Divya Srivastava	Pankaj Bhargava,

The Annual Music Recital “Bollywood Musical Extravaganza ”, on Saturday February 23, 2013 at North Gwinnet High School auditorium, was a laudable attempt to raise funds for EKAL Vidyalaya - a venture aimed at eradicating illiteracy of the children living in remote rural areas of India, who are deprived of basic education.
It is said music knows no barriers of race, cast, creed, religion, region, country, language or gender. Music is universal and can be soul-stirring. Music is recognized as a means of self realization by the seekers of God from the time immemorial. Music, composed and sung in praise of God has no substitute - as is evident from the instance when the Mughal Emperor Akbar insisted that the renowned singer and one of the ‘Navratna’ of his court Tansen to listen to his Guru. Overwhelmed by the internal tranquility and divine sublimity listening to the singing of the great Guru Swami Haridas, Akbar commented ‘’No doubt Tansen , you are a great singer in my kingdom but it stands no comparison to that of your Guru”. “It is true your majesty, because I sing for a king while my Guru sings for the Creator” replied the emboldened Tansen.
The program commenced with an invocation to Lord Ganesha, which was sung by Pankaj Bhargava and enacted through dance by students Ananya, Esha, Khyati and Noemi. The second item was Hindustani vocals under the guidance of Mrs. Swapna Kumthekar in raga sargam and chhota khayal. Farah Zaman sang joyti kalash chhalke in raga Bhupali. Tabla was played by Zen Bakshi.
Young students of the school performed some notable tunes like au clair la lune, time is on my side and love me tender on Guitar under the guidance of their teacher Jon Batt that lasted for about 20 minutes. Guitar was too big for some boys, still they managed deftly.

The fourth item of the evening was songs from Golden era sung in Karaoke (no live music, but blended nicely with singer’s voices) by four semi-professional singers. Pankaj was first and he sang his signature song nakhrewali (film New Delhi) in Kishore Kumar’s voice and style including yodeling. Pankaj also sang Manna De’s qawali yari hai , while Vandana Upadhyaya sang Lata’s famous song ek radha, ek meera. Divya performed a classical dance that re-created a scene similar to the one in actual film. Purnima Mathur also stirred up emotions by rendering film Mera Saaya’s song naino mein badra chhaye in raga Bhimpalasi. Yash Warke, started off with main zindgi ka saath in Mohammad Rafi’s style.
After 90 minutes into program, the extravaganza came to pause and the intermission was announced. During the Intermission a video presentation of Ekal Vidyalaya’s activities was presented while most of the audience enjoyed warm food catered by Praveena Ben. Ajay Upadhyaya of Ekal also briefed the audience on the dedicated work and noble mission of Ekal. Rachna Gupta from Ekal also added flavor to the program by elucidating about few songs and also highlighting Ekal events. Geet-Rung also extended sincere thanks to Shiv Aggarwal ji for his support and inspiration.
The first item after the intermission was a series of English songs by Glenda Farook and Rashid Farook provided the keyboard support. The last two songs on the keyboard were accompanied by Geet Bhargava, equally talented son of Divya and Pankaj. Then the guitar ensemble took place once again. This time the slightly older boys played guitar under the supervision of Marcus Pittman.
After the guitar session, singers came back on stage and sang melodious songs. Dances were presented during the songs mujhe rang de by students Anjali Maggan, Mira Patel and Noemi Nath, tere naina by Savitha Anand, Archana Gururaj and Pakeeza and Umraojaan by Shweta Shetty, Archana Gururaj and Chilman uthegi nahin. Pankaj sang another Kishore Kumar’s song chhoo kar mere man ko . Yash also charmed the audience by singing Mohd. Rafi’s song dard-e-dil, dard-e-jigar . Pankaj and Purnima sang a melodius duet wada raha sanam from film. Yash and Pankaj sang a peppy song humka pini hai and Chale jaise hawain was sung by Sanjana Rao a young karaoke student of Pankaj.
After the songs came drums by teenaged boys. It was heart warming to hear Abhinav, Adit, Dilip, Dylan and Maanas playing percussion so well. The singers came back on stage for the last time and sang a medley of upbeat songs such as main jat yamala pagala , aap ka kya hoga janabeaali, koi kahe kahta rahe while boys and girls clad in tight jeans and t-shirts displayed stunning Bollywood dance moves to the peppy beats. The stage performance ended with a grand finale when all the dancers came on stage and genuflected.
 

Divya Srivastava proposed vote of thanks to all the artists and the audience. She presented trophies to all the students of music. ‘Student of the Year’ medals were awarded to outstanding students in each category who have been relentlessly pursuing their passion against all odds. Ishaan Sharma was awarded for Guitar, Abhinav Gaddipati for Drums and Natasha Das for vocal. Plaques were awarded in honor of the singers and gifts to stage manager (Vikram Mathur), light technician (Sam Baraban). Sound Management was well organized by Navin Tyagi, founder of ‘Saragam’ music group and an active theatre artist himself. The husband-wife team of Emcees Sunny Sachdeva and Aqsa Farooqui kept the audience informed throughout the show and Sunny also regaled the audience with witticisms and ‘shayaris’ in between. Photography was by Lavanya Palaparthy. The entire show lasted for about 3 hours and was truly enjoyable.
The school offers courses in a variety of dances, vocal and instrumental music in keeping with the aptitude of the students who hail from different cultures and regions of Asia. Experienced and knowledgeable Instructors, put in their best efforts in honing the skills of the students of all age groups - as young as four to grown up adults. Piano classes are taught by Dr. David R Peoples and Melinda Hubbell., Guitar by Marcus Pittman and Jon Batt, Drums by Zack Boland, Hindustani vocal by Mrs. Swapna Kumthekar and Karaoke singing classes by Pankaj Bhargava . Divya claimed that each and every student is trained to perform in the Annual Recitals of the school. Truly speaking, ‘Geet-Rung’ provides a platform to all aspirants to exhibit their innate talent. Divya is is proud of the fact that the children who come from diverse backgrounds socialize well and develop feelings of friendliness, cohesively work as a team and observe discipline.
For more information visit www.geetrung.com