Dancing to the rhythms of war drums

BANGALORE: A heady mélange of colour, drum beats and a primal war dance threw a spell over the Sunday audience at The Times of India International Folk Festival, as artistes from Purulia enacted the mythological tale of Mahishasura Badh (murder of demon king Mahishasura). It was the Chhau, the mask dance.
There was no music or narration through the 90-minute performance; just taut body language telling the story of Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara, Ma Durga on her lion, battling Mahishasura.Accompanied by 15 artistes, the team was led by Tarapada Rajak. The programme began with a peacock rider starting the dance with Ganesha, and ended with a war sequence involving Ganesha, Karthi, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga.
The Chhau dance is a folk form found in Odisha (Mayurbhanj), Jharkhand (Seraikella) and West Bengal (Purulia). Almost every family in Purulia masters the nuances of the Chhau.
Get Mesmerized, a solo opera by Unni Lovlid, gave a glimpse of Norwegian culture. Lovlid rendered a melodious wedding song, lullaby, dance tune and love songs.
Eastern Rhythms, a Sattriya folk dance by Padmashri Jatin Goswami and his team, introduced the audience to Assamese culture on a rainy afternoon at the Jayamahal Palace. Clad in white traditional attire, artistes with khol (drum) and taal (cymbol) began the programme with Gayan Bayan, a taal-drum orchestra.
This dance was followed by Ramakatha, a chali nrithya where the woman artiste gave a glimpse of the Ramayana with excellent expressions. The rest of the Ramayana episodes kept the audience in rapt attention with excellent talas, ragas and choreography.
The musical programme, Seeking the Beloved, was a rendition of love, longing and mysticism by the Waee singers of the Kutch and Mooralaala Marwada.
As art and culture bloomed inside, families were entertained by drummers from Rajasthan and a Kamsale team from Bangalore giving some exuberant performances.
CITY ALIVE TO MUSIC
Bangaloreans understand qawwali. They enjoy music and this was proved when we got a great response to our programme. We like not only the people here, but also the city's greenery and cleanliness.
Amjad Aziz Ahmed Khan Warsi | qawwali singer