Showcasing country's young talent

In a recently organised festival, 'Sopan', young talents from all over the country came together to share a single stage and showcase their talent in traditional art forms. Sahitya Kala Parishad, Department of Art, Culture and Languages, Govt. of NCT of Delhi organised this six-day festival in the Capital's heart, Connaught Place to inspire the audience and develop an interest in classical arts.

On the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister, Delhi, Manish Sisodia said, "Sopan is a great platform for young artists to take forward our traditional arts. Looking at this brilliant line-up of young talent, we can be assured that our heritage is in safe hands. Their gurus' hard work to take forward the legacy must be appreciated. Despite our rich cultural heritage and the hard work put in by the artists to carry on this legacy, there is a constant threat of traditional arts being endangered. This problem will persist until we increase the patronage and make the arts accessible to more people."

The festival served as a soothing experience with its spirited classical performances. Along with the art installations and canvasses on exhibition, they brought a new energy that is vital in maintaining the cycle of preservation of traditions, its continuity and the emergence of new talent.

During the festival, artists like Alish Mohan, tabla player Neeraj Kumar, Kathak dancer Samadreeta Chandra, Sarod player Rohan Prasanna, Anjali Munjal, and Shikha Sharma performed their best to enthral the audience.

Apart from them, Avadh Kumar took the stage to present teen taal on Tabla, performing peshkira followed with kaida, rela, tukde, chakradhar and raag Farmayashi Caker Daar. Navneeta Krishnan performed carnatic vocals starting with the keerthanam 'Gajananayutham' in the raga Chakravakam. She also sang 'Sooryaya', a beautiful composition in Tamil based on the rare raga Soorya. The third song was 'Ananda Natamaduvar', a krithi in praise of Lord Shiva the cosmic dancer and the performance concluded with a Thillana. Ravi Pal rendered 'more ghar aa aaja' and the thumri song 'yaad piya ki aaye'.