On the 8th of January 2017, Kolkata witnessed a scintillating bonanza of delightful dance, magical music and luscious laughter as Indus Valley world School celebrated their annual mega-event INDCON 2017 in the Science City Auditorium. The programme enchanted the viewers with its soul, depth and richness of expressions.
The evening sparkled into its existence with a number of dignitaries present on the stage, including Chief Guest for the evening, Mayukh Bhoumik ( the celebrated Percussionist ) and Guest of Honour, Sohom Chakraborty (notable Actor of Bengali films). Mr.Kalyan Mukhopadhyay, DCP (Traffic), Kolkata Police, graced the occasion with his presence as the Special Guest for the evening. A short and sweet welcome speech by the Principal Mr.Joseph Mathew lead up to the felicitation of the guests. The age old auspicious tradition of lighting of the Lamps and the Chandan-Tika ceremony took place as well. In his welcome speech Mr. Joseph Mathew highlighted the fact that each and every child got an opportunity to perform on the stage.
Mr. Mayukh Bhoumik and Mr. Sohom Chakraborty were kind enough to address the audience with their sincere and inspiring words of wisdom.
Shivang Chakraborty, Rohosen Bhattacharya, Aditya Chatterjee and Shashank Shekhar of IVWS started off the musical evening with a delightful fusion of five different forms of percussion coupled with violin, guitar and brass. This was closely followed by an equally gorgeous presentation of Shiva Tandava through Bharat Natyam that beautifully symbolized the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction.
The Laiharaoba dance form of Manipur that had left quite an impression on a young Rabindranath, was show-cased on stage depicting the Rash-Lila of Radha-Krishna in all its pristine beauty and poise. Bengal’s very own Gaudiya Nritya was next presented with the accompanied melancholy of a classic Kirtan, the soul-touching ‘’Brindabono Rai’’. Colours and grace ruled the stage when different forms for Rajasthani Folk dances were performed.
Indus Valley world School has always celebrated and embraced internationalism. So it was only natural that Jazz made a sensational appearance on the dais in its majestic New Orleans avatar and Spanish Gitano’s Flamenco wasn’t far behind. Hollywood’s very own Hip-Hop also popped up on the stage for a short but stylized dance performance.
As a tribute to a man whose genius is seldom recognized, the students of IVWS presented a contemporary take on Sukumar Ray’s immortal play ‘’Jhalapala’’ as ‘’Jhapala Reloaded.’’
There were sincere and serene performances of intricate Kathakali and Mohiniyattyam, some energetic Bhangra and a dash of evergreen Bollywood. Assam’s Sattriya dance was choreographed in fusion with Manipur’s Thang ta martial arts and presented on stage with a lot of precision and discipline. The last performance of the evening was an enchanting fusion where Tamil Nadu’s Bharatnatyam, Odissa’s Odissi and Sri Lanka’s Kandiyan transcended boundaries, timelines and cultures tobecome a unified celebration of performing arts.
The truly memorable evening culminated with the vote of thanks from the Hon’ble Rector of IVWS, Ms Anita George. But for the audience present in Science City Auditorium, INDCON 2017 will always be a very special evening, an unforgettable ecperience that they will fondly remember for a long time.
Photographs : Display Photo