Bhopal: Samba and Hip-Hop dances, presented by Brazilian artiste Estila Lopoli was one of the major attractions at Bharat Bhawan on Friday, second day of the five-day concert ‘Samarth’. Based on the creativity of differently-abled artists across the world, the concert is being organised for the first time across the country. Lopoli, who came to India for the first time, presented the dance in contemporary style.
The cultural programme began with the recital of singer Raju Rao who presented some popular compositions of Tulsidas and Kabir with his troupe. He began with bhajan ‘jagat vidhata hai parmeshwar…’. It was composed by Gaurishanker Shastri. After that he also presented songs ‘yadi nath ka naam dayanidhi hai to daya bhi karenge kabhi na kabhi….’. He concluded the performance with compositions of Tulsidas and Kabir including ‘jaaun kahan haricharan tumhare…’ and ‘bhajo re mann ram govind hari…,’ that enchanted the audience. It was followed by bharatanatyam dance performance of ‘We Are One Group’, New Delhi. They began with Ganpati Vandna ‘ek dantaya vakratundaya…,’. They also presented dance items ‘Silent’ and ‘Taksak’ showcasing the struggle of differently-abled people. They wrapped up their performance with Shiv-Tandav.
Besides cultural performance, workshop and a film ‘Sparsh’ were also screened. It is of 1980 feature film directed by Sai Paranjpye. It stars Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi playing the characters of a visually impaired principal and a sighted teacher in a school for the blind, where they fall in love though soon their complexes tag along and they struggle to get past them to reconnect with the “touch” of love.
The film remains most memorable for the subtle acting of its leads, plus the handling of the issue of relationships with the visually handicapped, revealing the emotional and perception divide between the world, the “blind” and the “sighted”, epitomized by the characters. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi However the film’s release was delayed by almost 4 years.
