4-day Ragini Utsav-26 concludes in Chandigarh
Massive crowd of enthusiasts from across the Tricity flocked the venue
The four-day long Ragini Utsav- 26, organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, concluded at the Kalagram here today.
On the concluding day, a massive crowd of Ragini enthusiasts from across the Tricity flocked to the venue in droves to be part of the spectacular show, steeped in the vibrant hues of folk culture.
The chief guest on the occasion was Chandigarh DGP Sagar Preet Hooda. He enjoyed the flavour of rustic folk tunes of Haryanavi Ragini for half an hour. He was all praise for the performers of the evening, adding that folk artistes were the cultural ambassadors of a region, who played a significant role in the enrichment of the cultural diversity of the country.
The prominent Ragini singers on the concluding day were Surender Sharma, Sandhya Sharma and Rakesh Bharaniya, who performed (with their teams) and won the hearts of the audience. Through the powerful medium of Ragini, they presented references from the epic Mahabharata and also captured vignettes from the typical Haryanavi folk life in an immaculate manner, leaving the audience spellbound and applauding their art of storytelling.
The evening programme started with soulful singing by Sandhya Sharma, a gifted Ragini singer, who took the rendition to the next level, offering a glimpse into the rich Haryanvi culture through her well-modulated voice.
Sandhya belted out some of her hit numbers. She started with ‘Ganga Ji’, a Ragini composed by eminent poet Mangeram, followed by “Chaugarde ne bagh hara...”, “Bham bham lehari...”, and so on, which got a thunderous applause from the audience. Up next was acclaimed Ragini singer Surender Sharma (and party), who wowed the audience with his scintillating singing. He doled out a popular Ragini number, retelling a story of Mahabharata “Dhanush ger diya Arjuna ne kare paagal alla besh, Shri Krishan ji lagge sunane Gita ka updesh...”.
It was then the turn of Rakesh Bharaniya, an accomplished Ragini singer, and his troupe to hop on to the centrestage. He infused a whiff of fresh energy to the music-charged evening through their engaging rendition.
His soul-stirring Raginis, elevating social conscious, were well received. Rakesh went on to mesmerise the audience, doling out songs ranging from romantic (shringar ras) Raginis to historic tales of chivalry suffused with social message for the entire humanity.
Speaking on the success of the festival, NZCC director Furqan Khan extended a vote of thanks to the tricity music lovers for making the initiative a big event and the media for giving ample space for the event. He announced that, starting from March 19, a four-day ‘Saang’ (folk theatre), will start at Kalagram, with an eye on furthering the region’s rich tradition of folk theatre.
