Kalabhavan Completes Another Successful Year

By Sanchali Basu
HOUSTON: Houston Durga Bari Society’s cultural partner Kalabhavan celebrated its annual day on Saturday, March 29 at its Sur Auditorium. The evening consisted of programs highlighting the various disciplines taught at the center.
The graciously poised Sutanuka Sinha and Roshni Ray began the evening’s proceedings by commending Kalabhavan’s efforts in upholding the Indian heritage and disseminating its traditions and values in the next generation and community at large. Kalabhavan’s teachers in the fields of Bharatnatyam (Arpita Mukhopadhyay), Odissi (Supradipta Datta), classical/semi-classical North Indian music (Rajneeta Bandopadhyay), Rabindra Sangeet (Kamalpriya Roy), Tabla/percussions (Raja Banga) and painting (Indranil Sen) were recognized for their tremendous contributions in encouraging and teaching students of all age groups the intricacies of each art form.
A Pushpanjali in the Bharatnatyam style was followed by a dance on Shiva, both well executed by very young dancers. The 5 Odissi performances that followed were a treat to watch and very well appreciated by the audience. The bright costumes, jewelry, graceful dancing and exquisite chaukas, tribhangis and abhinaya brought out the grandeur of this dance style in a big way.
Raja Banga, a well-known Houstonian in the Tabla arena, presented an excellent tabla lehra with students at different levels of learning. Next, in his inimitable style he put together a world percussion ensemble, “Confluence”, which included instruments ranging from Ektara, Khanjani, Dafli, Djembe, Kahon, Pakhawaj, Srikhol, Naal, Dhak, Kanjira, Violin, Vocals and Guitar. Biplab Samaddar on the violin and Chris Wocjick on the guitar, both very accomplished global musicians in their own right added extra flavor to the music which was a treat to the ears.
The vocal section of the program started with a Dhrupad in Raga Malkauns, followed by a Khayal Bandish and Taan, and then a Tarana, also in Raga Malkauns, all very melodiously rendered by the bright, young upcoming students. This segment ended with a fine medley of Bengali songs representing our cultural trends.
The evening ended aptly with 5 sublime devotional Rabindrasangeet numbers by capable young ladies, 3 solo and 2 group songs accompanied by Aloke Roy on the mandira.
The brilliant display of artwork by Indranil and his students was a huge crowd puller.
Awards were presented to all participants in conclusion by Mila Sengupta and Madhumita Sen. Snacks and dinner flew off the tables and was gone in no time. All in all, it was a successful annual day event that Kalabhavan can be proud of.