Banwari Lal Purohit declares Crafts Mela open in Chandigarh by beating Nagada

Chandigarh: North Zone Culture Centre (NZCC), Patiala, (Ministry of Culture, Govt of India), and Chandigarh Aministration Chandigarh hosted a concert on the inaugural day of the National Crafts Mela at Kalagram, Manimajra on Friday.

Symphony orchestras from different states like Maharashtra, J&K, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal, Uttarakhand, and Haryana presented ‘SwarLehri’ - a symphony of folk tunes About 42 musicians enthralled the audience with pleasing folk tunes from different states in harmony with different musical instruments. The rendition gave a glimpse of the folklore and cultures of these states taking the audience on a journey exploring diverse folk traditions and music styles.

The next presentation was a comedy act 'Bhopal Ki Train' that entertained the audience to the hilt. Written by TapanBhat and directed by Saurabh Bhatt (both brothers) based in Jaipur, the fifteen-minute act was a story of a man who works in railways and is looking for the concerned counter. The skit is full of comic situations depicting the hurdles he faces at the inquiry counter. The Bhatt brothers are the torchbearers of the Folk tradition of Jaipur Tamasha that is being continued for generations.

The concert of the inaugural day concluded with ‘Nrityam’ - an amalgamation of classical and folk dances. About seventy dancers depicted the richness of our heritage and culture. The one-hour presentation started with Ganesh Vandana followed by Classical dances, Theatre Rouf from Kashmir, PungCholam of Manipur, Sufi, Lavni of Maharashtra, Kathak of North India, Ghoomar of Haryana, Kalbeliya of Rajasthan, Bhangra of Punjab and drew close with the grand finale.

The exclusive presentation included our heritage classical forms from north to south like Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Chhau and Kathak. Santosh Nair from Delhi, who runs the Sadhya Dance Company was the choreographer.

Other Officials present were Sarabjit Kaur, Mayor MC, UT, Chandigarh,Nitin Kumar Yadav, IAS, Home Secretary, UT, Chandigarh, Dr Vijay NamdeoraoZade, IAS, Finance Secretary, UT, Chandigarh,Vinod P Kavle, IAS, Secretary Culture, UT Chandigarh, Sorabh Arora, Director Culture, UT, Chandigarh and Director NZCC M. Furqan Khan