'Qawwali not allowed': Kathak recital cut short in UP

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, January 17

A Kathak recital of well-known artiste Manjari Chaturvedi came to a halt mid-performance at a state government function here reportedly because the dancer was performing on a qawwali.

Chaturvedi complained that she had been allotted 45 minutes for her performance. However, all of a sudden the music stopped. She assumed it to be a technical glitch, but when the next performance was announced, she realised that this was no error.

When Chaturvedi asked for the reason for her performance being aborted midway, she was reportedly told: “Qawwali nahi chalegi (qawwali would not do)”.

The artiste said she had accepted the UP Government’s invitation and the organisers were aware of the fact that she would be performing on a qawwali’

“This is the first time that my performance has been curtailed in this manner in my own city,” an upset Chaturvedi told reporters.

The organisers, on the other hand, attributed the stopping of Chaturvedi’s performance midway to “organisational compulsions” instead of “any religious or linguistic bias”. They said all performers were to get equal time on stage till the arrival of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after which dinner was to be served.

As the programme was running behind the schedule, Chaturvedi was made to cut her performance short, said a member of the organising panel.