust
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