Dilli Haat reverberated with soulful Bhojpuri music when prominent artistes from Bihar performed live to mark ‘Bihar Utsav’ in the capital.
Pushpa Prasad and Nimisha Shanker had listeners under their spell as they presented purvi, sohar, jhumar, tumri, holi and chaiti songs. Kaushlya ke bhaile raja ram, a lovely sohar composition was
particularly stirring.
Pushpa and Nimisha led their listeners from soulful music to robust fare with Chaitee nindiya laagi main soye rahe guiyaa and Jhumae lat gene jhulaniya haar. The Holi song, Heri nand ke laalan pe rang dalung, and the chaiti song, Sobat nindiya mei jagaye ho rama were
rendered with verve.
Their performance had a message too. With their popular purvi song on child marriage Gauna gauna sunat rahli bhaile na gawanma, they had the audience
listening in rapt attention.
Later, Sumisha Shanker and her troupe presented a Kathak recital.
Mouth-watering Bihari cuisine was an added attraction at the Utsav. A large number of people thronged the venue to relish litti chokha, silao ka khaja, jalebi rabari, chicken biriyani, kebabs and more.
The festival, which was also celebrated at Pitampura Dilli Haat, had Bhagalpuri silk sarees, Madhubani paintings, applique sarees and jute jewellery. The theme of the fest being ‘Empowering women is empowering society’, the week-long Utsav showcased the skills of Bihar’s women artisans.