A frenzy of folk & fusion

It’s E haalo as well as Balle balle at CHYK event

turned out to be a truly unique contemporary piece indeed, perfectly suited to the evening.

BY KOMAL UTSAV JAGAD

The Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (CHYK), youth wing of Chinmaya Mission, brought together a frenzy of folk and fusion at their annual Garba and Bhangra Night. Merrymakers came together cheerily in “E haalo…” and “Balle Balle…” mode, and created pure unadulterated masti as they danced the night away!

The Gujju-Panju atmosphere, created at the Hills Basketball Centre, helped raise funds for the Chinmaya Mission.

750 dance zealots attended this year in what has become a cannotmiss event amongst community youth. For most girls it was a reason to clearly break out of the standard daily humdrum to deck up in resplendent chanya cholis and stunning odhnis (scarfs), bringing out the traditional bandhani (tie and die) and abla (mirror work) fare. For others, the trick was to get creative with the latest designer saree or salwar kameez and accessorise heavily with necklaces, sparkling bangles, kadas and the like. The boys also strutted their stuff in our very own ethnic kurta pyjama ensembles.

All the jazz really paid off when the musicians played the traditional garba numbers, mostly in praise of the mother goddess Amba, describing her powers and invoking her blessings to kick start the first dance round of dancing. Skirts swirled and chunnis twirled as everyone swayed to the tune of melodious numbers in pirouettes by swinging their arms and clapping their palms.

Of course, energy levels did not fade after an hour-long round of garba. In fact the guys and gals were only more energised as the dandiya sticks came out. Some of the dancers did not know the dandiya moves, but that did not bring down their gusto even a notch. Soon they were grooving away with the most diehard of dandiya addicts. As the sticks clacked in rhythm, it was CHYK bonhomie all around!

As they paused to catch breath, classical stars Shweta Natrajan and Amala Ramarathinam took over the floor with a graceful rendition of Liquid Dance from Slumdog Millionaire. A Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam fusion (the dance forms in which the girls have trained for many years), it

Other performances included a garba act put together by a group of eight called “Rhythm of Gujarat”, and a performance by CHYK Swaranjali members

Amrita Subramaniam, Kavita Nambiar and Abhinav Rajkumar.

And then the much awaited bhangra came on. DJ Oily from Stereo Nation Sound Reinforcement, in a powerhouse performance, let out an inundation of Punjabi Bollywood hits. Within seconds everyone was tapping and twirling, screaming and waving to some typical Balle balle numbers.

Ahun Ahun Ahun, Aaja Nachle, Soni de Nakhre… was there anyone who could stand still?! Even the disco lights seemed to be saying Dhoom Machale as the merrymakers machao-ed some pretty heavy dhoom on the dance floor!

With all the calories being shed at the dancing, some ravenous stomachs were queuing up at the Chutney stalls to grab delicacies like bhalla papri chat, pani puri, chole bathura, samosas and the like.

Emcees Kieran Pradeep and Khajal Gopal stuck to their roles and kept the show going smoothly.

Brahmachari Gopal Chaitanya, who organised the programme with CHYK, told Indian Link, “We have been organising the Garba and Bhangra night as an annual event since 1998. It helps keep up our motto to give maximum happiness for maximum people for maximum time, through the teachings and practise of Vedanta. We wish to show people that fun can be had without alcohol, without bad language, without smoking, without meat, without any of the usual ways youngsters nowadays use to get happiness from. This Garba Bhangra night not only shows our culture but also keeps it fun for the youth.”

The CHYK stall, posters and video displayed the mission’s activities inviting everyone to join its pursuit and experience happiness through Vedanta.

Ashish Kumar who attended the night with his wife Jyoti Chaudhary said, “I am attending for the first time. My wife is 8 months pregnant but could not resist coming – she’s loved every minute! The DJ is awesome, the crowd’s going crazy, and we are so glad we came”.

Many people also brought in their friends from other communities, who came decked up in Indian garb and who learned the moves in no time.

What better way to bring people together, than to just dance!