Kathmandu:

The courtyard of Yala Maya Kendra was filled with the sweet music of tabla and jaltarang as more and more audience filtered in for the Yala Maya Classic on September 19, a classical music series that is held on the second day of every Nepali month. The music was so enchanting that even the rain started pouring down as an audience. Hence, the venue had to be changed to the hall.

As the new venue was set, the audience got a chance to enjoy raaga Bhinna Sadajh on tabla and jaltarang by Maila Dongol and Prem Chandra Ojhaiya. This session of Yala Maya Classics featured three teachers from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The first performance was by Dr Raj Kishore Dalbehera who created a soothing ambience with his performance of raaga Yaman on the flute. He also performed Bhairavi dhun, which saw audience clapping to the tune. Pandit Hari Mohan Sharma supported him in the tabla.

The tranquil environment created by the sound of flute was changed into an upbeat one by the tabla performance of Pandit Sharma. He did some interaction with the audience before his performance by telling them the definition of sangeet (music) according to Natya Shastra and also the formation of the word tabla. He then performed Rupak Taal also known as Rani Taal, along with Dr Hom Nath Upadhyaya on the harmonium. The audience also clapped to the beats.

As the rain had already stopped, the last performance — a Kathak dance by Guru Ashok Chakrabarthy was held in the courtyard. Chakrabarthy gave a captivating performance

on Teen Taal.