The Standpoint

CONTEMPORARY YOUTH GOES CLASSICAL

By

Kalpana Gupta

The St. Stephen’s College (University of Delhi) presented a week long festival – VIRASAT 2009 in collaboration with SPICMACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical music and Culture Amongst youth). The students were seen gathering in large numbers at the Vishwavidyalaya metro station and continued their journey till Central Secretariat on 7th November 2009 for the very first programme- “A WALK THROUGH THE NATIONAL MUSEUM” of Virasat 2009. The Director, National Museum, Mr. R.S Chauhan, escorted the students. Many unknown facts about the Harrapan Civilisation came into light while the artefacts drew the attention of the students.

Dr. Kiran Seth, the director of SPICMACAY, inaugurated the festival on November 9th which continued till November 13th. The students from across various colleges of the University dropped in to witness the dance performance by Padma Shri holder Smt. Bharathi Shivaji. Smt. Shivaji tapped her feet on the graceful dance form of Kerela called as Mohiniyattam accompanied by a demonstrative lecture on the technicalities of expressions and performance.

On November 10th, the College Hall of St. Stephen’s college presented Mehfil-e-sama by Ghulam Sabir and Ghulam Waris Nizami. The most famed Qawwali singers in the Sufi style, Astana Gayaki as well as the modern Qawwali tradition, the Nizami brothers, presented the Darabari Gayaki before the students. The Nizami brothers’ performance of a 16-year old ghazal to the tunes of harmonium, dholak and tabla, received overwhelming applaud from the audiences. Adding to the glory, the students were shown the movie- RASHOMON by Akira Kurosawa. This movie is said to have introduced the Japanese cinema to western audiences and is considered one of Kurosawa’s masterpieces.

On November 11^th, Padma Shri holder, Anjolie Ela Menon exchanged her prominent views on painting as an art and showcased her presentation regarding the same. M.F Hussain and Amrita Shergil were other painters who escaped some space in her lecture. On receiving the highest civilian honour in India, Anjolie Ela Menon narrated her own story to the audiences and inspired them to have faith in themselves.

Hailed as the “Saint of the Santoor” and the “King of Strings”, Padma Shri holder Pt. Bhajan Sopori presented his talent on the stage of college hall on November 13th. The combination of tabla, veena and santoor attracted heavy crowd and made a grave impact on the minds of audiences. The students present, gave an ear to the sounds of classical instruments unlike the modern ones used in the ever popular pop and rock genres.

With the onslaught of rapid change and global homogenization, this week observed the multifaceted Indian Heritage in its distinctive hues. As the week long festival came to an end, the students expressed their willingness to be a part of VIRASAT 2010.