Kathmandu:

On the occasion of the first International Non-Violence Day and 138th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a special programme was held at Yala Maya Kendra on October 2.

Speaking at the programme, Kamal Mani Dixit reminisced about his days at Kashi Hindu Vidyalaya and his chance to see Mahatma Gandhi. It was a pleasant evening with musicians starting the progrmme playing Gandhi’s favourite tune popularly known as the ‘Gandhi tune’. It was followed by their own composition based on Malkauns raag, which mesmerised the audience. The musicians included Suresh Shrestha on the flute, Sharad Joshi in guitar, Manik Baniya in bass guitar and Dilip Kipu on tabla.

It was then time for the special performances of the evening — Bharatnatyam by two talented ladies. The first one was a dance based on the life of King Ashoka, which was performed by Shreema Shrestha. With beautiful dance movements and facial expressions to complement the steps as the story unfolded, she held her audiences attention. She was accompanied by Hom Nath Upadhayay on tabla, Chandi Prasad Kafle on vocals and Ranju Shrestha narrated the story.

The final performance was by Betina Bridge, a German national, who has mastered the art of the Indian classical dance and showed her dexterity at the dance. A number of dances were performed by her which consisted of Namastute, Ganapati shloka, two forms of Kuchipurika and two types of Bharat Natyam.

The programme was organised by Indian Cultural Centre and B P Koirala India Nepal Foundation.