It was an evening of music and dance at the auditorium of the Perak Department of Arts and Culture recently. Music and dance lovers from all over Ipoh were enthralled by a fusion musical presentation by Pandavas Fusion Band led by sitarist Kalai and his team.
Music lovers were entertained with a mixture of Indian classical and contemporary music. The band consisting of Kalai (sitar), Mahendran (flute), Ram (guitar), Vinod (tabla), Mark (bass) and Muthu Raman (drum box), were very Malaysian-oriented with their version of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Hindi hits.
Besides playing popular tracks that were improvised and Kalai’s original compositions, the band took requests from the audience. The crowd was thrilled when the group was joined by Ipoh’s talents Subain Singam (thavil), Raja (drum) for a jam session that took the game to a whole new level. The speed and rhythm on the drums rocked the auditorium to its foundations.
The audience was later introduced to Nithin P. Shirale from Maharashtra, India, a fascinating storyteller through his Kathak dance movements. Not many were familiar with Kathak but Nithin did a splendid job of explaining the story of each dance number. He was joined by some of his students from Kuala Lumpur. Nithin worked his magic through the fast-paced foot movements accentuated by the sounds of his bell-laden anklets. The spectacle was sufficient to keep the audience on edge.
The event was jointly organised by Greentown Indian Cultural Society, Nethaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indian Cultural Centre, High Commission of India, Perak State Cultural Council and Perak Cultural and Arts Department.
Nantini
