Ravindra Upadhyay performs at Gandhi Maidan on Friday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Entertainment and aesthetics found equal space at the Bihar Divas celebration in Patna on Friday.

Those who love popular music, made a beeline for Gandhi Maidan, as the itinerary included performances by Ravindra Upadhyay and Babul Supriyo.

Others with a more classical taste proceeded to SK Memorial Hall for a musical extravaganza called Tiranga featuring performances by Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Ustad Rashid Khan. Famed scriptwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar also performed at the function.

At Gandhi Maidan, the audience went into a tizzy as Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha came on stage and addressed them. The senior actors praised the development in the state.

It was time to shake a leg as Ravindra Upadhyay began to croon Jai Ganesh Deva… He also performed the popular Ishq sufiana… from The Dirty Picture.

The audience liked every moment of the function. One of them, Rakesh Kumar, said: “This is a wonderful evening. We danced a lot.”

He added: “I had come yesterday as well. We danced for hours to the songs of Udit Narayan, who performed in Hindi and Bhojpuri. Richa Sharma was equally good. We are looking forward to having a great time and we will ask Babul Supriyo to sing Kaho naa pyar hain… for us.”

While the mood at Gandhi Maidan was exciting, SK Memorial was a picture in contrast. It was calm and peaceful, as the audience took their seats for the soul-stirring performances.

Sulekha Verma, an audience member, said: “I love a classical evening. They are usually so calm and peaceful. We usually go home with our aesthetic desire satiated when senior artistes like Pandit Jasraj perform.”

Explaining her reason for turning up at the programme, Verma said: “I have come here to listen to the poetry of Javed Akhtar. I have always been a great fan of him. Akhtar’s poetry is beautiful and simple but full of layered meaning and depth.”

The artistes, too, were happy to perform.

Pandit Jasraj told The Telegraph: “It is a pleasure to perform in Patna as the audience is well aware of the nuances of the different art forms.”