From Schools
River rafting

It was an unusual experience for 15 students of Dikshant International School, Zirakpur, as they were taken to Rishikesh for river rafting on Saturday.

The students, between the age of 7 to 15, rafted around 13 km in the Ganga.

“The idea behind taking the children for these adventurous activities is to instill a spirit in the children to face challenging situations besides making them mentally and physically tough,” said director of the school Mitul Dikshit. — TNS

School tour

Newly admitted students of Saint Soldiers International Public School, Mohali, were taken on a school tour from block to block to familiarise them with the school on Friday. They were guided by head girl Garima Saini, head boy Jaspreet Singh Walia and discipline in-charge Palak Vij. — TNS

CULTURE

‘Bullah’ casts mystic spell
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 15
Madeeha Gauhar’s much-acclaimed production “Bullah” was staged as the concluding show of the Baisakhi celebrations organised by UT administration this evening.

A familiar production, which has earlier travelled to India for different festivals, “Bullah” looked ever-fresh.

An added charm was the voice of Pakistani Sufi singer Sher Miandad, a resident qawwal at the shrine of Baba Farid in Pak Pattan.

Roped in to lend authenticity to Sufi music, Miandad rendered Bulle Shah’s poetry to perfection. By the end of the show, he had emerged as the scene stealer.

There were several other high points in the production, including the choice of episodes from the life of Bulle Shah, who lived in times when the Mughal empire was on its decline.

The mystic’s powerful voice called for tolerance and love when there was strife and communal tension all around.

With his “unfettered” style and divinely-inspired poetry, he had offended the clerics so much that they didn’t allow his body to be buried in the city of Kasur.

But as divine justice would have it, the city moved outward towards the tomb of Bulle Shah. Today the tomb stands at the heart of Kasur.

This and much more finds reflection in the production, written by Shahid Nadeem, Gauhar’s better half. In the lead roles of Bulle Shah and Shah Inayat (Bulle’s spiritual beloved), Sarfaraz Ansari and Asim Bukhari made a convincing impact. Other characters also lived their roles to near perfection.

However, the harmony of the show was often disturbed by unnecessary noise made by a generator set.

Earlier, the show also started late. Against the scheduled start of 7 pm, it took off at 8 pm, after chief guest Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had arrived.

In his welcome speech, Badal insisted upon Gauhar, the force behind Ajoka Theatre, to stage “Bullah” in the rural areas of Punjab.

He said he would select four locations where the play could be presented.

He also recalled his days at Lahore where he was a student at Forman Christian College. His speech was primarily hinged on the need for cultural exchange and cross-border harmony.

Kathak dancer enthrals
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, April 15
The panoramic ambience of Sukhna Lake and the murmur of water waves found a true match in the rhythmic dance sequences executed with brilliance by the kathak danseuse, V. Anuradha Singh here today. The event organised by the department of tourism, NZCC and CITCO as a part of the Chandigarh festival witnessed a large audience glued to their seats much before the programme commenced. A foremost disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj, Anuradha had performed at the festival of India in the USSR and all leading venues in India.

The Bhopal based artiste Anuradha opened up the recital with Shiv vandana ‘Kaali Kaal Dosh Vimochan’ joined later by her disciples Rakhi Dubey, Shruti, Suromita and Keya. She displayed her expertise of foot work and expressions through an immaculate execution of variegated rhythmic patterns in ‘Rhythmic Journey’. Her gungroos and body language so eloquently depicted many sequences leading to the killing of ferocious Cobra by child Krishna in the episode ‘Kalia Daman’. She delineated the fundamental patterns of pure kathak in ‘Nritta’ which included tode, tukde, parans before enlivening the sanctity of bhajans ‘Sab dukh duur huye jab tera naam liya.’ Submerged in devotion as she presented ‘Mann laga yaar faqiri mein’ she was at her best. Equally captivating was her dance sequence bringing alive the sufiana ingredient of Amir Khusro’s classic composition ‘Phool rahi saron..’. An array of accomplished musicians who augmented the level of performance included Salim Allahwale on Tabla, Kailash on violin, Virender Kore on flute, Mazid Khan and Vinod Kumar.

Young artistes display talent
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 15
The artistes from Panchkula displayed their exuberant energy in a spectacular show “Abhinay Darpan” held at Makhan Shah Lobana Auditorium, Sector 30, here, today.

The show was choreographed by Mukhtha Nagesh who is a known name in this field for the past 30 years. The programme was presided over by an eminent film personality Prof P.S. Nirola.

The programme started with a vandana to invoke divine powers. The dance performances ‘Piya Bavre’ and ‘Chapu Tilak’ were appreciated by all. The purpose of the programme was to enthuse confidence in the young talent by providing them platform to exploit their hidden talent.