A riot of colours

The festival, which is on till September 19, has ‘harmony’ as the theme.

Violin maestro L Subramaniam opened the festival invoking Lord Ganesha. He was accompanied by his son Ambi Subramaniam. The violin concert, which went on for at least an hour, was a treat to the ears. The second performance for the evening came from popular musician Raghu Dixit. In bright colourful clothes, he and his team stole the hearts of the audience. He started the concert with Gudu Gudiya Saidi Nodu from Santha Shishunala Sharief. His other songs like Ye Choti Si He Zindagi, Lokada Kalaji, among others, dwelt on harmony and peace. The urban mystic rock star hogged the limelight and kept the crowd wanting for more.

The final performance of the evening was by Nirupama and Rajendra, the dancer duo, who performed four brilliant numbers. Their first performance, Sambhrama which means celebrations, unfolded a riot of colours and featured elaborate costumes and jewellery that was visually alluring. Indian and Thai traditional motifs were juxtaposed with enchanting ethno-modern musical scores culminating in mangala shlokas from the Vedas. The verses spoke about sharing tranquillity with the universe. The other performances included Rang and Kadam Kadam. The costumes blended well with the concept. Rang had multi-coloured costumes and Kadam Kadam had beautiful white churidhars, which glittered in the light.

Till September 19, this festival will be celebrating Indian and international genres of art forms at various popular venues in the City with the aim to celebrate the cultural spirit of Bangalore. The other artistes who will be featured in the fest are Mandolin U Srinivas, Satyanarayana Raju (Bharatanatyam), R K Padmanabha (Carnatic Vocal), Adil Hissaini (Sufi), Michel Casanovas (Wind Dance), Nritarutya (Contemporary Dance), Veena Murthy Vijay’s Harmony and Rahul Sharma (Santoor).