The Hindu. 24 June 2003.

A thousand romances now...

A RAINY day spells misfortune for the English-speaking world, but here in India, the rains signify celebration and prosperity, an end to penury and the blossoming of a thousand romances. No wonder we have a host of artistic traditions dedicated to the season of clouds and breezes, lush green fields and rushing rivers, twinkling fireflies, frog symphonies and cricket concerts - a season of thunder and lightning, dusky days and inky nights when each star burns more radiant than a polished gem. To celebrate this season Art India Foundation has teamed up with Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra to present the Monsoon Festival at which artistes from across India will present dance and music dedicated to the rains.

Sponsored by the Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India, with support from the Syndicate Bank and National Insurance Company Limited, the three-day festival starting this coming Thursday at Kamani auditorium features among others, Hindustani vocalists Devaki Pandit from Mumbai and Madhup Mudgal of Delhi. There is also a Mohana Veena recital by the Jaipur-based Salil Bhatt. On the dance front, Prathibha Prahlad and Rama Vaidyanathan will give their individual Bharatanatyam takes on the monsoon, while Jayaprabha Menon will come in from Kozhikode with a Mohiniattam recital, and Vyjayanthi Kashi from Bangalore with a Kuchipudi solo. Shashadhar Acharya presents Chhau, and Rajkumar Sharma and Swapan Majumdar of Bharatiya Kala Kendra perform contemporary dance.

While Chennai-based Bharatanatyam dancer Priyadarshini Govind promises peacocks and Krishna's lifting of Mount Govardhan among her themes, Kozhikode-based playback singer Chengannur Srikumar who will sing devotional songs, has a special Malayalam popular composition based in the monsoon raga Amritavarshini ready. Carnatic flautist G.S. Rajan who is also the artistic director of the festival will present one of his thematic compositions accompanied by Joy Vincent on the banjo guitar and Sumod Shridhar on the mridangam. Odissi exponent Ranjana Gauhar will explore the connection between rain and Mother Earth through Hindi poetry sourced from Meera and the Prithivi Sukta. With an average of four artistes slated every evening, the performances are planned short and snappy.

Delhiites wait impatiently for the monsoon every year, but start complaining soon enough at the mosquitoes, power cuts, traffic snarls and the auto rickshaw drivers who make hay while the heavens pour. The contrast of cultural bliss and logistical chaos makes for some wry comedy, and maybe that's why cartoonist Sudheer Nath will be busy sketching in the auditorium as the show goes on. On a more serious note, eminent performing arts photographer Avinash Pasricha's works will be on display in the foyer.

Entry to the Monsoon Festival will be by tickets priced at Rs.15. This is in consonance with a growingfeeling among classical performing artistes that the interested or potential audiences for their programmes never get to hear of them, as organisers send invitations to fixed mailing lists consisting of a limited group of persons who hardly bother to attend.

ANJANA RAJAN