Celebration of Nari Shakti at Shaheed Bhawan

According to Hindu mythology, nine avatars of goddess killed a demon called Bhasmasur, displaying the intensity of a woman's power. To acknowledge the power of women, a cultural event

Nari Shakti

was organized by the

Rangkriti Natya Sansthan

along with the culture department of Madhya Pradesh at Shaheed Bhawan. The event started with the felicitation of women of substance from certain fields of occupation - like

Rita Verma

for theatre,

Jyoti Raikwar

for Kathak, Pragati Shrivastava for Kathak and Physiotherapist Dr Shagufta Khan .

Post felicitation, cultural performances began which left the audience mesmerized. The evening kickstarted with a traditional kathak performance by Khajuraho's Jyoti Raikwar. A contemporary touch could be felt as the the traditional song

Aigiri Nandini

was played along with drums and guitar. She felt that in this way the young generation too can feel a connection with her performance.

This was followed by a musical tribute given to the Indian musical instruments. The audience got a chance to hear a jugalbandi of dholak, sitar, tabla, pakhawaj and harmonium.

The captivating vocal performance was given by Anuja Bhadode, Aarti Maran, Aparna Gupta, Tapasya Bhatt and Neetu Yadav. In the next segment Geetika Lohat set the stage on fire by singing Ghulam Ali's gazal Kacchi Deewarein and Dil Khilona To Nahi.

- Farzana Patowari