An evening drenched with the magic of music and dance

Delhi: On the night of May 20, 2022, 'IIC Double Bill Dance and Music Recitations' was organised at CD Auditorium, India International Centre. The night was a musical one followed by a light rain in the capital. On the occasion, two solo performances of music and dance were organized. While Sameer Rao of Bangalore presented a mesmerising Hindustani flute solo, the next performance was by well-known Kathak dancer Rachna Yadav.

Accompanying Sameer Rao on tabla was Adarsh ​​Shenoy. When Sameer Rao started playing the flute, the audience in the auditorium went into deep silence. Even after a while, it seemed as if there was no one else in the hall, only the enchanting tunes of Sameer Rao's flute. He kept the audience engaged for almost an hour. As soon as the flute's tunes fell silent, they were replaced by thunderous applause from the audience present. Clearly this was a hallmark of Sameer Rao's mastery over his art. It is worth mentioning that Sameer Rao has received flute playing lessons from the legendary flute players Guru Pandit Veerabhadra Hiremath and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia ji. Both the influence and blessings of his gurus were visible in Sameer Rao's flute playing.

After this, the next performance was by Rachna Yadav, the well-known and beloved Kathak dancer of Delhi. Throughout the two hour long performance, Rachna kept the audience captivated. She started with dancing to the mantras of Atharva Veda. Further, she moved to the Hindi adaptation of a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. Through her performance, Rachna presented the journey from the first ray of dawn to the raging noon, from day to dusk and then to the darkening night, in such a way that the spectators themselves became part of this journey. After this, the next dance performance of the composition was, 'Kar singar piya milan ki aas' and 'piya milan kis bidh main jaoon, mori piliya shor kare' on the bands.

The last evening evening was like sprinkling of some relieving rain on the withered body and mind, exactly like what was happening outside the auditorium during this event.