Indu Mitha mesmerises audience at Lok Virsa

Islamabad: A captivating and fabulous ‘Bharat Natyam’ performance by classical dancer Indu Mitha etched in the minds of the appreciative audience that enjoyed Thursday evening show at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) in connection with the 70th Independence Day celebrations.

‘Mazmoon-e-Shauq’ academy performed ‘Hazaroon Khwahishain aisi’, with the collaboration of Lok Virsa where a sizeable audience enjoyed classical music and dance performances. The sounds of ‘ghungroos’, the fragrance of fresh ‘gajras’ and the diminutive flames of earthen lamps lining the stage set the ambience for the evening.

At the heart of the show were classical dance performances of ‘Bharat Natyam’ by students of Indu Mitha who have been training in this form of classical dance for the past decade. The octogenarian Mitha has dedicated over seventy years of her life to the classical dance traditions of the Indian Subcontinent and has been teaching the art for over five decades.

Mitha exude almost six decades of residence against the resistance of a nation struggling with the culture identity. With her dancers from the ‘Mazmoon-e-Shauq’ academy, where she had been teaching since 1999, she plans to make her last presentation. As a prelude to the dance performances, Mitha shared the dance form’s history, which originated in south India and spread all over the world. It has also gained popularity in Bollywood.

An item includes ‘Qaseeda-e-ILM-o-Jamal’, ‘Murwa Pankh’, ‘Dukhi’, ‘Nachat Hai’, ‘Loghari’, ‘Agey yeh ro’z, ‘Shabdam’, ‘Charrom Pehe’r. Amna Mawaz who mesmerised the audience with her nuanced rendition of the ‘Dukhi’ dance in a solo performance. The dance performances were punctuated by classical and semi-classical folk and instrumental performers.