The Indian Weekender, 10 March 2023

8
NEW ZEALAND
Rangmanch to
stage Hindi play
IWK BUREAU
Ra n g m a n c h ,
a renowned
theatre group
from Auckland, will be
showcasing a Hindi play
titled ‘Once Upon A Time
In Kallygunj’ at TAPAC,
Western Springs, Auckland
on March 17 and 18.
The play, which is a
period comedy with several
unexpected plot twists,
can be interpreted in the
context of contemporary
issues despite its
setting in a time without
modern communication
technologies. It is a
comedy with a substantial
message and intelligent
humour. The director
of the play, Jayanta
Bhaduri, who has directed many
Rangmanch productions in the
past, has high hopes for its
success.
Over the years, Rangmanch
has provided high-quality Indian
theatre to Auckland audiences
and has staged successful Hindi
productions in the past, such
as Zimmedari, Ballabhpur ki
Kahani, Dildar, Sunhere Sapne,
Rajdarshan, Mareech Ka Khel, Ek
Adhuri Kahani, Kuch Kuch Locha
Hai, and Mere Saamne Wali Khidki
Mein among others.
Theatre enthusiasts in
Auckland are encouraged to
attend the show, and tickets are
available for purchase at iticket.
co.nz for $25.
Event: Hindi
play by Rangmanch: Once Upon
A Time In Kallygunj
When: March 17, 2023 (Friday)
at 7.30 pm and March 18, 2023
(Saturday) at 6.30 pm
Where: TAPAC, 100 Motions
Road, Western Springs,
Auckland
Friday, 10 March, 2023
Read online www.iwk.co.nz
Memorable ghazal recitals at Tarannum
DEV NADKARNI
Like its inaugural concert
two years ago, Tarannum,
CFI Events’ ghazal offering,
featured Hemant Shirsat and
Arpita Chanda, two of Auckland’s
talented singers.
That first edition was dedicated
to legendary maestro, the late
Jagjit Singh and his timeless
ghazals, geets and nazms. Last
week’s second edition, however,
had an eclectic but equally
popular collection drawn from
the oeuvre of a range of singers
and Hindi films.
The three-hour concert
featured more than 20 songs
with Hemant and Arpita singing
both solos and duets with
flourish and finesse, to the
delight of the audience that
filled the Green Bay High School
Performing Arts Theatre.
The show began with a
welcome and introduction by ace
percussionist Araad, who showed
his additional talent for emceeing
and delivering shayari in style.
The performances were
peppered with shayaris by
both singers before many of
their songs. Shayari are like
garnish to the delectability of
a ghazal, adding to its overall
appeal. Both singers delivered
their shayaris with as much
aplomb as their singing.
Both Hemant and Arpita showed
their versatility in presenting the
different numbers that ranged in
complexity with some steeped
in classicism and others in more
rhythmic variations with ease.
Their renditions, especially of the
more popular and lilting ghazals,
Performers enthralling the audience at Tarannum event in Auckland.
were met with enthusiastic
applause from the audience and
a few ‘once mores’.
This reviewer had discovered
Hemant’s talent as an engaging
speaker at Tarannum One where
he introduced many of the
ghazals, with rich information
about their nuances, their story
and sometimes their history with
humour and candour. He did an
encore this time around and his
commentary was lapped up by
the audience.
Ghazals, geets and nazms have
been popular forms in the music
of North India for centuries.
While all three forms are similar
in terms of their use of language
and meter, they have distinct
differences in terms of structure,
themes, and musical styles.
Ghazal originated in Persia
(now Iran) and is widely used
in Urdu poetry. It has rhyming
couplets and a refrain. Ghazals
typically explore themes of
love, loss, and longing, and
are known for their intricate
wordplay and metaphors.
Traditionally ghazals are
accompanied by acoustic
instruments like tabla for
percussion, sarangi and/
or harmonium to follow
the singers and the sitar.
Electronic instrumentation to
add to the soundscape are a
latter-day addition.
Geets are a poetic form
associated with light, popular
music and are usually set to
upbeat, catchy tunes and are
more conducive to the use of
electronic instrumentation for
accompaniment than ghazals.
Unlike ghazals and geets,
nazms do not follow a strict
rhyming structure and are usually
written in a more straightforward,
narrative style and are known
for their clarity and directness,
unlike the liberal use of
metaphors in ghazals.
Which brings me to the sound
management of ghazal concerts.
The soul of the ghazal soundscape
is the harmonium and the tabla
and when it is there, the sarangi.
Electronic accompaniment is
not only not traditional but
detracts from the simple melodic
beauty of the ghazal form ––
especially if the sound is not
balanced optimally.
At Tarannum-2, the
electronic instruments seemed
to continually drown out the
acoustic tabla, wielded exquisitely
by Prashant Kumar and singer
Hemant Shirsat’s harmonium.
The harmonium is the
very backbone of the ghazal
soundscape and its sound was all
but feeble throughout the show.
At one point, it appeared
that Hemant was simply moving
his fingers over the keyboard
without producing any sound.
It is understandable that
synthesisers and electronic
rhythms are necessary to
provide a soundscape especially
in the absence of the full range
of acoustic instruments and
artistes to play them but then
sound engineers must balance
equipment accordingly so as not
to overpower the sound of the
acoustic instruments on stage,
making it difficult to appreciate
their uniquely natural and
wholesome sounds.
Araad on electronic
percussions, Prashant Kumar
on tabla, Hemant Thakar on
keys, Prasanna on guitar and
Sargam Madhur on sitar provided
superb accompaniment to the
accomplished singers.
Conceived, organised and
hosted by Ram Iyer’s CFI
Events, Tarannum-2 was made
possible by sponsorships from
City Forex NZ, Travel Corner,
Reliance Ventilation, Growth
Property Management and
Transparent Finance. The event
was supported by CIPA (Centre
for Indian Performing Arts) and
the Mohan Nadkarni Foundation.
Indian Weekender was the media
partner.
Bengaluru Stallions Spirit of Cricket champs
IWK BUREAU
The usual venue of
Auckland Domain was put
out of commission by
the flooding caused by Cyclone
Gabrielle to have any matches
there so the venue was moved to
the Avondale Racecourse.
The finals, played last Sunday,
was a contest between past
winners TUFXI and new entrant
Bengaluru Stallions. The
Shamiullah father-and-son duo
along with Naved were too hot to
handle for TUFXI and they folded
for a meagre 34 runs making it
a simple target for Bengaluru
Stallions.
However, TUFXI made a
match of it by sending half the
Bengaluru Stallion team into
the pavilion, but indiscipline in
bowling (13 wides) cost them
a closer match in a low scoring
one. So we had a new winner for
the trophy – Bengaluru Stallions
and the runner-ups were TUFXI.
Defenders picked up the second
runners-up prize.
Covid and climate took toll
The tournament was off to
a great start by November 20.
And then something that had
not been seen in 25 years of the
tournament happened. Rain gods
decided to wash out five Sundays
from the tournament schedule,
thereby reducing the matches
played to just five completed
rounds.
This was unprecedented in
the history of the tournament,
forcing the organisers to scrap
a few rules in order to make
it a level playing field based on
games completed rather than the
The winners with the cup.
luck of one over.
As usual, there was some
excitement like a tied match,
hat-tricks in bowling and
50s off the bat. Overall, the
tournament has now become the
benchmark for other communitybased
tournaments that have
mushroomed around Auckland. It
is indeed a moment of pride that
this tournament has sustained
itself for 25 years with the help
of community members and
teams.
Relianz Forex, was the lead
sponsor as it has been for
a decade, and Director Giri
Giridharan gave away the
trophies and mementos at the
conclusion of the tournament on
the sunny Sunday afternoon at
the Avondale race course.