Sopan 2019 closes on a high note
Sopan 2019, a six-day long festival held at Central Park, Rajiv Chowk, closed on a successful note on February 6. Organised by the young scholarship holders of Sahitya Kala Parishad along with Delhi Government and inaugurated by the Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, the festival saw some amazing traditional art forms performed by the young artists.
The first day of the festival started with Vignesh Jayaraman, who performed with his Mridangam, a percussion instrument from India of ancient origin. Sruti R accompanied him with melodious Carnatic vocals. Later, Sumeet Anand Pandey presented his Hindustani Classical Vocal Dhrupad recital. This was followed by a Kathakali play based on the famous Indian epic, The Mahabharata, performed by Surya S Nair. The first-day event came to an end with a melodious Kathak performance on a soordas bhajan by Minu Garu followed by a shudh Nritya in Taal teentaal.
Second day also had brilliant artists who mesmerised the audience with their talents. Shivam Bhardwaj started the show with a melodic Hindustani vocal, followed by Kalamadhuri Anushree's Mohiniyattam. Later Madhur Gupta presented Kamakshi Mangalacharan, which is an invocation to Goddess Kamakshi.
The third day started with Anaghashree Sajeevnath 3 krits, followed by Sabir Akhtar Hussain's Sarangi performance on Raag Maru Bihag, accompanied by Aamir Hussain and Amaan Jamil on Tabla. Highlight performance of the day was given by Premananda Sahoo, who presented three acts of traditional Odissi dance form, namely Batu, Leela Nidhi, and 'Arabhi Pallavi'.
On fourth day received the best response from the audience and ended with Mrinalini's act, who performed Kathak in its traditional format - beginning with a Vandana, going on to taiyaari ang in Pancham Sawaari Taal which is a cycle of 15 beats.
On the fifth day, Yogesh Solanki's performance on Tabla and later Shubham Kumar's Hindustani Vocal performance was praised by many. The evening was culminated by Bharatanatyam dance form by Ritika Malhotra.
On the last day of the festival, Siddesh Ganesh started the show with three Carnatic Music pieces, namely, 'Varnam' which is traditionally played/sung at the start of a concert. The second piece was a 'Keerthanam', titled, Paridhana Michite, in praise of Lord Venkateshwara. And the third performance was a Thillana, which is a rhythmic piece sung towards the end of a performance. Later, Ridhima Bagga's Kathak performance began with a very famous and traditional Dhrupad 'Poojan Chali Mahadev' that described the beauty of Goddess Parvati while she goes to worship her husband, Lord Shiva. The next part of the performance showcased the Abhinaya aspect of Kathak through a thumri 'Mohe Chhedo na' written by Pandit Bindadin Maharaj.
Sharing his views on the Sopan festival, Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia said, "Watching these young talents performing the traditional art form was a proud moment. The coming generation has immense talent and confidence, which will take our Indian heritage and tradition to a higher level. It is our responsibility to encourage these young lots and provide them with suitable platforms to outshine their talents"
