Basant Utsav
A two-day programme celebrating classical dances of India took place on March 8 and 9 at the District Park Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar, with a stunning monument serving as a backdrop. The event featured renowned performers like Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Sindhu Mishra, Yamini Reddy, and Shovana Narayan. Kapil Mishra, Hon’ble Minister, Art, Culture and Languages, Delhi was the Chief Guest and Anil Sharma, MLA, the Guest of Honour.
The programme marked the revival of Basant Utsav after many years. Credit for the revival of the festival goes to Sindhu Mishra, an accomplished Bharat Natyam Dancer, who now runs a Bharat Natyam School at Mandi House, and Sanjay Garg, Secretary of Hindi Academy, Government of Delhi. The Basant Utsav was designed to coincide with the International Woman’s Day.
The inaugural day’s proceedings commenced with a captivating performance by Yamini Reddy, who presented ‘Shingare’, in Kuchpudi style. Yamini is the daughter of legendary Raja reddy, Padma Bhushan awardee. Her performance was followed by a Bharat Natyam recital, choreographed by Sindhu Mishra, ‘Navdurga’ featuring seven of her students. The concluding performance on the first day featured students of Shovana Narayan, Padmashri, in Kathak style depicting ‘Ayo RiBasant’.
The second day featured Arshia Mathur and Kritika Kumar, students of Sindhu Mishra in a, ‘Shivoham’ recital in Bharat Natyam. Both the young dancers were excellent in their performances depicting Shiva. This was followed by a Natya Katha ‘Krishna’ featuring Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Padma Vibhushan awardee, and her students. The final performance of the day and the festival featured Ranjana Gauhar and her students executing a depiction of Shiva in Odissi style. On both days, the programme was elegantly compared by Ms. Tapasya.
The two-day festival was a resounding success drawing large crowds that thoroughly enjoyed the performances. Building on this triumph, plans are underway to make this Utsav an annual feature, with future additions set to feature vocal classical performances, further enriching the cultural experience.
