Posted by Sunita Rao (138.88.106.61) on October 09, 2005 at 12:43:38:

 Shobana takes Tammy by storm

Braving heavy winds and rains of "Tropical Storm Tammy" the lucky few hundred got to see a spectacular show by Shobhana with generous fringe benefits like the delicious food catered by Woodlands, the beautiful artwork on silent auction, and the village bazaar of AID, the nonprofit that organised the concert.

I almost wished I hadn't lingered over my plate of puri and chole because I missed the first few minutes of the second "half" or should I jst say, the post-interval portion. I had luxuriously thought that it would be at least an hour like the first half, but there were only two numbers afterwards. I heard high praises for Vande Mataram, the item I missed, and was literally blown away, as I haven't been by any Bharatnatyam in decades (and I have seen more than my share) by her final number set to a Bach symphony. Usually this kind of mix-and-match is neither here nor there but Shobana herself said it best, "Typically when we blend new forms we call it "fusion" but I feel that this is very natural to our dance and so I prefer to call it "Indian." And there was no mistake about it. Never for a moment was the Bharatanyam compromised, nor was the Bach. It was incredible. If she comes back to within a couple of hours from me I would go just to see this last number again.

THe concert was a fundraiser for AID (www.aidindia.org) which supports people working against poverty in India. I came home to learn of the devastating earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan. Among the flyers I had picked up from the concert I saw that AID has a peace march next week in Washington and Sandeep Pandey who walked from India to Pakistan will also be there. I am not sure whether I would make it but I guess we can find out from this group for more news of what is actually going on and how people like me can help. I have to say that they did a great job with publicity because I had actually not heard of Shobana before but I am really glad I went. For more than Tammy, it was a night I will never forget.