As reported by: Gopal Awasthi [Mec '08]
The I.T. B.H.U. chapter of SPIC-MACAY was back in action with VIRASAT 2005. The annual cultural extravaganza that showcases the talent of maestros of Indian classical music and dance saw a mesmerizing performance of Odissi dance by “Padmashree” awardee Smt. Kiran Segal.
For starters (and non starters alike) Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC-MACAY) was started in 1979 at IIT-Delhi. It is a non profit, voluntary, apolitical and participatory student movement that works for the affirmation of the priceless cultural heritage of India by conserving its aesthetics, spirituality and mystical touch; it has been pretty effective, more than the so called custodians of Indian culture (all may not agree to this).
The I.T. B.H.U. chapter of SPIC-MACAY holds multiple cultural concerts-VIRASAT each year. VIRASAT-2005 was organized on 23rd august 2005 at 5:30 p.m. at Swatantrata Bhawan. Continuing with the tradition of bringing the finest exponents of Indian classical music and dance to BHU (Smt. Shubha Mudgal and Ustad Bismillah Khan to name a few), VIRASAT-2005 presented Smt. Kiran Segal.
Smt Kiran Segal is a world renowned Odissi dancer, perhaps the finest mistress of this art. A gem of an artist, she has been honored with the “Padmashree” award and “Sangeet Natak Akademi” award (and, there’s a long list of achievements). Originally a Bharat Natyam dancer she has devoted her life to explore the intricacies of Odissi.
The event began with the felicitation of the artist, who was accompanied by two of her students and her troupe, by Dr. B.N.Rai. The chief guest for the event was the Dean of BHU.
Segal ji started her performance with “Pushpa Archan” and then thanked the audience, all this through beautiful dance steps. She and her students then enacted famous poetries giving expressions to each word. The performance that left the audience spellbound was her enactment of a dejected Radhaji and Krishnaji trying to pacify her. Her facial expressions and body movements were awe-inspiring. Also exemplary was her energy giving dynamism to the stage enthralling the audience and letting hallucinations of “Apsara” dancing in heaven.
The dance performance was followed by interaction with the audience during which she explained the difference between Bharat Natyam and Odissi and answered questions from the audience explaining the intricacies of the dances. She even called a few students from the audience and demonstrated through them the basic dance steps.
The feedback from the audience was encouraging. They were all praise for her down to earth nature and her awesome skills. The way she blended the traditional with modern, kept the audience (mostly Gen-Xrs) interested, or rather mesmerized them. The event was marked by extensive media coverage.
A disturbing feature of the event though was the half filled Swatantrata Bhawan, bringing the haunted question back to the mind--- “Where’s the Indian culture headed to?”