Classical dance festival opens today

New Delhi, April 19: With the message of women empowerment and saving the girl child, a classical dance festival and seminar will take place here from tomorrow.

Organised by Urvashi Dance, Music, Art and Cultural Society, a Delhibased NGO working with underprivileged children, the two- day festival will be inaugurated by Vijay Goel, Union minister of parliamentary affairs, at the LTG Auditorium.

Member of Parliament Parvesh Verma, president of National Mahila Morcha Vijaya Rahat Kar, and BJP national secretary Tarun Chug will also attend the inaugural event as Guest of Honour.

“It is a matter of pride that this society has always taken initiatives to directly reach out to the lesser privileged citizens. Extend my greetings and good wishes to ‘ Urvasi Dance, Music, Art, and Cultural Society’ for all the success in organising Samagam and all their future endeavours. I am sure this even will go a long way in creating mass awareness and spreading the noble message of ‘ Beti Padhao Beti Bachao',” Mr Goel said.

The festival will open with Kathak performance Madhurashtakam by president of the non- government organisation and social activist Rekha Mehra, followed by a Bharatnatyam performance by disciples of Sindhu Mishra — Aparna Chandnani, Ritika Malhotra, and Arshia.

The first day of the festival will see performances by 90 artistes.

The second day, which is also World Earth day, will see Kathak performance by Rekha Mehra. The act is based on Varsha ( Rain) along with Deepak Gangani and Abhishek Khichi.

The performance will be followed by another Kathak Act based on nature showcased by Neha Mahawar, Richa Joshi, Pratibha Sharma and Heena.

Earth, the superior mother of all beings occupying it, is also under threat from our irresponsible actions, the organisers said.

The environmental crisis can be directly compared to the plight of women today. Urvashi aims to draw parallels between the two and express the pain, anguish, hope and awareness through the medium of dance, the organisers added.

The festival will end on April 21.