Jaipur(Divya Pandey): The Rajasthan International Centre (RIC) in Jaipur came alive with music, stories and nostalgia as Three Arts Club and Katyayani presented two musical productions, Dastaan-e-Barsaat and Dastaan-e-Dev Anand. Across three shows on September 7 and 8, audiences were taken on an emotional journey through songs, anecdotes and memories.
On September 7, Dastaan-e-Barsaat explored different shades of life through the seven colours of the rainbow that appears after the rain. Writer-director-presenter Nidhikant Pandey also presented seven couplets by Prof. Prabhat Patel of Bhopal, weaving poetry into the narrative.
Akashvani ‘A’ Grade artists Devanand Jha and Shweta Dubey added a rich musical dimension to the evening with their soulful renditions. The audience was seen clapping and swaying along to several songs. After a few lines of a K.L. Saigal song, an audience member remarked to Devanand Jha, “You have brought Saigal back to life.”
Following the show, RIC Director Mr. Nihal Chand Goel felicitated Nidhikant Pandey.
On September 8, Dastaan-e-Dev Anand was presented in two shows. Written, directed and presented by Sohaila Kapur, the production narrated the story of her maternal uncle, legendary actor Dev Anand.
Nidhikant Pandey, who created the Hindi adaptation of the Dastaan, joined as co-presenter and brought out Dev Anand’s philosophy of life and his carefree, optimistic approach to living. His presentation was appreciated by the audience.
Devanand Jha had the audience humming along with several popular Dev Anand songs. A highlight of the evening came with “Mastram ban ke zindagi ke din guzaar de…”, when Nidhikant Pandey joined Devanand Jha in a lively jugalbandi, prompting the audience to sway along.
Following the second presentation, Sohaila Kapur was also felicitated. Even after the programme had formally concluded, several audience members stayed back with requests for their favourite songs. Devanand Jha returned to the stage and fulfilled their requests with an encore.
Both productions were produced by Anuradha Dar. Rajneesh Gautam handled the lighting, while Burhan Qureshi was responsible for sound. The musical accompaniment featured Adhir Das on tabla, Amit Kumar on octopad and Jeetu Nadaan on keyboard.
Nidhikant Pandey expressed his gratitude to RIC Director Mr. Nihal Chand Goel, Programme Advisor Mr. Rakshat Hooja, Stage Manager Mr. Sawan Kumar Jangid and the entire RIC team for their support in presenting the productions.
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