Diwali was celebrated with much pomp and joy throughout Mauritius on Friday 5th November. The Student Union of the University of Mauritius (comprising of members of Student Power and Campus Movement recently elected) organised the annual Diwali Show on Friday 12th November.
Personally, I was hyper happy to prepare for an Indian Classical dance item Kathak. This was a challenge since immediately after university final dissertation submission, we had less than 2 weeks to prepare!
The preparation was tough and involved hours of practice, requiring perfect coordination between Vocalist, Instrumentalist and Dancer.
Video of Kathak Rehearsal:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHYTlvzFs5s]
At around 6pm, the UoM auditorium nearby were magically lit. Its a great part on behalf of UoM students for preparing all the diyas, rangoli and decoration. Hats off to your teamwork and incredible patience.
The first part of the programme: Diwali Cultural Expo was a great success!
Then, as time flew by quickly, the auditorium was gradually filled up with guests and students. There was bus transport facility so that stud. could return home at the end of the show.
The Audi. nicely decorated and a big Ganesh Murti in front
The Students Union and Master of Ceremony welcoming the Chief Guests including VC of UoM Prof. Morgan
At the back stage, all the performers were busy getting dressed up, doing their make-up and concentrating on their item: vocal singing, dance, sketch or fashion show. The Masters of Ceremony were ready with their mic to do the animation and bring life to the show!
I was pleasantly surprised to find support from the Auditorium attendant and Sound Crew to help us settle down when the time for our performance item came. Honestly, I was thinking about whether or not the audience would appreciate such a piece of Indian Classical Sangeet as I assume that the majority are youngsters fan of Bollywood items or other rocking stuff. Our item was a classical Kathak dance in its purest form.
Video of Kathak Performance:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVNlLmh92eM]
At the end of the time, was relieved that the audience was very receptive of the classical dance item, as indicated by their clappings. It was a great, exciting moment for all the artists in our group for performing successfully. We could not stop congratulating our friends and showing the 180 degree smile on our face.
From left to Right: Jay -Violonist, Me, Yashti, Deepshikha and Sharveena
Vidoushi (on left) did an amazing kathak recital!
Jay and Vashish - Two amazingly talented Violin Players providing Lehra
Then back to the Show, more interesting items to entertain the audience.
Hanuman getting ready…
to chase Ravana:
for the Ram Leela performed by Students.
To end with, nothing better than a special Diwali Dish – 7 Curry at the UoM Cafetaria:
To conclude on a personal note, it has been an immense experience to perform at the University of Mauritius, in the same way that i did during my college days at MGI:
I can still remember my performance for the pre-primary school (drama/ mimicry) and the primary school (flute).
I hope to get further opportunities to perform at the institution from where I acquire knowledge, as I strongly believe that students should not be bookish and have no personality development. They should engage in extra-curricular activites like Sports or Performing Arts etc. Do you agree with me?