Special 125-member music group enthrals people at Mandai with non-stop dhol-tasha performance
Special 125-member music group enthrals people at Mandai with non-stop dhol-tasha performanceThe dahi handi near the Mandai was a most memorable evening for visitors and spectators to the several handis there, thanks to a stupendous performance by a city-based band. Called Naadbrahma, this 125-member band played superb feet-tapping traditional Maharashtrian festival music.u00a0
Rising to the occasion:u00a0The Kasba Pune Group makes six human
circles to reach the dahi handi at the Suvarnayog Tarun Mandal in
Budhwar Peth, where numerous groups from across the state came
to participate on Janmaashtami
If you are wondering how one band comprising 125 members can play synchronised music, Naadbrahma proved it otherwise. The band consisted of only Dhols (huge base drums) and Tashas (snare drums).
About 70 artistes played the dhols, and 55 played the tashas. Moreover, the band had a sizeable number of women playing the huge and heavy dhols with the same ease, expertise, rhythm and sheer force as their male counterparts.
The positioning of the percussionists was also specially arranged for purposes of synchronisation. While the tasha players stood in one group with a lead player, the dhol performers surrounded them and beat their drums in support for the lead tashas.u00a0u00a0u00a0
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u00a0Crowds visiting the mandai went crazy and some even asked for autographs of the band members. The performance started around 7 pm and winded up by 8 pm, which gave the visiting crowds the time of their lives. Most importantly, the impromptu nature of the show took the public by complete surprise.u00a0
u00a0Nitin Behre, the organiser and coordinator of the band, said this was the 'Pathak's' first public performance in the city. "We first performed in Akkalkoth in Kolhapur during Guru Purnima. We practice from 7 to 9 pm almost everyday at the Krishnasundar Garden. The response from the public has been good and we are looking forward to playing again," he said.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
The Mandai area has three handis by the Babu Genu Mandal, Jilbya Maruti Mandal and the Suvarnayog Tarun Mandal. The band performed at Survarnayog's venue and the same place also saw the first handi of the area being broken. The Kasba Peth group broke the five-storey tall handi in the second attempt.
