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Dancers and musicians from different states performed as part of the cultural event that marked the inauguration of the revamped Central Vista avenue.
The performance was held at one of the stepped plazas that have been set up near the India Gate as part of the redeveloped avenue. The performance was soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Subhas Chandra Bose at the canopy near the India Gate.
Pratyash Nair, 34, was part of the panchavadyam and chendamelam, musical performances from Kerala, that punctuated the Prime Minister’s walk down the Rajpath after unveiling the statue. “There were 18 of us, nine for the panchavadyam and nine for the chendamelam. We are part of the Delhi Panchavadyam Trust, which is a charitable trust. It was a great pleasure to perform here…in terms of the protocol, the coordination. Earlier, the avenue was not very clean. Now, it looks classy and elegant. The area is clean, the gardens are good,” Nair said.
A total of 15 Karagam (a folk dance from Tamil Nadu) dancers had arrived from Trichy, said Elavalagan, 31, one of the performers. “Dancers from all states mingled in synchrony while performing on stage for the Prime Minister. There were dancers from seven states, 30 performers. We have been practising for three days. The avenue is nice and it was very exciting to be here,” he said. Some of the dancers performed later. “Many performers came together, and we were happy to be part of it. This was the first time we were seeing the Prime Minister,” said Venkat, 33, from Trichy, who was also among the Karagam performers. After the inauguration event, performances continued at a smaller stage that was set up on Rajpath close to Rafi Ahmed Marg.
Sumit, from Sambalpur, Odisha, said, “We performed a Sambalpuri dance that is called Dalkhai. There were nine of us who performed before the Prime Minister. This was a historic moment and we were happy to be a part of this inauguration.”
The ‘cultural festival’ at the avenue, which will continue from September 9 to 11, will be one of the things that visitors to the revamped avenue will get to see. The 2-km stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate was illuminated on Thursday. The fountains that are part of the canals that lie alongside Rajpath were decked up in lights in the colours of the Indian flag.
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