Song and dance in honour of Lord Krishna

The evening started off with “Mangala Charan” sung by Promad Kumar whose melodious voice set the pace for an evening of delightful entertainment. He also did “Saangh Kirtan” and “Bridge Vandana” in tribute to Lord Krishna, as well as a song originally done by the late great playback singer, Mukesh Chanmathur.

The Charkula Dance Academy’s visit to Trinidad and Tobago was sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and was facilitated by Indian High Commissioner to TT Malay Mishra, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation and the National Council for Indian Culture (NCIC).

Indian choreographer, Pooja Malhotra, who is currently on contract at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute here in TT, was the narrator for the programme. The group did the Mayur dance which is based on the story of Radha Rani who was sitting in her garden and dreaming about Lord Krishna as a peacock and herself as a peahen. Lord Krishna appeared before her in the form of a peacock and danced with her.

The group’s interpretation of that story was the highlight of the evening.

The dancers also did the Holi Geet, a folk song and accompanying dance that marks the spring festival of Phagwa. They also did the traditional folk dance of Mathura, Lok Geet and the the Lath Mar Holi, a dance where the women lash out at the men with bamboo sticks. The men used tin shields to protect themselves.

Every aspect of the culture of the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh is associated with Lord Krishna. This beautiful and skilful Charkula dance has remained untouched through the years and celebrates the victory over Indra by Krishna and the cowherd community of Braj. The dance symbolises happiness and joyful rapture.

The troupe also did the traditional folk song of the Braj, known as Rasiya, which describe the love of the divine couple Radha and Lord Krishna.

It is an inseparable part of the Holi celebrations and other festive occasions in Braj. Following a series of local performances, the troupe left yesterday for shows in Suriname, Barbados, Grenada and Montserrat.