Port Blair, June 21: It was indeed a blissful evening at DBRAIT auditorium when the artistes of various cultural organisations from Islands as well as mainland, performed classical and contemporary dances at their best and drew loud applause from the audience present at the auditorium.

The cultural evening titled 'Sangam', was a confluence of yoga, rich culture and cherished heritage of our country. The Lt. Governor, Lt Gen AK Singh (Retd) as the chief guest of the function lit the traditional oil lamp which marked the commencement of the cultural evening. The Lt. Governor alongwith the Chief Secretary i/c, Shri Raajiv Yaduvanshi, the Chairperson PBMC, Smt. Sheela Singh and senior officers from Defence and Civil Administration witnessed the presentation.

The cultural evening was organised by the Department of Art & Culture, A&N Administration on the auspicious occasion of the second International Yoga Day, which was celebrated throughout the World today with befitting programmes.

The cultural evening where classical met the contemporary; unfolded with the soulful presentation of Sufi song by Ms Rene Singh, vocal artist from ‘Sleepwell Foundation’. Ms Singh who presented songs on the poetry of Amir Khusro; impressed the audience with her melodious voice; sans the support of musical instruments. Ms Singh said, she was happy to visit this beautiful Islands and perform on a day when the second International day for Yoga was being celebrated all over the World.

The highlight of the cultural evening was the Kathak dance presentation in relation to yoga by Kathak dancers from the Natya STEM Dance Kampni, Bangalore, deputed by South Zone Cultural Centre. The team headed by Ms Ramya Nagraj; accompanied by her fellow artistes’ Ms Divya Bhatt and Tejesh Kumar presented skilful dance forms- Mahadev- the Yogi, Vajra and Usha which drew appreciation by the audience.

Ms Ananya Karak and her troupe from Sur –Saptak, a Sangeet Academy presented Classical vocal while the students of KRG Kalai Kaveri School presented a contemporary dance on yoga. Jhumurr Nrityangan presented a dance on Monsoon. The artistes of Ankur socio-cultural organisation, Anil and Parwati presented a song while the artistes of Kailashpathy Classical dance Academy presented Bharatnatyam- classical dance.

In her welcome address, the Secretary Art & Culture, Smt. Ankita Mishra Bundela said that the programme organised on the occasion of second International Day for Yoga was dedicated to yog, culture and heritage.  

The function concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by the Director Art & Culture, Dr. R Devdas.