JOIN USFor people gathered at the MLR Convention Centre, it seemed liked Goddess Kali had descended on the stage.
Bharatanatyam dancer and actress Shobana and her troupe enthralled the audience with their mesmerising performances as part of a cultural evening organised by Fortis Hospitals to launch the drive, ‘Seniors First’ recently. The initiative hosts a list of services and privileges exclusively for senior citizens.
The evening began with recital of devotional songs by students of Pandit Puttaraj Gavai Trust for the Blind.
The visually-challenged singers kicked-off the event with a song on courage, Hum Ko Mann ki Shakti and a song on friendship, Sneha Athimadhura.
The audience were then treated to Shobana’s performances. She began her solo performance with a kriti in praise of Goddess Kali, composed by Balamuralikrishna. The dance was in gambheera nattai ragam set in adi talam. She then performed a javali in kapi raga.
The recital depicted the beloved’s request to her nayaka asking him to trust her love. Later on, it was time for the audience to imagine the Brindavan Gardens, when Radha hears about Krishna dancing with gopikas and she too imagines herself with Krishna.
Shobana and her troupe performed to a composition on Krishna. This was followed by a thillana performance to a Lalgudi Jayaraman composition.
There were also surprises in store for the audience.
The troupe performed bharatanatayam to Bach’s composition.
The audience were delighted to see an Indian classical dance for Western classical music! The troupe’s performances ended with a dance to the tunes of A R Rahman’s Vande Mataram. The dance brought together the collages of contemporary India. From home-makers to beauty pageant winners to the lives of Indian soldiers — the essence of the country was staged through this piece.
Appreciating the drive, National Award-winning actress Shobana, joked about how senior citizens were neglected: “We are from the country which is rich in tradition and we have high values. From a young age, we are told to respect our elders. But, when see an empty seat in a bus, we would run to take the seat first!” The organisers of the show chose to be creative while unveiling the ‘Seniors First’ card.
Yakshagana artistes performed a small piece, following which the benefit cards were distributed to a few senior citizens. The evening came to an end with Bollywood fusion dance by the employees of Fortis Hospitals. The theme of the dance was ‘16 at 60’.